Coleslaw

 

Whenever Rudi needs a new bone, we always stop by Tommy G's here in Fairbanks and grab him a yummy beef knuckle bone.  They know when I walk in that Rudi is on duty at home and I'm leaving with a treato for the best boy ever.  Their meats are amazing and we were in the mood for their hot dogs tonight.  It's March and we've already had a couple of fool's Springs this year but that isn't stopping us from firing up the grill.  What better to go with a summer hot dog than homemade coleslaw?  Even if it is only 18 degrees.  This recipe is reminiscent of a KFC Copycat so if a creamy coleslaw is your jam, give this one a try!

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup milk

4 tsp. white wine vinegar

2 tsp. lemon juice

4 tsp. sugar

2 Tablespoons dried minced onion

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1 carrot, peeled and grated

4 cups cabbage, grated

In a large serving bowl, combine the mayo, milk, vinegar,  lemon juice, sugar, minced onion, salt, and pepper.  Whisk until all lumps are gone and the sugar is dissolved. 

Add the carrots and cabbage and toss to coat.

Cover and let sit for 30 minutes before serving.

The Good "Ranch" Dressing

 

Have you ever been to a little local restaurant and it has the BEST Ranch or House dressing?  In Fredericksburg, it's Vinny's.  In Fairbanks, it's Chowder House.  I've been trying for years to crack the code on how to get that perfect Ranch/House dressing and I finally did it.  It's definitely not a "clean" recipe but I can live with that.  And I wish I could say it's "homemade", but it's not.  Again, I can live with that.

1 1/2 cups sour cream

1/2 cup milk (you may not use it all)

1 packet of Hidden Valley Creamy Dill Dip mix

1/2-1 tsp. salt

In a medium mixing bowl combine the sour cream and dip mix.  Slowly thin the mixture until it's your desired consistency.  I tend to like it a little on the thicker side.

Season with salt until it's just almost too salty to eat on it's own.  I usually do about 1/2 tsp of salt.  When you combine it with all of your salad ingredients, it dilutes to the perfect flavor.  If you get it too salty, just dilute with a bit of milk.

Store in a mason jar with a finger tight lid.

Nutritional Yeast Salad Dressing

 

This is a deliciously tangy, full of flavor, easy to make salad dressing that makes any salad exciting!  You'll see 4 cloves of garlic in the recipe but if you know me, 4 cloves of garlic in anything is nowhere near enough.  So if you like a mild garlic flavor, start with 4 cloves.  If you're like me and garlic is life, I add a whole handful of minced garlic to my jar.  

For me, the Apple Cider Vinegar shines through in this dressing and I don't particularly care for the flavor of ACV.  However, you can tame it down by adding liquid stevia extract (I like Pyure) or raw honey to taste.  It's still tangy, still has that garlic spice to it but WAY tames down that ACV.  

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

4 cloves of garlic, minced (or as much garlic as you prefer)

3 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1/2 tablespoon sea salt

stevia extract or raw honey, to taste (optional)

Pour the olive oil and apple cider vinegar into a pint sized mason jar.

Add the garlic, nutritional yeast, and salt.  Use a fork and whisk until the oil and vinegar have combined.

Taste.  Begin adding sweetener of choice a little at a time, tasting as you go, if desired.  

Store in the fridge.  Shake well before using.

Shrimp and Mixed Greens Salad with Basil Balsamic Dressing

 

If you're looking for a delicious Paleo salad, look no further!  It's light but filling and the perfect lunch.  If I'm going to be on-the-go or if you pack a lunch for work, this is my favorite to-go salad container!  It keeps everything nice and separated until you're ready to eat so everything stays super fresh.  If shrimp isn't your thing, use whatever leftover protein you have on hand.  Some leftover chicken or steak is also delicious as well as lobster, scallops, crab meat...seriously, any protein you like is perfect!  The salad greens are also so very versatile.  Use whatever you like!  Ok, enough chat, here we go!

Basil Balsamic Dressing:

1/2 cup Olive Oil or Avocado Oil

1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar

1 tsp. Dijon or Spicy Brown Mustard

1 tsp. dried basil or 1/2 tsp. fresh basil (I LOVE basil so I put WAY more in.)

1 tsp. Lemon juice

1/4 tsp. Sea Salt

1/4 tsp. Garlic Powder

Large Salad:

4-5 cups Organic Mixed Greens (I get mine from Costco)

1 cup (ish) Organic Baby Spinach (I eyeball all of the lettuce amounts)

1 bell pepper, cut into med-large chunks

1 english cucumber, quartered into med-large chunks

1/2 red onion, sliced

10-12 shrimp, cooked (I throw mine in the air fryer sprinkled with some Blackening Seasoning until cooked) or any leftover protein you prefer

For the dressing, combine all of the ingredients into a 2 cup measuring cup.  Whisk until well incorporated.  Set aside.  

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the salad ingredients.  Just before serving, drizzle with as much or as little of the Basil Balsamic dressing as you like.  Refrigerate any leftover dressing.

*If you're packing this for lunch, keep the salad greens and all other ingredients separated until ready to eat.

Broccoli Salad

 

I LOVE a good broccoli salad and this recipe is my absolute favorite!  It's salty and sweet just the right amount of dressing.

Salad

6 cups broccoli florets, torn into small florets

1 cup sharp cheddar cheese (the thicker the shred, the better)

2/3 cup dried cranberries (I like the reduced sugar Craisins.)

1/2 cup cooked, crumbled bacon

1/2 cup salted sunflower seeds

1/3 cup red onion, small diced

Dressing:

3/4 cup mayo

1/4 cup sour cream

1 1/2 Tablespoon white wine vinegar

3 Tablespoons sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Combine all of the salad ingredients into a large mixing bowl.  

In a small mixing bowl (or a 4 cup measuring cup), combine all of the Dressing ingredients until the dressing is fully incorporated and smooth.

Pour the dressing over the Salad and toss until everything has an even  coating of dressing.  Refrigerate an hour before serving (if you can wait that long...but it's so good if you let it get all happy for an hour).  

This can be made up to 3 days in advance.

Creamy Chive Salad Dressing

This is my FAVORITE dressing!  You know when you go to a restaurant and you order a salad and ask for Ranch dressing and you hope and pray that it's the "good Ranch dressing"?  This is it!  This dressing is AMAZING!  It's creamy, it's salty, it's garlicky, it's exactly what you want if you're looking for that perfect creamy white dressing.  I make this in bulk I love it so much.  But just in case you're not excessive like me, this is a manageable amount so you can try it before you make it by the tubful.  Seriously...I make like 6x this amount at a time and just always have it.  I serve it over a huge bed of romaine lettuce with grape tomatoes, shredded cheddar, crumbled bacon, low carb croutons, and red onion.  (It's like a BLT in a bowl.)  OH OH OH, it's also AMAZING drizzled over a bunless burger with all the fixin's.

3 Tablespoons mayo (Dukes baby!)

4 Tablespoons sour cream 

1 tsp. minced garlic

1/4 cup fresh minced chives

1/8 tsp. black pepper

1/4 tsp. salt, or to taste

1-2 Tablespoons of milk, or add to desired consistency

Mix everything together and let it sit for a few hours for the flavors to mesh.  

Blue Cheese Dressing

Who doesn't love a tangy blue cheese dressing?!?!  I know...some people don't.  I don't understand those people.  This is SO yummy!  Especially served as a dipping sauce for the Skinny Buffalo Chicken Tenders.

1 cup mayo

1/2 cup sour cream

5 oz. crumbled blue cheese

3-4 dashes of Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon white vinegar (I had to add more because I like it tangy.)

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup buttermilk (more or less for thinning...depends on how thick you like your dressing)

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the mayo, sour cream, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, and salt and pepper.  Whisk together until well combined.  Add the blue cheese crumbles; stir well.  Gradually add the buttermilk until it is the consistency you like.  If you like it tangier, add a bit more vinegar, 1 tsp. at a time.

Mandarin Romaine Salad

My amazing Pastor's wife brought this delicious salad to a birthday party this Spring.  I seriously couldn't get enough of it.  It's sweet...but not too sweet...and so incredibly fresh and crunchy from the Romaine lettuce and almonds.  She doubled the recipe and it fed a small-ish crowd, so I would say if you're taking this to a party definitely double it.  If you're just making it for home, use the single recipe.

4 tablespoons sugar, divided

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons vinegar

1 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced

1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. black pepper

1/8 tsp. tobasco sauce

1 bunch romaine lettuce, chopped

1 (11oz.) can mandarin oranges

1 red onion, sliced and separated into rings

In a medium skillet, melt 3 tablespoons of sugar and add almonds.  Mix well until the nuts are coated.  Cool and break apart.

In a jar, combine the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar, vegetable oil, vinegar, parsley, salt, pepper, and tobasco sauce.  Shake well and set aside.

In a large bowl toss the lettuce, oranges, nuts and onions.  Dress the salad just before serving.  Serves 4-6 people.

Fruit Salad with Orange-Vanilla Syrup

Oh. My. Word!  My best friend, Pioneer Woman, did NOT let me down when she shared this recipe on her Food Network Easter episode this year.  I love fruit...but this syrup puts it over the top!  It's awesome as part of a breakfast buffet or as a light summer dessert.  I've even made the syrup, poured it over just the strawberries and served the strawberries over short cakes.  Sigh....

For the Syrup:

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

The juice and zest of 1 orange

2 tsp. vanilla extract

In a small sauce pan, add all of the ingredients and stir to combine.  Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to Low and simmer for 15-20 minutes and allow it to thicken slightly.  Set aside to cool, then place in the fridge until it's cold.

For the Fruit:

4 pints strawberries, hulled and halved

2 pints blueberries

2 cups red grapes, halved

2 cups green grapes, halved

Mint leaves

Mix together all of the fruit in a large bowl and pour the cold syrup all over the top.  Toss gently to coat.  Garnish with mint leaves and serve.

 

Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing

This might be my new favorite summer dressing!  It's tangy and so very fresh...makes my heart happy.  I think it might even be good as a marinade...but I'll check into that on another day.  Use this to dress the Southwestern Chopped Salad.  Ahhh-mazing!  Now, I will say that I like bolder, stronger flavors so if you think some of this might be too much for you, just cut back a little bit on the lime juice and zest and pepper.

1 cup loosely packed cilantro, roughly chopped

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

The zest and juice of 1 lime

1-2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 jalapeno with half of the ribs and seeds removed, roughly chopped

1 1/2 tsp. white vinegar

1/4-1/2 tsp. salt

1/4-1/2 cup olive oil

Add all ingredients, except olive oil, to a blender or food processor.  Process until all of the ingredients are finely chopped.  While the processor is on, stream in 1/4-1/2 cup of olive oil.  Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking.  Transfer to an air tight container and chill until ready to use.  Makes approximately 3/4 cup of dressing.

Ranch Dressing

I've been searching for a good homemade ranch dressing recipe for a long, long time.  This is the closest I've come up with and I was shocked at the simplicity.  I've been making it this way for years and haven't been totally happy with it...but just a few tweaks was all it needed.

1 cup milk

1 cup mayo (I want to try with Greek Yogurt too)

1 packet of dry ranch dressing mix

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

fresh cracked pepper

*Variations:
1.) Add pureed avocado to make Avocado Ranch Dressing. 
2.) Add freshly chopped cilantro to make Cilantro Ranch Dressing.

Whisk all ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl until it has a smooth, creamy texture.  Cover the bowl with saran wrap and place it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.  Before dressing your salad, taste to make sure you like the seasonings.  Add more of the salt and peppers if desired.

Watergate Salad

Ohhhh...watergate salad.  This is such a weird combo of ingredients, but I promise...it works!  You gotta try it!  I normally double this recipe because it doesn't last very long in my house.

1 cup mini marshmallows

1 (3.4oz.) instant pistachio pudding mix

1 (20oz.) can crushed pineapple (DO NOT drain!)

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1 1/2 cups cool whip, thawed

Combine all ingredients, except for cool whip, and blend well.  Gently fold in cool whip until completely incorporated.  Refrigerate 1 hour.  Serve cold.

Poppy Seed Dressing

After you make this Poppy Seed Dressing you'll never be able to swallow the store bought stuff again.  This is the perfect compliment to the Strawberry Spinach Salad.

1 cup mayo

4 tsp. red wine vinegar

2/3 cup sugar (or splenda)

1/2 cup milk

4 tsp. poppy seeds

Add all ingredients to a small mixing bowl.  Using a whisk, incorporate well.  Store in an air tight container in the fridge until ready to dress salad.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

This is my all time favorite summer salad!  It's sweet from the strawberries, tangy from the feta cheese, and crispy from the romaine and onions.  I like to add a bit of a crunch too by adding slivered almonds.  Take this to your next summer barbeque with a side of Poppy Seed Dressing...you'll be invited back.

1 bag chopped romaine lettuce

1 bag baby spinach

1 pint fresh strawberries, sliced

5 oz. crumbled feta cheese

1/2 cup red onion, thinly sliced
slivered almonds, walnuts, pecans, pine nuts...whatever nut you prefer (optional)

Toss all ingredients together in a festive summer bowl.  Serve with Poppy Seed Dressing.

Grape Salad

This recipe sounds very weird for someone who's never had it, but hang in there.  It's sweet and crunchy and a crowd favorite!

4 lbs. seedless grapes (I prefer all purple grapes because they're sweeter, but if you like green ones, go for it or add half purple and half green.)
1 (8oz.) package cream cheese
1 (8oz.) container sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
4 oz. chopped pecans
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Wash and dry grapes.  In a large bowl mix cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, and vanilla.  Add grapes and mix until evenly incorporated.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.  Sprinkle with brown sugar and pecans for a pretty presentation.  Before serving, mix brown sugar and pecans into grapes.