Cincere Lee's Pasta Salad

I received this recipe from my very good friend, Cincere Lee and it is the BEST pasta salad ever!

Cincere Lee's Pasta Salad

Dressing:
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup vinegar
3 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon parsley

Blend all ingredients in blender or food processor (you can make this ahead and refrigerate, if desired).

Cook 1 pound of pasta (I use bow tie) according to directions on box. Drain. Add pasta to a bowl and add some of the dressing, toss. It is best if the pasta is marinated and cooled in the fridge for a few hours before serving.

Salad:

bunch of spinach leaves, chopped
head of ice berg lettuce, chopped
Head of green leaf lettuce, chopped
3 tomatoes
1 bunch green onions, diced
1 cup feta cheese
1 cucumber, thinly sliced
1 cup craisins
1 cup nuts (I used chopped almonds)

Toss together with remaining dressing (use as much or as little of the dressing as you prefer) and marinated pasta. Serve immediately. (You can add cooked, cubed chicken to make it heartier.)

Judy's Chinese Chicken Salad

This is my favorite Chinese Chicken Salad recipe. I got it from my mother-in-law.

Chinese Chicken Salad

Dressing (I usually double or triple this)

4 tbsp. rice vinegar
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
4 tbsp. sugar
1/2 cup oil (I usually do a combo of canola and sesame oil)

Heat all, except oil, in a saucepan over low to medium heat until dissolved. Let cool. Add in oil.

Salad

chicken breasts (cooked, cooled and diced--about half a breast per person)
half a head of iceberg lettuce
one green leaf lettuce
half a head of green cabbage (sliced thin)
2 green onions (sliced thin)
about 1 cup coarsely chopped nuts (I used pecans and almonds), lightly toasted
1/4 cup sesame seeds, lightly toatsted

Toss all together in a large bowl.

Something Crunchy

My mother-in-law uses a can of fried wonton noodles that you can find in the Asian section of your local grocery store. I like to take fresh wonton wrappers (usually in the produce section), slice them thin and fry in oil for a couple of minutes (drain on paper towels). I have also used broken corn tortilla chips in the past.

You can toss the fried wonton noodles into the salad at this point and add the dressing and toss together. Or you can leave the fried wontons and dressing separate and let everyone add their own. This also helps with leftovers, as adding the dressing will make the leftover salad and wontons limp and unappetizing.

Serve with rolls or good bread. (Photo to follow.)

Potato Salad

This is the very best potato salad in the world. I am not kidding. I always get compliments when I make it.

Judy's Potato Salad

5 lbs red potatoes, cooked and diced
1 dozen hardboiled eggs, diced
1 lb bacon, cooked and diced
2 stalks celery thinly sliced (I omit these.)

Mix well. Add salt, pepper and celery seed (do NOT use celery salt) to taste. Add in enough Best Foods Mayo to coat salad (about a quart). Chill for a few hours (overnight is best).

Apple-Spinach Salad

Apple-Spinach Salad

1 (6-ounce) package fresh baby spinach
2 small Granny Smith apples, chopped
1/2 cup cashews
1/4 cup craisins
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Combine first 4 ingredients in a large salad bowl.

Whisk together sugar and next 4 ingredients until blended. Serve dressing with salad.

Note: You can chill dressing up to 1 day; whisk well before serving.