Famous Irvine Stake RS Candied Walnut/Pear Salad

2 bags of lettuce/different kinds (one European, one traditional)
craisins
Asian pears
candied walnuts*
feta cheese
(can add chicken if you want to make it more of a meal)

I use Girard's Champagne dressing -- very good

*candied walnuts can be made by adding 1/2 cup sugar to a skillet and heating on medium heat. When sugar starts to get warm and melt, add in 1 cup of walnuts. Stir constantly till all sugar is melted. Be careful as it is easy to burn the sugar. Let sit on wax paper and then add to salad.

Great Chicken Salad

We've been eating a lot of chicken salad lately, and this recipe's really good. I wanted to save it here.

Kneaders Chicken Salad Sandwiches Recipe:

(makes approx. 6-8 sandwiches)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup white vinegar 
salt (to taste)
pepper (to taste)
1-1/4 cup mayonnaise 
1-1/4 cup sour cream
4 stocks celery, chopped
1 bunch green onion, chopped
4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts; cooked and shredded 

Directions:
Mix vinegar, salt, pepper, mayonnaise and sour cream together.  Mix celery, green onion and chicken in separate bowl. Mix all ingredients together. Let set overnight or for a few hours for the best flavor.  Serve on buns or rolls.

Pizza Pasta Salad

Although, of course, we never use the olives!

Ingredients

• 1 bag colored spiral noodles
• ¾ c. pepperoni cut into wedges
• ¾ c. mozzarella cut into small cubes
• ¾ c. fresh tomatoes, diced
• ½ c. olives, sliced
• ¼ c. parmesan cheese (not the powdery kind)
• 1 bottle Bernstein's Restaurant Recipe Italian Dressing

Instructions

• Mix together all ingredients and chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours before serving. We like to put it in a tupperware container with a tight lid and flip it upside down, then right side up a few times while it is chilling to distribute the dressing into the

PW's Greek Salad

Ingredients

• 1 head Romaine Lettuce, Chopped
• 4 whole Ripe Tomatoes, Cut Into Six Wedges Each, Then Each Wedge Cut In Half
• 1 whole (large) Cucumber, Peeled, Cut Into Fourths Lengthwise, And Diced Into Large Chunks
• ½ whole Red Onion, Sliced Very Thin
• 30 whole Pitted Kalamata Olives, Cut In Half Lengthwise
• 6 ounces, weight Crumbled Feta Cheese
• Fresh Parsley, Roughly Chopped
• ¼ cups Olive Oil
• 2 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Sugar (more To Taste)
• 1 clove Garlic, Minced
• 6 whole Kalamata Olives (extra), Chopped Fine
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 1 whole Lemon, For Squeezing

Preparation Instructions

Add chopped lettuce, tomato wedges, cucumber chunks, onion slices, halved Kalamata olives, half the feta, and parsley to a large bowl.
Combine olive oil, vinegar, sugar, garlic, salt, pepper, and chopped olives in a bowl. Whisk together until combined. Taste and adjust seasonings (I almost always add a little sugar.)
Pour dressing over salad ingredients, then add salt and pepper. Toss with tongs or clean hands. Just before serving, top with additional feta and squeeze a little lemon juice over the top.

Caesar Pasta Salad

1 lb pasta, any shape (I like Radiatore) cooked al dente
1 envelope Good Seasons Italian dressing, dry
2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes, halve them if you like
2 large or 6 hearts of Romaine lettuce, washed, chopped
4 cups croutons, home made or store bought
2 cups grated Parmesan cheese*
1/2 to 3/4  (32 oz) bottle Cardinis Original Caesar Dressing*, refrigerated before using if possible

Make ahead- if possible, the night before serving:
Place cooked pasta in a bowl.  Sprinkle with dry Good Seasons Italian dressing and about 1/2 cup of the bottled Cardinis dressing.  Refrigerate overnight.
The next day, before serving:
Place the prepared pasta, grape tomatoes, chopped lettuce, croutons and Parmesan cheese in a large bowl.  Toss with about 1/2 of the bottle of dressing.  Let sit for a few minutes, add additional dressing to taste just before serving.

Corn and Black Bean Salad

Sauteed Corn and Black Bean Salad

Saute the kernels from three ears of corn in 2 T of butter until browned slightly

Combine with:

one can of black beans, drained and rinsed

one avocado, sliced

half of a bunch of green onions, chopped

juice from a lime or two

one bunch of cilantro, chopped

Serve chilled

pizza pasta

This is just a small variation on the standard (and most amazing) pasta salad that you get at any and every church potluck. It's got pepperoni and cheese sprinkled in it, but we also added a cucumber and broccoli to it, which makes it less pizza-like but more healthy. Once again, I just wanted to put it up here so that I wouldn't forget what it was, because we really really liked it!

1 bag colored spiral noodles
¾ c. pepperoni cut into wedges
¾ c. mozzarella cut into small cubes
¾ c. fresh tomatoes, diced
¼ c. parmesan cheese
1 bottle Bernstein's Restaurant Recipe Italian Dressing

Mix together all ingredients and chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours before serving.

Avocado Basil Tomato Pasta

Another good recipe from a friend, Brenley Burton. The kids could not get enough of this when I made it--I made it into a meal by adding shrimp, but you could also add chicken. We made it with fresh tomatoes from our yard and it was to die for!

8 oz. uncooked angel hair pasta
2 T. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/2 to 3/4 large avocado, peeled and cut into small cubes
4 medium tomatoes, cut into small cubes
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

1. cook and drain pasta as directed on package.
2. while pasta is cooking, heat oil in 3 qt. saucepan over medium heat. Cook garlic in oil about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until garlic is tender but not brown; remove from heat.
3. Stir basil, avocado and tomatoes into garlic in saucepan. Toss vegetable mixture and pasta.

(Can also add toasted pine nuts and sprinkle with Parmesan).

chicken caesar salad recipe

okay, this is just a regular salad, so i'm not actually going to give you the recipe--you know what to do. but we marinaded the chicken in mesquite-lime marinade and then sauteed it (we wanted to grill it, but no go), and then just used spinach, a tomato, croutons, parmesan cheese, and creamy caesar dressing (not low-fat! come on!) and it was the BEST. that marinade was AWESOME. i am totally obsessed with lime stuff and tomatoes currently, so this was excellent. this was our whole dinner and we felt totally healthy afterwards, even though the non-fat salad dressing DOES have 170 calories per each 2-tablespoon serving. but think about all the vegetables you're eating.