By Bobbi Burger Brunoehler of BobbisBargains.
I love a good salad. I’ve been told by many that I make FABULOUS salads. I tell people that it is easy. Just open the fridge, chop up whatever is in there and, ta-da, you have a salad. Let me be more specific.
Grab a large container. Get out your cutting board and your best knife for cutting veggies into small pieces. I like my salad pieces to be smallish so I can combine different flavors for the perfect bite.
Here are the ingredients I used for the last awesome salad I made.
I used these ingredients because they were in my fridge and I thought they would taste good together.
- Hard boiled egg – cut into cubes
- Carrots – long thin shreds using the veggie peeler
- Celery – small “c” shapes
- Baby spinach
- Chopped pecans – put halved pecans in a sandwich bag and smash with the back of a big spoon
- Raisins – nice juicy ones, not old dried up raisins
- Chicken – I had some left over fried chicken that I cut into squares after tossing the skin
- Feta cheese – get a chunk from Trader Joe’s and crumble by hand for the best price
- Black olives – cut into fourths
- Tomatoes – heirloom from farmer’s market cut into cubes
- Red onion – fresh and thinly sliced
- Mushrooms – fresh and thickly sliced
- Pasta with garlic sauce – happened to have some left over with the sauce I got from a food swap
- Baby spring salad greens – I get these weekly at the farmer’s market. Put a crumpled paper towel in the bag to keep the greens from wilting so fast
- Dill – just a bit, too much will be overwhelming
- Fresh lemon juice – a grabbed a nice fresh lemon off my neighbor’s tree and squeezed the juice over the salad. I like my salad a little soggy, so I put on the lemon juice when I make the salad, but you can put the lemon and the oil on when you are ready to eat.
- Salt and pepper – use pink Himalayan salt and fresh ground pepper for the best flavor
- Olive oil – the best you can afford. Don’t put this on until you are ready to eat.
Chopping all of this up takes a bit of time. But, if you invite over a friend to chat or watch a movie or listen to a book on tape, the time goes by fast.
By the time you are done, your salad will feed four people for a meal. If you are eating solo, you will want to save it. I make my salads in a large shallow rectangular container that has a lid. It gives me a large surface area to work with while creating my masterpiece, yet I can easily pop on a lid when done.
As long as your ingredients are fresh, your salad will last for at least a couple days in the fridge, perhaps longer. I prepare salads ahead of time and put into smaller containers to take with me for lunch. I toss a few crackers in a sandwich bag for extra crunch.
If you want some more inspiration for great salad ideas check out these farmer’s salad recipes.
A really easy way to get your raisins plump is to boil them for about 10 minutes in water and let cool. They rehydrate a little and make it supper juicy. Another great thing in a summer salad is sliced grapes with asian noodle crunchies. Yummy!
I was inspired to make a huge and yummy salad for lunch today. Baby greens, shredded carrots, sliced boiled egg, crumbed turkey burger patty, chick peas, and vinaigrette, with a chunk of bread.
I’m with Bobbi on making a creative “clean out the fridge” salad that will make enough for a family, and/or individuals for a few meals. I especially like salad meals in the summer time when it’s hot outside. When I was still in the classroom and would come home after a long day, my husband would have put together a wonderful salad (curried chicken, chef’s or whatever he dreamed up), and all I would have to do was make a dressing for it. What a wonderful meal to come home to, and I didn’t have to stand and do all the chopping prep! I felt totally spoiled.
We add “7 Bean Salad” from Costco, this adds a sweet taste along with all the different types of bean in this huge jar. Also, instead of chicken, I will add a can of Tuna. We have salad 3 times a week and it is a super way to get rid of leftovers.
@EllieD Wow! Yes, I would feel spoiled if someone else made my super salad. It does take a lot of chopping to make, but it is so worth it.
My hubby spoils me by cleaning out the fridge a couple of times a year. Oh…what a great present.
@Bobbi ~ My husband was artistic (a published photographer, TV cameraman, etc.), as well as being super organized. All that chopping and putting together appealed to all his senses, so he considered it a labor of love. If your hubby cleans out the fridge even once, that’s a major “love ya'” kind of thing.
Looking forward to seeing you at the Frugal Fest Food! tomorrow! HUGS ~ Ellie