Favorite Summer Salad Recipes

Warm weather brings thoughts of cool food and recipes that don’t require a lot of indoor cooking. Who wants to tend a long, slow cooked meal when the sun is out and the warm weather beckons?

Here are three warm weather salads that have become some of my favorite summer salad recipes.

None of them require you to be any where near an oven or hot stove except to boil some water, and all are perfect for even the hottest summer days.

Serve them as side vegetable dishes or as a light lunch with a green salad and crusty bread.

Shrimp and Avocado Salad

This is a lovely salad recipe that is great as a side salad or as a light luncheon recipe. Serve it in lettuce cups for lunch along with some fresh crusty bread and a great dessert. Just perfect!

1 pound frozen cooked shrimp, thawed
1 cup celery, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons Italian salad dressing
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
salt and pepper to taste
1 avocado
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Combine the shrimp, celery, Italian dressing and mayonnaise. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill, covered until ready to serve.

When ready to serve, peel and dice the avocado. Mix immediately with the lemon juice to prevent the avocado from going dark. Add to the shrimp mixture and mix gently.

Serves 6

Cucumber Salad

This recipe is delicious, but oh so easy. It’s a great recipe to serve company at a barbecue because it gets made ahead and sits in the fridge for a few hours until you are ready for it. The ideal summer pleasing recipes are ones that don’t require the host and hostess to be in the kitchen cooking while guests lounge outside.

3 massive cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced
1 1/4 cups red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 head of lettuce, shredded
1 containerful honey
good pinch black pepper
1/2 teaspoon fresh dill, chopped
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Toss all the ingredients thoroughly in a massive salad bowl. Chill for 2 hours before serving.

That’s it!

Lime Jello Cottage Cheese Salad

This is a lovely light salad recipe that is perfect for a summer barbecue but also works well all year on a buffet table. The addition of cottage cheese might sound odd, but it is a great flavor mix with the Jello. The crunch of the celery and green pepper add another layer of flavor and fresh taste.

1 – 3 ounce package lime jelly powder
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup cold water
1 teaspoon vinegar or lemon juice
1/2 cup mayonnaise
salt and pepper
3/4 cup chopped celery
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped

Blend with beater and chill until firm 1″ from edge of dish. Turn it into a bowl and beat it until it becomes light and fluffy. Fold in 1 cup cottage cheese, celery, onion and green pepper. Chill fully before serving.

Don’t forget that most of your favorite summer salad recipes are great all year round too.

Favorite Summer Salad Recipes

Karen Ciancio is a fan of all things cooking related. Her website Cookingnook.com contains recipes, cooking tips, diet and nutrition information. Visit the site for a free copy of our Holiday Gift Guide, with great ideas for everyone on your list.

Restaurant Recipes at Home ? Olive Garden Lasagna

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Easily the most favourite aspect of favourite American chain restaurants like the Olive Garden or P.F. Changs or Applebees is their delicious recipes. With our country’s current economic climate, however, it’s not always doable to take out on a budget multiple times a month. This is why restaurant recipes at home stylized cookbooks have surfaced recently, enabling you to mimic those same great recipes but without the upcharge or having to tip anybody (though the gourmet of the home might still appreciate it). This restaurant recipes at home article is going to explain how you can make Olive Garden’s Lasagna, a delicious and basic but important staple of their menu.

For ingredients, you’ll need:

¼ cup margarine or butter

¼ cup all-purpose flour

½ cup grated Romano cheese

½ teaspoon salt

2 cups milk

1 teaspoon black pepper

¼ cup minced oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes

12 lasagna noodles

1 containerful minced garlic

3 ½ cups ricotta cheese

1 cup fontina cheese

4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

3 eggs

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

marinara/spaghetti sauce as topping

To begin this restaurant recipes at home for Olive Garden’s Lasagna, melt the butter over medium heat in a 1 quart saucepan. Add the flour and stir until it’s mixed and cook until mixture is frothy.

Now add milk while constantly stirring with a wire whisk as mixture simmers. Continue stirring as it thickens in the heat or for about 4 minutes.

Now drain and mince the tomatoes and place them in a 3 quart mixing bowl. Add the salt, pepper, Romano, Parmesan, Ricotta, garlic, and eggs to the bowl. Add 1 ½ cups of the cooled cream sauce to the bowl and mix until well blended.

Place 3 lasagna noodles in a 9″ X 13″ X 2″ lightly oiled baking dish slightly overlapped on one another. Spread 1 ½ cups of the cheese filling over the noodles, then sprinkle one cup mozzarella and ¼ cup fontina cheese over top, as well. Repeat the same process twice more then top with the remaining 3 lasagna noodles.

Spread the last ½ cup of cream sauce over the top and cover with aluminum foil.

Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Remove from the over than keep them warm at least 30 minutes before serving. Complete dish by spreading Parmesan cheese and hot marinara over lasagna. Serves 5.

This concludes this edition of restaurant recipes at home.

Restaurant Recipes at Home ? Olive Garden Lasagna

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For more restaurant recipes at home including a wealth of recipes for other Olive Garden dishes and dozens and dozens of other favourite American restaurants, click on this link for additional restaurant recipes at home.

Olive Garden Chicken Scampi Recipe – Oh, Yeah!

This recipe is going to knock your socks off! It’s the Olive Garden chicken scampi recipe, and you’re going to feel like an absolute culinary superstar when you serve this dish!

The recipe looks pretty lengthy, but it’s actually quite simple. Angel hair pasta, chicken, veggies, and sauce. Not too complicated, right?

So let’s get to it. Here’s your Olive Garden Chicken Scampi Recipe!

Olive Garden Chicken Scampi White Sauce:

(You’ll want to make this first, as it will be used as one of your ingredients later.)

Heat 1 tbsp. butter in a non-stick skillet over medium heat; melt completely.
Add 2 tbsp. flour. Cook 2 minutes on medium. Stir constantly.
Slowly add 3/4 cup 2% or whole milk, stirring constantly, until a “gravy-like” consistency has been achieved.
Heat until just before boiling, stirring. Remove from heat and set aside.

Olive Garden Chicken Scampi Ingredients…

Scampi Sauce:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
2 tbsp. fresh, crushed garlic
2 tbsp. chicken stock
3/4 cup dry white wine (chablis or riesling are best)
1 cup water
1/4 cup white sauce (see recipe above)
1 tsp. crushed red pepper
2 tbsp. Italian seasoning
Black pepper, to taste

The Rest:

1/2 pkg. angel hair pasta, cooked and drained
2 large, boneless & skinless chicken breasts, sliced into desired size tenderloins.
1 thinly sliced green bell pepper
1 thinly sliced yellow bell pepper
1 thinly sliced red bell pepper
1/2 red onion (more, if desired), thinly sliced
Extra virgin olive oil, as needed
10 whole garlic cloves (mmmmmmmm!)

Olive Garden Chicken Scampi Directions…

Scampi Sauce:

In medium saucepan, melt butter over low heat.
Add garlic, Italian seasoning, and crushed red pepper. Saute for 2 minutes.
Add wine, water, and chicken stock. Stir until well combined and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add white sauce and stir until slightly thickened, about 3-5 minutes.

The Rest:

Drizzle olive oil into the bottom of a small sautee pan over low heat.
When oil is warm, add garlic cloves and cover with lid.
Braise garlic for 15-18 minutes on low heat. Garlic should turn out soft and golden.
Drizzle olive oil into the bottom of a massive saute pan over medium heat.
When oil is hot, add chicken tenderloins, turning when 1/4 of the way cooked.
When chicken is about half-way cooked, add bell peppers and onions. Saute for 2-3 minutes.
Add angel hair pasta, sauce, and garlic cloves. Saute until sauce is heated through and chicken is absolutely cooked, about 3 minutes.
Enjoy!

Recipes McGee has you covered! This recipe is part of my Olive Garden Recipes series. For even more great “copycat” restaurant dishes, go to www.SecretRecipeWorld.com now! You’re going to LOVE this!

Article from articlesbase.com

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Cooking Tips and Secrets From The Olive Garden

Fettuccine with Shrimp and Zucchini is easily one of my favorite dishes from the olive gardens recipes that I can cook from home. Not only is it very simple to prepare but it also doesn’t cost very much either.

Fettuccine (which literally means “little ribbons” in Italian) is a long flat noodle. If you want to experiment with the recipe I would advocate starting with the noodle. There are hundreds of different noodles that you can select from that you can try in this recipe. You do need to keep in mind that the fettuccine noodle was designed to go with this recipe. Its texture and size compliment the chunks of marrow and shrimp perfectly. The sauce is also designed to go with the noodle. It is a thinner sauce so it sticks to a larger noodle superior and spreads the taste around the dish.

Fettuccine with Shrimp and Zucchini

Prep Time:

twenty or so minutes

Cook Time:

twenty or so minutes

Ingredients

1 lb fettuccine

1/2 cup organic extra-virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp garlic, chopped

2 Tbsp parsley, chopped

1 zucchini, medium- cut into small cubes

1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 cup dry white wine

3/4 tsp black pepper

3/4 tsp salt

4 Tbsp butter

pinch of parsley

2 lemons, cut into wedges

How to prepare:

1. COOK fettuccine according to package directions.

2. HEAT oil in massive saut pan over medium heat while pasta is cooking. Add chopped garlic and parsley; cook for 1 minute. Add marrow and cook another minute. Add shrimp, wine, salt, pepper and butter. Stir well and cook shrimp for five minutes or until they shall no longer be opaque. Let sauce simmer to thicken slightly.

3. Put drained pasta to mixture and toss to combine all ingredients. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

4. Put pasta onto serving platter.

5. Squeeze two lemons over dish.

One other favourite alternative that you will commonly see is to add summer squash along with the zucchini. I have personally tried this recipe and found that I enjoy it most during the fall. It brings start together perfectly into an astonishing dish.

 

Cooking Tips and Secrets From The Olive Garden

To find more astonishing recipes please visit Olive Gardens Recipes

This is a blog created by master chef sarah beth. She has been cooking tuscan food for over 30 years and is well respected and highly sought after in the industry.

Article from articlesbase.com

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Two Quick and Easy Chicken Recipes Ready in 30 Minutes or Less #3

For busy cooks everywhere, here are a couple of delicious, quick, and simple chicken entrees that are sure to please your family and friends.  Select Swift and Simple Pecan Chicken Breasts or Grilled Lemon Garlic Chicken.  I’ll bet you’ll really want to try both. Both of these recipes need to marinate overnight.  Spend a few minutes before bedtime or while preparing dinner the night before to place the chicken in the marinade and refrigerate.  The next day when you are ready to make dinner, your chicken will cook in only minutes.

QUICK AND EASY PECAN CHICKEN BREASTS

4 (about 1 1/4 lb total) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup creamy Italian dressing
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
1/4 cup butter

Place chicken in a ziptop plastic bag and pour the dressing over the chicken. Marinate in the refrigerator from 1 hour to overnight. Drain and discard marinade.

In a shallow bowl or pie plate, combine the bread crumbs and chopped pecans. Dredge the chicken breasts through the crumb mixture pressing to coat well.

In a massive skillet, over medium heat, melt the butter. Add chicken to skillet and cook 5 to 6 minutes on apiece side or until tender and cooked through.

GRILLED LEMON GARLIC CHICKEN
This chicken marinates overnight. It is in the swift fix recipes category because the marinade preparation only takes minutes and the chicken grills swiftly the next day.

8 skinless boneless chicken breasts
juice of two lemons
zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup canola oil
8 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 tsp thyme
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 tbsp fresh chives, chopped
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Rinse chicken breasts and pat dry. In a massive glass baking dish, combine the lemon juice, lemon zest, canola oil, garlic, thyme, parsley, chives, oregano, salt and pepper; add chicken and cover. Refrigerate overnight.

Remove chicken from refrigerator, drain and discard the marinade. Grill chicken until cooked through. Garnish with parsley sprigs and lemon slices, if desired.

Enjoy!

Two Swift and Simple Chicken Recipes Ready in 30 Minutes or Less #3

For more swift and simple recipes visit my blog at http://grandmasquickfixrecipes.blogspot.com

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Two Quick And Easy Chicken Recipes Ready In 30 Minutes Or Less

It really isn\’t hard to get a swift and healthy meal on the plateau in a matter of minutes. You can feed your family an inexpensive, nutritious meal in about a half hour. Here are a couple of chicken entrees to get you started. Try the Swift and Simple Chicken Parmesan that is plateau ready in a matter of minutes. If you like mushrooms, try the Sauteed Chicken with Mushrooms. Both of these recipes are also perfect for diabetics.

QUICK FIX CHICKEN PARMESAN

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 cans (14.5 oz ea) Italian-style stewed tomatoes
2 tbsps cornstarch
1/2 tsp basil
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp hot pepper sauce, optional
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place chicken in an oblong baking dish. Bake, covered, for 15 minutes at 425 degrees; drain. In a 2-qt saucepan, combine the tomatoes, cornstarch, basil, oregano and the pepper sauce, if using. Cook the tomato mixture, stirring constantly, until thickened. Pour the hot sauce over the chicken and sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the top. Return chicken to oven the bake, uncovered, for 5 more minutes. Garnish with parsley sprigs, if desired.

SAUTEED CHICKEN WITH MUSHROOMS

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1/3 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
3 tbsps butter
1/4 tsp minced garlic
1 cup sliced green onions
8-oz fresh mushrooms, sliced*
3/4 cup chicken broth
1 can (10-oz) cream of mushroom soup

Pound apiece chicken breast to 1/4-inch thickness. Mix flour, salt, and pepper together in a shallow bowl. Coat chicken well with the flour mixture and set in refrigerator while preparing the onions and mushrooms.

Heat the butter over medium-high heat in a massive skillet. Add the garlic, onions, and mushrooms and saute for about 3 minutes. Remove vegetables with a slotted spoon. Get chicken from the refrigerator and add to the skillet. Cook the chicken for about 5 minutes apiece side. Add broth and soup to the skillet. Cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes. Return the mushroom mixture to the skillet and reduce heat to low. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Serve immediately while hot.

*You might alternative 1 cup canned mushrooms that have been drained.

Serve this chicken dish with some hot buttered noodles or rice.

Enjoy!

Two Swift And Simple Chicken Recipes Ready In 30 Minutes Or Less

For more swift and simple recipes visit http://grandmasquickfixrecipes.blogspot.com

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