Good evening and welcome to What’s for Dinner! As many of us in the Northern Hemisphere are entering the dog days of summer cooking a hot meal is just not ideal. My patio garden is just starting to produce some tomatoes but mostly I have lots of fresh herbs so far. Luckily we have been getting really good produce (local when possible!) from the grocery store. I’ve got a few main dish salad recipes to share with y’all tonight and look forward to seeing your stuff in the comments.
What’s for Dinner? is a Saturday evening get-together where friends share recipes, talk about good food and help others answer culinary questions.
We welcome you to our virtual table every Saturday evening 4:30 PT/7:30 ET. If you would like to write a post for an upcoming date just send a message to me, ninkasi23!
To start us off is the featured salad with fresh cantaloupe, cucumber, feta, and basil. It’s not really a main dish salad but is light and refreshing as a side or a light lunch.
from this healthy table
Ingredients
- 1 cantaloupe, halved and deseeded
- 1 large cucumber, halved
- 2 ounces crumbly feta cheese
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- juice of one lemon
- pinch of salt
- 10 basil leaves, coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Using a melon baller, create as many balls from the cantaloupe as possible. Add them to a large bowl.
- If cucumber has large seeds, use the melon baller or a spoon to scrape them out. Cut the cucumber into thin half moons and add to the melons.
- Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, and salt in a small bowl and whisk.
- Add the vinaigrette to the fruit and toss to combine. Then top with the crumbled feta and basil leaves.
Heartier salads like a chef’s salad are easy to throw together with bits from the fridge:
A simple mix of romaine lettuce, chopped cucumber, ham, provolone, shredded cheddar, and hard-boiled eggs. Undressed. I had bacon thousand island dressing on mine;-)
Caesar salads are ubiquitous as well as Chicken Caesar salads. It’s ok, I don’t mind succumbing to a trend if it’s good!
Crispy Chicken Caesar Salad
from kitchn
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup dry orzo pasta (about 8 ounces)
- 1 1/2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 cup Caesar salad dressing (store-bought or homemade), divided
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1- to 1 1/2-inch cubes
- 2 tablespoons Wondra or all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 4 cups coarsely chopped romaine lettuce (from 1 medium heart)
- 1 ounce shaved Parmesan cheese
INSTRUCTIONS
-
Bring a large saucepan of heavily salted water to a boil. Add the orzo and cook until barely al dente, 6 to 7 minutes. Drain, then transfer to a medium bowl. Add the tomatoes and 1/4 cup of the dressing, and stir until evenly coated; set aside.
-
Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and place in a medium bowl. Add the flour, salt, and pepper and toss to coat. Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet, preferably nonstick, over high heat until shimmering and very hot but not smoking. Add the chicken cubes and cook in one layer, turning occasionally, until cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes.
-
Add the lemon juice and butter and sauté for 1 minute longer, shaking the skillet occasionally to coat the chicken; set aside off the heat.
-
Place the lettuce and remaining 1/4 cup dressing in a medium bowl and toss to combine. Divide the lettuce between serving bowls, then top with the warm orzo and tomato mixture, chicken, and shaved Parmesan. Serve warm.
How about wrapping it up?
Taco Chicken Caesar Salad Wraps! (say that 10 times fast;-)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast (10 to 12 ounces), cut into bite-size pieces
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons adobo sauce from canned chipotles
- 2 teaspoons garlic salt
- 5 to 6 dashes Worcestershire sauce
- 2 cups chopped romaine lettuce
- 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
- Two 12-inch whole-wheat flour tortillas
- 1/4 cup red grape tomatoes, halved
- 1/4 cup freshly shredded Cheddar
Directions
- Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, chili powder, paprika, cumin and some salt and pepper to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is evenly coated with the spices, browned and cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes. Set aside.
- To make the dressing, mix the mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, adobo sauce, garlic salt, Worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper to taste in a medium bowl until well combined. Add the romaine lettuce and toss until well coated. Then add 1/2 cup of the Parmesan and toss again.
- Lay out the tortillas and top each one with half of the dressed romaine, tomatoes, Cheddar cheese and taco chicken. Sprinkle each with 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Roll up the tortillas, leaving one end open, then wrap in sandwich paper, leaving 1 to 2 inches of the wrap open and exposed. Enjoy, removing the paper as needed. To transport, cover each wrap entirely in foil.
How about a tasty twist on tuna?
from Sheila Lukins’ cookbook “Ten” originally
Tuna Panzanella basically!
Ingredients:
- 2 cups cubed French bread (day-old is best!)
- 2 6-ounce cans tuna packed in oil, drained
- 1/4 small red onion, slivered lengthwise
- 2 ripe tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1/2 cup coarsely torn fresh basil leaves
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1-1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Spread the bread cubes on a baking sheet and bake in the oven, tossing them once, until toasted, about 20 minutes. Set them aside.
- Place the tuna in a bowl and break it apart into large chunks. (Don‘t mash it - just separate it into bite-size pieces.) Pull the onion slivers apart and add them to the tuna, along with the tomatoes, basil, oil, vinegar, and salt and pepper.
- Just before serving, toss in the bread cubes. Divide the salad among six plates, and serve.
This is from a previous WFD:
So, what are your favorite or go-to salads for hot nights? There are other good salad diaries in the WFD Archives too!
Here is our upcoming schedule:
What's For Dinner Schedule
date |
post # |
author |
07/25 |
15.03 |
OPEN |
08/01 |
15.04 |
esquimaux |
08/08 |
15.05 |
ninkasi23
(tomato special see note below)
|
08/15 |
15.06 |
OPEN |
08/22 |
15.07 |
esquimaux |
08/29 |
15.08 |
OPEN |
09/05 |
15.09 |
OPEN |
09/12 |
15.10 |
esquimaux |
NEXT WEEK IS OPEN if anyone would be interested in writing a post/diary for the series. Just let me know;-)
Special note: I am going to be writing a diary for Saturday Morning Garden Blogging on Aug. 8th as well and what I am hoping is to have a 2-part post all about tomato recipes/uses! Any of you who would like to collaborate on that shoot me a message.
Thanks for stopping by!