Unique presentation for Salad

Our Historical League meetings have fabulous lunches and many of the recipes are from Tastes and Treasures cookbook.This was such an elegant way to serve a chicken salad. Too bad I didn't take the photo before it was 1/2 gone!

Southwestern Chicken Salad in Avocado Bowls

If you love avocados, this one is for you.
Lots of other salad variations in Tastes & Treasures cookbook.

Southwestern Chicken Salad in Avocado Bowls
Ingredients:
2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
2⁄3 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons chunky salsa
1 tablespoon fresh chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon lime juice
2 avocados

Directions:
1. Fold chicken, sour cream, salsa, cilantro, and lime juice together in a large bowl, shredding chicken with a fork until your desired consistency is reached.

2. Cover and refrigerate chicken salad for 30 minutes for the ingredients and flavors to mingle, or skip to the next step to serve immediately.

3. When you are ready to serve, slice the avocados in half lengthwise and remove the pit. Use each half as a serving bowl for 1 person, stuffing chicken salad into the empty pit cavity and then mounding heaping spoonfuls over top of the entire surface of the avocado half. Serve garnished with fresh cilantro.

Hints:
When shopping, look for a chunky salsa without any added sugar or corn syrup in the ingredients list. Pace’s Chunky Salsa does not add sugar and they should be readily available in any grocery store.
Give the salad more texture by adding 2 tablespoons of diced red or yellow bell pepper or a few teaspoons of diced jalapeño pepper, if you like spice. You can also serve topped with shredded Cheddar jack cheese and chopped bacon for even more great flavors!

calories:395 | fat: 15g |protein: 55g| fiber:3g |net carbs:3g
Serves 4

From George Stella's "Real Food Real Easy" Cookbook

Chopped Chicken Fiesta Salad

Nothing like a delicious salad on a hot summer day. More salad recipes in Tastes & Treasures cookbook.

Chopped Chicken Fiesta Salad

Ingredients Dressing:

3 tbsp. fat-free plain yogurt 

1 tbsp. finely chopped and seeded jalapeño pepper
1 tbsp. finely chopped red onion

1 1/2 tsp. seasoned rice vinegar 

1/2 tsp. finely chopped cilantro 

1/4 tsp. granulated white sugar 



Ingredients Salad:

4 cups chopped romaine lettuce 

1/4 cup chopped red onion 

2 tbsp. chopped red bell pepper 

2 tbsp. black bean and corn salsa 

2 tbsp. shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese 

5 baked tortilla chips, broken into bite-sized pieces

3 oz. cooked and chopped skinless chicken breast 

1 tbsp. finely chopped parsley 

1 tbsp. finely chopped cilantro

1/8 tsp. garlic powder 



Directions: 

In a small bowl, combine dressing ingredients. Add 1 1/2 tsp. water, and mix well.

 To make the salad, place lettuce in a large bowl (or on a large plate). Top with onion, bell pepper, salsa, cheese, and broken tortilla chips. 

Toss chicken with parsley, cilantro, and garlic powder. Add to salad, and serve with dressing. 


Makes 1 serving.

Thanks to Hungry Girl for this recipe.

Healthy Chicken Salad Sandwich

Healthy Chicken Salad
Ingredients:

1 lb. chicken breast (chopped) 

1/2 c. diced red onion

1/2 c. diced apple

2/3 c. grapes, halved

1/3 c. dried cranberries 

1/4 c. sliced almonds

1/2 c. Greek yogurt

1.5 T. lemon juice

1/2 tsp. garlic powder
salt and pepper

Directions:
Mix incredients and serve as sandwich or salad.

Summer Broccoli Salad

Yummy summer salad with fresh ingredients that's easy to make and good for you. We also like Cashew Pea Salad from Tastes & Treasures cookbook, page 150.

Summer Broccoli Salad

Ingredients:
2 heads fresh broccoli, chopped
1 head fresh cauliflower, chopped
1/2 cup chopped red pepper
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 red onion, chopped
1/2 cup green olives
1 cup tomatoes, chopped
1 cup reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup reduced-fat ranch dressing

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl and toss with reduced fat ranch dressing.
Refrigerate until serving.

Thanks to Pampered Chef for the recipe.

Cornucopia Salad

Cornucopia Salad


Bursting with color and energy, and chock full of veggies, fruits, nuts and cheese; this super salad recipe from Terri Bailey of Bailey's Palomar Resort in Southern California, is a complete meal!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sliced almonds
3 Tbsp. Sugar
1 1/2 heads romaine or mixed lettuce, or any green leafy veggies, like or spinach, kale
4 green onions chopped
1 can mandarin oranges, drained; or fresh tangerines or blood oranges are great too!
1 avocado sliced
1 Granny Smith apple sliced
1/4 cup dried craisins (dried cranberry)
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup blue cheese or gorgonzola
2 Large chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (or one rotisserie chicken)


Dressing:
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 cup oil
2 Tbsp. chopped parsley
4 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar.

Directions:

Toss sugar in large frying pan with almonds and cook over low heat to medium heat, stirring occasionally until almonds are coated.
Don’t let sugar burn.  Spread on foil to cool. Or purchase sugared almond slices.  If sugaring almonds, Spray foil with Pam, so it does not stick, while cooling.
Tear lettuce leaves into bite-sized pieces. Mix lettuce, onion, oranges, avocado, apple, celery, craisins, cheese, chicken and almonds.
Mix remaining ingredients for dressing.  Toss with salad ingredients.  
Serves 5-6.

Fantastic Fruited Chicken Salad

Fruited Chicken Salad
A delicious meal in a salad. It tastes different every time I make it because I use different fruits and vegetables. Make it your own recipe by adding the ingredients your family loves.

Strawberry Spinach Salad, page 151, from Tastes & Treasures cookbook is also a wonderful dish.


Ingredients:
1 cup (about 4.5 oz.) cooked & roughly chopped skinless lean chicken breast
1/2 cup chopped Persian or Kirby cucumber**

1/3 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup green onions, chopped

1/3 cup red seedless grapes, halved
1/3 cup chopped apple
1/3 cup craisins
1/3 cup dried apricots, chopped
1/3 cup dried blueberries
1/3 cup strawberries, halved
1/3 cup kiwi, sliced
1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
1/4 cup plain fat-free yogurt
2 tbsp. fat-free mayonnaise
1 no-calorie sweetener packet (like Splenda)
1/4 tsp. lemon pepper seasoning
dash salt

Directions:
Mix together the yogurt, mayonnaise, sweetener, lemon pepper seasoning, and salt. Coat the chicken in this mixture, and then stir in the chopped cucumber, grape halves, chopped apple and other fruits. Serve on a bed of lettuce. Arrange strawberry halves and grape halves on top. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts.
The presentation will bring oohs and aahs.

Historic Stockyards for lunch

Great way to wind up a private tour of Tovrea Castle was with lunch at the Stockyards Restaurant. We dined in the Rose Room with it's hand painted murals. The 1890s bar is also filled with history.

The wine room is new but filled with vintage wines.
Love the entrance under the giant spur and check out the photo one of the owners ringing the huge dinner bell. It was found buried in 30 foot tall oleanders when they did renovations.

The fire roasted chicken salad was enhanced with corn, sweet red and yellow peppers and chives. And nothing like berry shortcake with moist cake and fresh, juicy berries for dessert. I personnaly prefer the Summer Trifle on page 154 of Tastes & Treasures for a beautiful presentation and delicious fruit dessert.

Green Salad with Shrimp

The breeze coming through the doorway is heavenly right now. Thank goodness for fall and temperatures finally dropping in Phoenix. The table at the Historical League meeting is decorated with harvest and halloween to help us get into the spirit of the season.

This salad sounded so delicious probably because I love marinated shrimp and avocados so I decided to make it for the League meeting.

Green Salad with Shrimp page 174 Tastes & Treasures Cookbook
2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup cottage cheese
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons white vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon peppercorns
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
2 or 3 avocados, sliced
2 pounds small shrimp, cooked and peeled
1 bunch spinach, trimmed
1 head romaine, trimmed and leaves separated
1 head iceberg lettuce, trimmed and leaves separated
1 pound bacon, crisp-cooked and crumbled

Combine the oil, cottage cheese, onion, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, peppercorns and cayenne pepper in a blender or food processor and process until mixed. Combine the cottage cheese mixture, avocados and shrimp in a bowl and mix gently. Chill, covered, for 8 to 10 hours. Rinse the spinach, romaine and iceberg lettuce and wrap in damp clean kitchen towels. Chill for 8 to 10 hours.
Tear the greens into bite-size pieces. Combine the greens and the shrimp mixture in a salad bowl and mix gently. Sprinkle with the bacon and serve immediately. Serves 8 to 10

Note: This is too much oil for my taste so recommend cutting it in 1/2. I also pureed the cottage cheese mixture for a l-o-n-g time but it still separated when I poured it on the lettuce. Not a pretty picture. This salad tasted great but not the best looking presentation. Too bad.

Recognition Luncheon

Our annual recognition luncheon for volunteers was held at Lon's, the Hermosa Inn's world renown restaurant. A historic recap of the Hermosa Inn can be found on page 94 of Tastes & Treasures. Members and guests were served Roasted Chicken and Strawberry Salad with Prickly Pear Vinaigrette, (a Lon's recipe featured on page 96 of Tastes & Treasures,) and a chocolate mouse dessert.

Dr. Robert Kravetz was our featured speaker. The author of two books, the retired physician spoke about medical practices in AZ in the 1850s when miners inhabited the state (along with Native American tribes.) Treatment mostly involved 2 methods: whiskey and herbal concoctions.

Dr. Kravetz also showed medical equipment and talked about the methods for care during the Civil War. When the war began, the North was not equipped to handle the medical needs generated by battle. Doctors were trained to treat illnesses, not wounds. They learned on the job and from it the medical triage system was developed. The South fared better with their physicians, but because of the blockade by the North, they were unable to get supplies.

There were no antibiodics, and sterlization was unknown. The lead balls shot in battles were 1/2 inch in diameter and the damage done to soldiers was a major factor in the high number of casualties. Dr. Kravetz also pointed out many soldiers came from rural communities and had never been exposed to childhood illnesses. 100,000 died from measles, for example, and infectious diseases rivaled the number of casualties that died from battle related wounds.

An interesting tidbit: silk was used to stitch wounds. Because the South was blocked by the North from receiving supplies, Confederate doctors resorted to horse hair. Horse hair is very stiff and the hair was boiled to soften it. Boiling sterilized the hair and a soldier's recovery would likely have been more successful than a wounded Union soldier's.

I hope Dr. Kravitz returns to speak at a future meeting. He touched on health history post Civil War, but he's also an authority on Native American care, health seekers to Arizona and quack medicine.

Awards Chair Kay Holcombe announced that between the League and the Museum, 7,036 hours had been logged by volunteers. Kay recognized individuals who had reached certain levels of hours. Our out-going president Jeannine Moyle then thanked the 2008-2009 officers and executive board, and passed the gavel to our 2009-2010 president, Ruth Ann Hogan.

A big thanks to Dee Steen and Mary Parker for organizing the event.

Roast Beef Salad Recipe

Following the cookbook inventory, we shared a lunch prepared by Ruth McLeod. This delicious salad is a recipe from the Winter Lunch section in Tastes and Treasures, page 167.

Roast Beef Salad

Blue Cheese Dressing
1/2 cup olive oil or vegetable oil 1/4 cup red wine vinegar 3 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley or cilantro 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 1 garlic clove, crushed 1/2 teaspoon sugar Salt and pepper to taste

Salad
1 1/2 pounds chilled roast beef, julienned
12 small fresh mushrooms, sliced
12 cherry tomatoes, cut into halves
1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 avocado, sliced

For the dressing, combine the olive oil, vinegar, cheese, parsley, Dijon mustard, garlic, sugar, salt and pepper in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and seal tightly. Shake to combine. Chill in the refrigerator. Substitute Gorgonzola cheese for the blue cheese for a milder flavor.

For the salad, toss the roast beef, mushrooms, tomatoes, artichokes and avocado in a large salad bowl. Add the dressing and mix until coated. You may serve on a bed of lettuce. Serves 6

Salad Featured from Cookbook

Among the salads featured at our monthly luncheon/meeting this week was Curried Chicken Salad from Tastes & Treasures, page 151. Lindy Isaakson was our salad maker and she’s standing with Pam Ryan who helps organize the luncheons.

Curried Chicken Green Salad

½ cup olive oil 10 ounces fresh spring mix
1/4 cup red wine vinegar 2 Gala apples, chopped
1/4 cup chutney 3/4 cup golden raisins
1½ teaspoons curry powder 12 fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 teaspoon dry mustard 2 or 3 green onions with
½ teaspoon sugar tops, sliced
½ cup pecan halves,
toasted and chopped
½ teaspoon salt
2 whole chicken breasts, cooked
and chopped

Process the olive oil, vinegar, chutney, curry powder, dry mustard, sugar and salt in a blender until pureed. Chill, covered, in the refrigerator. Toss the chicken, spring mix, apples, raisins, mushrooms, green onions and pecans in a large salad bowl. Add the desired amount of dressing and mix well. Serve immediately. Serves 6 to 8.