Greek Orzo Salad with Mustard-Dill Vinaigrette

Greek Orzo Salad with Mustard Dill Vinaigrette

If you love a Greek or Mediterranean salad like I do, you are going to love this zesty orzo salad. The flavors of the fresh dill and mustard make the perfect vinaigrette and bring the tasty flavors over the top!

Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing with a Farmers Market Salad

Easy Lemon Vinaigrette Salad Dressing.

I can't help but get inspired when I go to the Farmer's Market. How can you resist all the fresh locally grown vegetables. The colorful variety of tomatoes caught my eye on this day and I started to think about a light lemon vinaigrette to compliment the fresh baby lettuces, prime ripe tomatoes, crispy radishes and fresh crunchy cucumbers. 

Crunchy Ramen Noodle Salad

Ramen Noodle Salad

The perfect salad on a hot summer day. If you need a dish to bring to a potluck lunch or dinner, this is it! Great as a side dish or add chicken or shrimp for a main course. It's an old time favorite that people just go crazy over. This is a delicious crunchy salad with a crazy good sweet and tangy dressing. Best of all it's fast and easy and can be assembled ahead of time and tossed with the dressing right before serving.   

Ingredients

• 16oz bag of coleslaw mix
• 2 packages of Ramen noodles, oriental flavor
• 2 onions, diced
• 3/4 cup of sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup of unsalted sunflower seeds or sesame seeds

Dressing

• 1/2 cup oil (canola or vegetable)
• 1/2 cup sugar or Splenda
• 1/4 cup red wine or cider vinegar
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• Season packets from the Ramen noodles

Directions

1. Chop onion and add to coleslaw mix in a large bowl.
2. Put the noodles in a large plastic bag and gently crush them into pieces. You can also use your fingers to crush them too but it's faster in a bag if you use a rolling pin and gently tap the noodles. 
3. Melt butter and saute the following until lightly browned, about 3 minutes: crushed noodles, seeds and almonds.  
4. To make the dressing: dissolve the sugar and vinegar in the microwave for a couple of minutes. Add the oil and soy sauce and mix together. The dressing can be refrigerated at this point. 
5. Toss everything together before serving.    

Cafe Salad with Gorgonzola and Spicy Grilled Shrimp

Cafe salad with mustard vinaigrette topped with Gorgonzola and spicy grilled shrimp.  

Once you make homemade salad dressing, you will never want to have bottled dressing again. It takes all of 2 minutes and it's so worth it. I bet you already have the ingredients on hand like I do. Honestly, it's so easy to make and it tastes so much better. I whisk all the ingredients together in the same bowl that I toss the salad in.  When I make this for a dinner party, I'll make the dressing ahead and place the lettuces on top until I am ready to toss and serve.

Mustard Vinaigrette 

• 1/2 tsp of minced garlic or 1 clove
• 1 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp of Dijon mustard
• Splash of soy sauce (Tamari soy is my favorite)
• salt and pepper

• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and than slowly add olive oil while whisking briskly. Add approximately 4 cups of mixed greens or two large handfuls on top and toss.

Toss salad with:
1/4 cup (or more!) of Gorgonzola cheese, broken into pieces
Purple onion, sliced
Tomato slices
Grilled shrimp with spicy seasoning


Tip: Skip the Gorgonzola crumbles and buy a nice wedge instead, it will make all the difference.

Enjoy!