Strawberry Feta Salad (with homemade Poppy Seed Dressing)

I have a really hard time deciding favorites.  There are always just so many variables to consider.  My mood.  The time of year.  Who I am with.  All these situations make it difficult for me to find definite favorites.  That being said, this salad and I have had a great relationship for about 3 years now and I can honestly say that this is probably my favorite salad. Usually. 

 Some friends and I got together for lunch the other day, and three of us brought this salad.  Obviously, it's a good one.  Everyone out there has probably tasted this salad in some form or another, but this is the one I keep coming back to.   Juicy strawberries;  creamy, salty feta;  crunchy, sugared almonds and the sweet poppy seed dressing all join hands to have a serious party in your mouth.  The dressing is really easy to throw together, and will last in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks.  Easy to keep in there and eat it everyday for lunch. 

Poppy Seed Dressing:

1/2 C. Mayo

1/4 C. Sugar

2-4 TB Milk (depending how runny you want it)

2 TB Red Wine Vinegar

1 TB poppyseeds

 Blend all together. 

Strawberry Feta Salad:

Any combination of leafy green/red lettuce,         

   Spinach or Romaine lettuce

Sliced Strawberries

crumbled Feta Cheese

Sugared Almonds
Poppy Seed Dressing

Sometimes I add cut up grilled or breaded chicken for a heartier meal.

Combine the all ingredients in a salad bowl except dressing.  Add dressing right before serving.  I don't necessarily add a whole dressing recipe to my salad, just add some, stir and see if you need more.  This salad does not keep well after it has been mixed. (usually not a problem though, as it always goes really quick!)

Other options:
fresh peaches (I love this in the fall!!)
Craisins
Pears
Apples

Mandarin oranges

Red onion

Enjoy!!

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Made by you Mondays

Sumo's Sweet Stuff

Wonderfully Amazing Green Salad and homemade Ranch

Easter is coming up right around the corner and there are bound to be gatherings with family or friends.  (Or if not, why not host your own!!?)

What is your usual assignment? Are you always asked to bring a bag of chips?  (I hope not!) 

Do you  get assigned to bring the salad or relish tray?

Please, please, PLEASE don't tell me you just buy a bag of iceberg lettuce (you know, the kind with a few shredded carrots and a couple of purple stringys in there) and a bottle of Ranch and plunk it down on the table. Please don't do that!!! No one will look twice at your salad; they'll just shove that Ranch bottle aside to reach for the rolls and the funeral potatoes and the corn and the pretty Easter jello with Cool-whip your Aunt Cheryl brought.

Not a single green thing will be eaten.  And you'll be to blame.

How about you show 'em what you're made of and WOW them all with a veggie-loaded salad tray AND homemade Ranch!? Your salad might just be the star of the show. Well, as much as a salad could be. Let's get real; it's no Strawberry Shortcake or Chocolate Mousse Pie, but people will be thanking you for making their salad eating experience more fun.

All of these ingredients should be easily accessible, even though it still seems like the dead of winter.

Pick and choose what you think your fans will love; I like to make sure there's a lot of color involved.

I used: (in no particular order)
grape tomatoes

Sliced cucumber

shredded carrots (see--they're still here!)
green olives

uncooked, frozen but thawed green peas

(could I use any more adjectives?) Just don't open a can.

avocado
black olives
shredded mozzarella cheese

and how about this for the grand finale....
Deviled eggs! Oh, regular hard-boiled eggs would be fine, but these...Wow!

*TIP* The avocado will start to turn brown after it is cut.  I would wait to cut and display as long as you can.  Lemon or lime juice sprinkled over the sliced avocado will slow it down a bit, but not stop it.  Also keeping the pit around the avocado can help too.  Mmm, but they sure are worth it!

Dressing

Go to the store and buy one bottle of the best generic Ranch you can find.
Just kidding

My favorite Ranch

2 C. Mayo
2 C. Buttermilk

8 oz package Cream Cheese

1 t. Onion Salt

1 t. Garlic Salt

1/4 t. Ground Pepper

1/4 t. Accent (optional)

Blend all ingredients in blender and let stand in fridge.

Yields:  6 C. will keep approx. 1 month in fridge

*sometimes I add a garlic clove or two. Yum*

Queso Chip Dip

I had some friends over the other night, and noticed there wasn't very much food on our potluck table. "Oh no!",  I thought to myself, "This just can't happen!"

*Heaven forbid we don't eat tons of snacks when we get together*

Luckily, I had just run across this recipe in a magazine and had the ingredients on hand.  It was delicious and I couldn't stop eating it.  I really liked this recipe, and I really liked that it was different than other queso dips I've tried.  I just have a hard time using "pasturized prepared cheese products" or food that rhymes with "schmel-shmeeta".  I want the real stuff!

You'll only need 3 ingredients for this dip (don't forget the chips!)
8 oz. Cream Cheese
1 Cup Salsa
1 can "no bean" Chili

 Combine all ingredients together in a saucepan. Heat on medium until the cheese is nice and melty, stirring frequently.  This could also be done in a small crockpot, which would be nice when serving to keep the dip warm.

(We ate ours so fast, keeping it warm was not a problem!)

                           Stock up on these simple ingredients,

                           so your guests will never go hungry!

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