Chicken Poppy Seed Salad

Spinach leaves

Romaine leaves

Grilled chicken, sliced (grill with lots of lemon pepper seasoning)

Red onion, sliced thinly

Crispy bacon, crumbled

Shredded mozzarella cheese

Toasted almonds (or you can sugar the almonds. Put sliced almonds in a pan with lots of granulated sugar (about equal amounts). Cook on medium heat until sugar melts, coating the almonds as they brown.)

The Dressing:

1 1/3 cup sugar

2 tsp salt

2 tsp dry mustard

2/3 cup red wine vinegar

3 Tb Maui or Vidalia onion, chopped

2 cups canola oil

3 Tb poppy seeds

Mix the first 5 ingredients in a blender, then slowly add the oil, blending until thick. Stir in poppy seeds. Toss all ingredients together with generous amount of dressing before serving.

*This makes a lot of dressing! If you need a really big salad for a party then start with a large bunch of spinach, large head of romaine, 4 chicken breasts, 1 lb bacon, etc. I rarely make a salad that big so that is why there are no "amounts". So have fun with it - you're going to love it!

Classic Pasta Salad

You're in luck Am....I just made this for tonight's dinner. I think it is the best Pasta Salad around.

2 bags frozen mixed pasta and veggies (I use Bird's Eye)
2 small zucchini, halved and sliced
1 small carton grape tomates, washed
1 can olives (I like 'em whole, but you could do a couple small cans of sliced olives), drained
1 package of pepperoni, halved
1 small red onion, halved and vertically sliced or diced
About 6-8 medium mushrooms, sliced
1 large bottle Italian dressing (preferably Bernstein's, possibly Newman's, I made my own...recipe below.)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add frozen pasta and veggies. Bear in mind that these have already been partially cooked, so they do not need to cook very long--maybe 3-4 minutes. The ONLY way to ruin this salad is to cook the pasta too long. Drain and rinse. Allow to cool.

In a large bowl, combine zucchini, grape tomatoes, olives, pepperoni, red onion, and mushroom slices. Add pasta and veggies. Toss to combine. Add Italian dressing and combine thoroughly. Chill for at least 4 hours or up to 3-4 days. Serves 10-12.


HOMEMADE ITALIAN DRESSING
1 c. canola oil
1/4 c. white vinegar
1/4 c. lemon juice
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. seasoning salt
3/4 tsp. Italian seasoning (add more if needed)
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp. black pepper
4 cloves garlic
1/3 c. Parmesan cheese (either fresh or from a can)

In a blender, combine vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, mustard, salt, seasoning salt, black pepper, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Blend. While blender is running, slowly add oil in a steady stream. Turn off blender and add Italian seasoning and Parmesan cheese. Pulse blender 2-3 times and that's it!