Fall Harvest Salad with Pumpkin Vinaigrette

Does it get any more seasonal than pumpkin salad? I think not! There isn't pumpkin in the actual salad part, but there is pumpkin in the dressing! So cool, right? We tried this salad for Thanksgiving dinner and it was a big hit! It's so flavorful and perfect for Fall!! It's also super duper easy! This recipe is from a blog called Wholesomlicious. You can find the original recipe HERE.

I almost forgot to mention! This recipe is vegan and gluten free friendly! I used to love adding cheese to salads, but no longer! I love that these salad packs a great flavor without needing cheese.

Mango, Avocado & Tomato Salad

My mom made this salad a couple of years ago and I have to admit, I was so ready to turn my nose up! I don't love my food touching, so I'm pretty picky when it comes to salad. This salad combines mango with avocado and tomato and I was apprehensive to say the least! But guess what!? This salad is so good! The flavors mix really well and the end result makes a tasty side to just about any dinner! This recipe is from Better Homes & Gardens, you can find the original HERE.

October Salad

I am so happy to say that I love posting on my blog. Of course, some days it's harder to get content out than others. But for the most part, I absolutely love posting every weekday! While I am always excited about the recipes that I post, I am particularly excited about today's recipe! If you're a regular reader, you've likely realized that I have major love for Mandy's (a local salad restaurant)! I mean, I could eat there everyday! Today, I'm sharing a copycat version of their October Salad!

I have had this recipe on the back burner for a little while - I wanted to wait until October to share it but I was going to wait a little longer! That is, until I was talking to Hannah and she told me she hadn't had salad the whole time she was away (she's been away for almost 2 months!). How can this be!? I know that I can't send salad in the mail - but I must admit, I thought about it! This recipe is going up today to get some salad on the menu! For Hannah, yes, but for all of my other readers too! This salad is easy, seasonal and so tasty!

Roasted Beet & Kale Salad

This roasted been and kale salad has been a longtime favorite in my house! The beets and kale are paired with maple candied walnuts and goat cheese - when it's tossed all together it tastes so good you almost forget that you're eating kale! :) I am not crazy about kale! I love the nutrients it offers your body, but I don't love the way it tastes! This salad is my favorite way to eat kale!

Strawberry, Quinoa & Cashew Salad

This salad just screams summer to me! When I made this last week, my family enjoyed it with some Italian Sausages on the barbecue - it was sooo good! The Bean has loved lending a hand in the kitchen this summer, but all she wants to do is stir!! She was thoroughly unimpressed with this salad, because there is very little stirring to be done! I was worried she wouldn't eat the salad (she tends to be less willing to try if she isn't involved in the process!) but she loved the salad! This got rave reviews all around!

I found the recipe on Julia's Album, you can find it HERE. I swapped out the peaches for Nectarine (an intentional change) and used much less spinach than called for (an unintentional change), but otherwise I followed the recipe exactly!

Mediterranean Quinoa Chickpea Salad

This salad is sooo good! I mean I could eat it everyday and I don't think I would ever get sick of it! My family has made it three times in within the last couple of weeks and I still love just as much! I get excited for lunch everyday, just because it means that I get to eat this salad! The recipe is from The Alberta Pulse, you can find it HERE.

Cook 1/2 cup of quinoa following the instructions on the package of quinoa that you are using. [This is 1/2 cup of uncooked quinoa btw :)]

California Quinoa Salad

My mom made this salad on Tuesday evening and it was so good, I had to take pictures to share it with you! It was a little taste of summer on a chilly January evening! The original recipe comes from Jo Cooks ans it looks like she has some other delicious recipes. My mom made a few changes to this recipe based on what we had on hand, you can find the original recipe HERE.

Start by cooking 1/2 cup of dry quinoa - Follow the cooking instructions indicated on the bag of quinoa. Once your quinoa is cooked, remove it from the heat and set it aside to cool. it must be cooled completely before you can add it to the rest of the salad.

Quinoa is a key ingredient in this salad, but it isn;t always the easiest to figure out! Whenever I have questions about quinoa, I rely on this fabulous article from Cooking Chew. You can find it HERE.

While the quinoa is cooling, chop up 1 mango, 1 green onion (replaced for 1/4 of a red onion in the original recipe) and half of a red bell pepper. Add the mango, green onion and red pepper to a medium sized mixing bowl along with 1/4 cup of unsweetened coconut (reduced from 3/4 cup in the original recipe)

Chicken & Pasta Salad with Basil Mayo & Pignoli

This salad has been a favourite of mine for as long as I can remember - like I remember being 4/5 and eating this salad! This is the very first salad I ate because it had pasta in it and anything with pasta in it can't be that bad, right!? Well, this salad isn't just not bad, it's amazing! Here is how my family makes this salad:

Start by cooking 1 pound of medium pasta shells. once the pasta is cooked, drain the water and set it aside to cool. (I leave the pasta in the strainer until I'm ready to use it).

While the pasta shells are cooking, toast 1/2 of pine nuts in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Keep a careful eye on these because they go from looking uncooked to burnt pretty quickly. When the pine nuts are golden brown removed them from heat and let them cool.

Chop up 1 cup of celery, 1 cup of red or green pepper, 1 cup of carrot, 1 cup of cherry tomatoes, 1/3 cup of scallions and 1/4 cup of parsley.

In a food processor, combine 1 cup of mayonnaise, 1 cup of plain yogurt, 3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar, 1/2 of fresh basil, 1 clove of garlic and a little salt & pepper to make the salad dressing.

Pour the salad dressing over the salad and toss everything together. You may have noticed that I excluded an ingredient (it is in the name of the salad) -- The Chicken!! I intentionally excluded the chicken because my family likes to go meatless sometimes. If you want chicken in your salad, you can add 3 cups of cooked & cubed chicken to the mix. Otherwise, if you are into going meatless this salad is just as delicious without the chicken!

CHICKEN & PASTA SALAD WITH BASIL MAYO & PIGNOLI
ingredients
1 pound medium pasta shells (~5 cups = 1 pound)
1 cup celery, chopped
1 cup red or green pepper, chopped
1 cup carrot, chopped
1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/3 cup scallions
1/4 cup parsley
1/2 cup pine nuts (toasted)
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup plain yogurt
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 cup fresh basil
1 garlic clove
Salt & Pepper

directions
1. Cook the pasta, drain its water and set it aside in the strainer to cool.
2. Toast the pine nuts over medium-low heat in a small skillet until they are golden brown. Once they are cooked, remove them from the heat and set them aside to cool.
3. Chop up celery, red/green bell pepper, carrot, cherry tomatoes, scallions and parsley.
4. Combine mayo, plain yogurt, red wine vinegar, fresh basil, garlic, salt and pepper in a food processor and blend until smooth.
5. Toss the salad together in a large salad bowl.

See you tomorrow with another fun recipe!
Kenzie

Cranberry, Apple & Walnut Salad

I found this cranberry, apple and walnut salad recently on a blog called Creme de la Crumb, you can find the original recipe here! Here is how I make this recipe...
 

Start with about 6 cups of spinach in a medium sized salad bowl. Wash and chop up 1 red apple and one green apple.

Chop up 1 cup of walnuts - I usually coarsely chop up the walnuts with a knife but you could pulse them in the food processor a couple of times to get quicker results. The original recipe recommends 1/3 cup of crumbled feta cheese and I followed this when I made the recipe for the first time, but I have since increased the feta to 1/2 cup, because it's my favorite part of the salad! Add 1/3 cup of dried cranberries and set the salad bowl aside to make the dressing.

The original recipe makes a TON of dressing, so I half it. Even with halving it, I still find I have left over dressing at the bottom of the salad bowl when the salad has been eaten. So, you could potentially 1/3 or maybe even quarter the original recipe... I have yet to try that so I will share the halved version:

Whisk together 1/2 cup of apple juice, 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon of honey, 1 tablespoon of olive oil (I reduce the oil down to more than half!) and some salt and pepper in a glass measuring cup.

Once the dressing is mixed, pour it over the salad and toss the salad until all the ingredients are well coated in dressing. I recommend not tossing the dressing into the salad until you are ready to serve it.

CRANBERRY, APPLE & WALNUT SALAD:

Ingredients:
for the salad...
6 cups baby spinach
1 red apple, washed & chopped into 1 inch chunks
1 green apple, washed & chopped into 1 inch chunks
1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled (increased from 1/3 cup)
1/3 cup dried cranberries
for the dressing...
1/2 cup apple juice
 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt & pepper

Directions:
1. Gather spinach, chopped red & green apple in a medium sized salad bowl.
2. Coarsely chop walnuts to add to the salad bowl, crumble the feta over the salad and add in dried cranberries.
3. In a glass measuring cup, whisk together apple juice, apple cider vinegar, honey, olive oil, salt and pepper until well combined.
4. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss until well combined.

Enjoy!
Kenzie    

Wild Rice & Black Bean Salad

This wild rice and black bean salad is my favorite summer salad! I made it recently and have been enjoying it for lunch and as a side for dinner almost everyday!

Start by bringing two 14 1/2 ounce cans of chicken broth and 1/2 cup of water to a broil.

Once the the chicken broth and water come to a boil, and 1 lb of rice and 2 bay leaves and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook following the instructions on the package of rice. I think my rice cooked for about 40 minutes, but this will vary depending on the kind of wild rice you use. Once the rice if cooked, set it aside to cool because the rice has to be completely cool before adding it to the salad otherwise it will wilt the other ingredients.

Add two 15 ounce cans of drained and rinsed black beans to a large salad bowl.

Chop 3 bell peppers and add them to the salad bowl with the black beans. I chose to use 3 red bell peppers, but you could use any variety of peppers your prefer.

Chop up one red onion and add it to the peppers and black beans. I recommend tasting your onion to see how strong it is before adding it to the salad. If the onion has a really strong taste, you may choose to use only half the onion.

Chop up a medium bunch of cilantro and add it to the salad bowl. I shared this fun trick for chopping herbs that I learned from my mom in my Spaghetti Bolognese recipe. Put the herb you want chopped in a mug and use scissors to cut up the cilantro.

Once your rice is cooled add it too the salad bowl and mix it in.  In a small separate container mix the dressing by whisking together 1/2 cup of olive oil, 3 tablespoons of orange juice, 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar, 2 teaspoons of ground cumin and 1 teaspoon of chili powder. Once the dressing is mixed pour it over the salad and stir it in until well combined.

WILD RICE & BLACK BEAN SALAD
Ingredients:
2- 14 1/2 oz cans of chicken broth
1/2 cup water
2 bay leaves
1 lb of Wild Blend Rice
2- 15 oz cans of black beans (drained & rinsed)
3 bell peppers (red, green, yellow or orange)
1 medium red onion (potentially reduced to half, depending on how strong the onion is)
1 medium bunch of fresh cilantro

for the salad dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons orange juice
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder 

Directions:
1. Bring chicken broth and water to a boil, add wild rice and bay leaves and bring to a boil again. Once the mixture boils, reduce heat to low, cover and cook following the cooking instructions indicated on the rice's bag
2. While rice is cooling, drain and rinse black beans, chop up bell peppers, red onion and cilantro and combine in a large salad bowl.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, orange juice, red wine vinegar, ground cumin and chili powder to form salad dressing.
4. Once the rice has cooled add it to the large salad bowl and stir in salad dressing.

Enjoy! 
Kenzie