Jim's Yummy Summer Salad

Okay, Jim actually made this for me last Thanksgiving, but it was the perfect accompaniment to our burgers tonight!

Ingredients:

Red leaf lettuce (washed, spun dry and wrapped in a dish towel, stored in the fridge until ready to use)
Blueberries
Strawberries, washed, tops cut off and diced
Thinly sliced red onion
Freshly Grated Parmesan
Mixed Nuts, salted
Audrey's Sweet Vinaigrette

Combine ingredients and dress lightly with vinaigrette. That recipe is attached to Audrey's Spinach and Pear salad.

Audrey's Cafe Rio Salad

If you have ever lived in Utah and been BLESSED to eat this salad at this restaurant, well, then you've been blessed. I thought my Cafe Rio days were over. But no, no. Not when Audrey Dieker lives down the street.

Audrey's Version of Cafe Rio Salad

Sweet Chile Verde (The Pork)

3 lbs pork loin roast (salt and pepper for the outside)
1 onion, finely chopped
2 t oil
1 ½ c mango/ peach salsa (can use regular or pineapple)
½ can chicken broth
1/3 cup brown sugar
½ t salt

In a large frying pan or dutch oven, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onions and cook until translucent (stir frequently to avoid burning), about 3 minutes. Add pork roast (if you need to cut it into two large pieces to fit your crock pot, that’s fine), sear the outside of roast until it is browned on both sides.

Pour the entire contents into crock pot (including all bits of brown or “fond”). Add remaining ingredients of salsa, chicken broth, salt, and brown sugar. Cook on low for 6 hours. Meat should fall apart after about 4-5 hours, break meat apart to absorb juices.

Cafe Rio Salad Dressing

1 c buttermilk (for thicker dressing use sour cream instead)
1 c mayonnaise
3-4 tomatillos, husks removed (or 4 from a can)
2 cloves garlic
1 bunch fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper


Cilantro Lime Rice

1 cup uncooked rice
3 T butter
2 1/4 cup water (can use 1 15 oz. can chicken broth and 1 cup water)
2 T freshly squeezed lime juice
3 t sugar
3 T freshly chopped cilantro

In a saucepan, combine rice, butter and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook 15-20 minutes, until all water is absorbed. Remove from heat.
In a small bowl combine lime juice and sugar. Pour over hot rice and toss. Right before serving, add cilantro and stir through rice.

Black Beans

We used/heated Bush's Black Beans Seasoned Recipe (from a can)

Corn Tortilla Crisps

Corn Tortillas
oil for deep frying
salt

Finely slice corn tortillas (the thinner the better). Fry in oil until crispy and slightly brown. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels. Lightly salt while still warm.

"Cafe Rio Salad" - (Assembly)

Layer a warm flour tortilla with shredded cheese, beans, rice, lettuce (romaine), chile verde pork, salsa (mango salsa is a great addition), sliced avocadoes (or guacamole), cilantro tomatillo dressing, and finish with corn tortilla crisps.

Enjoy!

Greek Couscous

Kathryn and the boys were up here last weekend and we stopped in at Sweet Tomatoes. They had the most delicious cold couscous salad and last night I tried to replicate it. It was good, but even tastier today after a night in the fridge.


Ingredients

1 1/2 C Couscous (I used white, but next time I'm going to try a mix of white and wheat)
2 1/4 C Chicken Broth
1 can garbanzo beans
1/2 C Feta Cheese, crumbled
diced tomatoes
diced cucumber
diced red bell pepper
fresh basil, parsley and oregano, minced
Sea Salt and Cracked Pepper
Fresh Lemon juice
Greek Vinaigrette

Bring chicken broth to a boil and add couscous. Remove from heat. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes. Fluff thoroughly with a fork and refrigerate. When couscous is cold, toss with drained and rinsed garbanzo beans, feta, vegetables, and herbs. Squeeze juice of half a lemon and salt and pepper to taste. Next time I'll try adding a little Greek Vinaigrette for a little more flavor. But it was delicious anyway!

Audrey's Pear and Blue Cheese salad with Candied Pecans

Check out my "salad hands". My sister-in-law first showed me these and I've been wanting them for years. I got them this week and they are as wonderful at tossing salad as I had hoped!

1 T Butter

1 C Pecans

1/2 C Granulated Sugar

1/8 tsp. Salt

1 bag spinach

2 ripe pears (or crisp apples -- pears are best)

1/2 C crumbled Blue Cheese

To make pecans: In a nonstick skillet using a wooden spoon (plastic will melt), over medium high heat, melt butter. Add pecans, sugar and salt. Move pecans in pan until sugar begins to dissolve. Once most of sugar is dissolved, let pecans cool on non-stick wax or parchment paper. It seems initially in this process that nothing is happening, and then the sugar dissolves all at once. At this point, it is very easy to burn the pecans, so be careful to stir constantly and remove from heat if pecans are getting too brown.

Place spinach in salad bowl. Top with pears (sliced thin), crumbled blue cheese, and pecans (slightly cooled and crumbled by hand) Dress salad lightly with vinaigrette recipe below.

Dijon Vinaigrette

6 T olive oil

3 T finely chopped onion or shallots

3 T white wine vinegar

6-10 T sugar (start with 6 and then taste. You want it to be tangy, yet sweet.)

1 T Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 t black pepper

In a blender combine

all ingredients. Blend until pureed. You probably won't need all of the dressing. Dress the salad first and then taste, adding if you need more.

Mom's Best Spinach Salad Ever

We served this at our most recent Family Reunion. It's hard to go wrong with Bacon, Eggs, Mozzarella and Parmesan Cheeses. This recipe makes enough dressing for 2 large bags of spinach, so you might want to halve it, or save half for another salad. It will last in the fridge for 2 weeks.


Dressing:

2 T Honey
2 T White Vinegar
1/4 C Vegetable Oil (I use Canola)
2 tsp Diced Onions
1 T Dijon Mustard
1/3 C Mayonaise

Combine ingredients in a shaker jar and allow to refrigerate at least an hour.

Salad:

1 large bag Baby Spinach
8 Slices of Crumbled Bacon (I use the pre-cooked bacon you can get at Costco. A large crumbled bag for $8. I keep it in my fridge and use it in salads and soups for several months.)
Grated Parmesan Cheese (Fresh is best, but the stuff from the green jar isn't too shabby for this recipe)
Grated Mozzarella Cheese (I also buy this at Costco in bulk. Mozzarella cheese freezes well (according to America's Test Kitchen AND me) and I save a lot of money by dividing it into separate bags instead of purchasing the smaller ones at the grocery store)
2-4 Sliced Hard Boiled Eggs.

Toss and Serve. People will want seconds.