Generally speaking, I am usually not all that much of a salad fan. When I was a kid we ate a lot of salads, always with iceberg lettuce purchased from the store, and all I could taste was the sharp taste of whatever chemicals had been sprayed on the lettuce. Gross! Now, I know that as an adult I could grow my own or even purchase organic and not have to worry about that, but I have trouble shaking that expectation of chemicals and general idea that lettuce is gross.
That being said, I have been eating a lot of spinach lately (in an effort to get into the habit of eating more salads) and I came up with this delicious salad with things I just happened to have in my fridge at the time. And let me tell you: this salad tastes like summer to me.
Summer Strawberry Salad
I have so many variations I had trouble writing it down, so instead of giving you a solid recipe, I’ll just list the things I’ve put into this salad and you can pick whatever floats your boat!
You must have:
- Lettuce of some sort (I use spinach, but any lettuce would work)
- Strawberries (diced or sliced)
- Raspberry Vinaigrette (make your own!)
Then add any of this…
- Cheese (must be a strong cheese! I prefer feta, or the white cheddar with blueberries as shown in the pic!)
- Chicken (grilled, breaded, fried; doesn’t matter. I use leftovers, generally)
- Nuts (almonds, walnuts or glazed pecans are delicious)
- Poppy seeds
- Sunflower seeds
- Blueberries (or any berries, really)
- Cucumbers (only use a few or they’ll take over)
- Bacon
- Ham
- Onions, chopped (I prefer green onions, but any would work if you like onions)
- Chives (good if you have more savory ingredients)
- Fresh Lemon Balm (good with more sweet ingredients)
This salad is ridiculously versatile, as you can see. I am sure there are more things that would taste good, but my personal favorite is feta, breaded leftover chicken, almonds and lemon balm. Mmmm!
If you try it out, let me know what you put in it!
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