Greek Salad

I decided to try this recipe for lunch today.  But I was kind of lazy about it all, here's what I did:

1 large English cucumber, diced
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
4 oz feta cheese, crumbled
juice from one lemon
1 clove garlic, minced
a "glurg" of olive oil
a couple "shakes" of dried oregano, dried thyme and dried dulse

Stir it all together. I'm sure it would be better if we'd let it chill and the flavor meld for awhile, but we were hungry, the big girls & I scarfed down the whole thing. Yum!!

Mediterranean (I think) Flatbread Sandwiches (or salad)

This was a total dump recipe, and the girls liked it, so I figured I'd better write down the "recipe" such as it is. It's a great, quick lunch:

I had some flatbread (think pita bread w/o the "pocket")  I needed to use and was in a hurry. I threw together the following:

feta cheese (I THINK it was roughly 4oz, I think I'd used "half" of an 8oz package and this is what was left)
1 can chick peas, drained
1/2 a can sliced water chestnuts
some chopped tomatoes
Some fresh spinach (sliced into strips)
Dried herbs (I don't remember which ones)
salt
lemon juice & olive oil

Stirred it all together, put some in a bowl for Little Bit to eat as a salad. The rest of us put some in whole wheat flatbread and ate it like a sandwich, YUM!!

Ramen Noodle Salad

One of my mom's friends gave me this recipe.

Salad:
1 sm head of cabbage, shredded
1 c celery (finely chopped)
1 bunch, including tops, of green onion (I used chives instead)
1 c toasted, slivered almonds
1 T sesame seeds, toasted lightly
1 bag ramen noodles, crushed, not cooked

Dressing:
5 T fresh lemon juice
3 T sugar
1/2 c grapeseed oil (I didn't have enough, so I used I mix of grapeseed and olive oil)
2 t Braggs Liquid Aminos (like soy sauce)

Mix the dressing the night before, put in jar and refrigerate.

When ready to serve, put dressing on vegetables. Add noodles, almonds and sesame seeds. Mix well.

Next time I think I'll use a little less oil and less sugar, but overall this was really good! Kids both ate it and asked for more!

Greek Macaroni Salad

From the Taste of Home website:

• 1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni
• 4 medium plum tomatoes, chopped
• 1 can (15 ounces) garbanzo beans or chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 can (6 ounces) pitted ripe olives
• 1 package (4 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup lemon juice

Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain and rinse in cold water. In a large bowl, combine the macaroni, tomatoes, beans, onion, olives, feta cheese, salt, pepper and garlic.
In a small bowl, whisk oil and lemon juice. Pour over salad and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate until chilled. Stir before serving. Yield: 8 servings.

This was YUMMY! And easy!! We ALL liked it, woo-hoo!

Ranch Pasta Salad

I'm not sure where I got this recipe. May have been from the "Menus for Moms" e-mails I get weekly. I don't use them to "plan" my menus per se, but I do find a few good recipes mixed in & save them for when I want to try something new.

ETA: We had this today. I had some multi-color spiral pasta so used that along w/ some ww penne. Used a little bit of chopped vidalia onion instead of the green onion, and one med sized cucumber instead of the celery (it's what I had). We all liked it enough to go back for seconds (though dh picked out the peas (if I'd known he'd be home I'd have saved some out before stirring in the peas), so I think it will be a nice summer addition to our menu.

• 1 lb. whole wheat pasta shells
• 2 handfuls baby carrots, chopped
• 1/2 bunch green onions, chopped (will probably skip this, if I had chives, I might add a few of them)
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 1/2 package frozen baby peas, thawed
• 1 cup real mayonnaise, more if it seems dry
• 1 package ranch dressing mix

Mix all ingredients. Chill for 1 hour or more.

Tomato, Basil, Mozzarella Salad

I don't really have a "recipe" for this, it's more of just a "dump" thing, but figured I'd write it down anyway :)

Mozzarella cheese, cubed ("fresh" mozarella is best but the normal grocery store variety will work if you're on a budget)
tomatoes, chopped into biggish chunks (think similar size to the cheese cubes)
Fresh basil, cut into strips
Mix all together, pour a little olive oil and some salt, stir it gently together. Chill.

Taco Salad

This is one of my mom's recipes that I've loved since I was a kid.

Dressing: 1 1/4 c burger, browned
Add: 3 T mayo
3/4 c sour cream
Taco sauce to taste (3-4 T)
Mix well; refrigerate several hours or overnight.

Salad:
1 med head lettuce, torn in small pieces
2 med tomatoes, cut in small chunks
1 15oz can kidney beans, drained
1/2 to 1 c black olives, sliced
Just before serving, add dressing and 8- 12 oz bag corn chips (fritos type), slightly crushed. Mix gently. Serves 10-12

Tabouli

I love this (don't remember where I got it), though I didn't make it as much this past summer because my kids decided they didn't like it, and I tend to be lazy about making things that only I will eat.

1 c bulgar wheat
1 c boiling water
1 sm onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced (opt)
1 cucumber, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 c fresh chopped mint
2 c fresh chopped parsley

Dressing:
1/4 c lemon juice
1/3 c olive oil
1/2 tsp salt

Pour boiling water over bulgar wheat, let sit 1/2 hr. combine all ingredients. Mix dressing & pour over tabouli, mix together, chill.

Note: all the measurements in this (except the bulgar/boiling water ratio) are very approximate, just use however much of each ingredient you have/looks good :)