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I craaaave salads. HA! Bet you didn’t see that one coming! Weird… I know, but there is something about a hug bowl of crisp, fresh veggies, juicy meats, tossed with a scrumptious dressing that makes me drooooool.

After a few recent family road trips, I felt like I was on carb & starch OVERLOAD. In order to get my fresh food fix, I decided to make a different kind of fresh, homemade salad every night for a week. Here’s what we had for dinner, and the recipes for each salad and salad dessing:

Monday: Asian Chicken Salad

Asian Chicken Salad

Salad Ingredients:

• 1 Small Head Green Napa Cabbage, julienned
• 2 Chicken Breasts, boiled and shredded
• 1 Bunch Green Onions, chopped
• 2 Packages of Ramen Soup, broken & crumbled into bite size pieces
• 1/4 Cup Slices Almonds
• 2 tbsp Sesame Seeds

Dressing Ingredients:

• 1 Bottle Seasoned Rice Wine Vinegar (Asian food section)
• 1/2 Cup Veggie Oil
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tbsp Pepper
• 1 tbsp Sugar

Toast crumbled ramen soup, sliced almonds, and sesame seeds in the oven on 350 degrees until lightly browned. Toss remaining salad ingredients together and coat with desired amount of dressing (for best results, refrigerate salad for at least 1 hour). Top with a handful of the toasted, crunchy mix.

Tuesday: Crab Louie

Crab Louie Salad

Salad Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb. Fresh Crab Meat, coat with juice of half a lemon
• Romain Lettuce, chopped
• Iceberg Lettuce, chopped
• 3 Hard Boiled Eggs, chopped
• 1 Tomato, diced
• 1 Lemon, cut into wedges
• Green Onion, chopped for garnish

Dressing Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup Chili Sauce
• 1/2 cup Mayonnaise
• 1 tsp. Onion, minced
• 1 tsp. Green Bell Pepper, minced
• 1/4 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Blend all dressing ingredients in blender. Arrange all salad ingredients on top of a bed of romaine and iceberg lettuce. Drizzle with dressing.

Wednesday: Turkey Fajita Lettuce Boats

Turkey Fajita Lettuce Boats

Salad Ingredients:

• Whole Romain Lettuce Leaves
• 1/2 lb. Ground Turkey
• 1/2 Small Red Onion, diced
• 1/2 Red & Yellow Bell Pepper, diced
• 6 Button Mushrooms, sliced
• 1 Fajita Seasoning Packet
• Favorite Fajita Fixings: sour cream, salsa, avocado, shredded cheese, Cholula

Saute ground turkey until browned. Add red onion, bell peppers, & mushrooms. Season with fajita packet. Add 1/4 cup water, cover and simmer till liquid has absorbed and thickened. Scoop fajita mix into lettuce “boats.” Top with favorite fajita fixings.

Thursday: Chicken Cobb Salad

Chicken Cobb Salad

Salad Ingredients:

• 1 Chicken Breast (grilled, roasted, or sauteed), diced
• Iceberg & Romaine Lettuce, chopped
• 2 Hard-Boiled Eggs, chopped
• 4 Pieces of Bacon, sauteed and crumbled
• 1 Tomato, chopped
• 1 Avocado, diced
• Blue Cheese, crumbled

Dressing Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp Olive Oil
• 2 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
• 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
• 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
• 1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 Clove Garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1/4 tsp Pepper

Blend all dressing ingredients in blender. Arrange all ingredients on top of a bed of romaine and iceberg lettuce. Drizzle with dressing.

Friday: Corn Avocado Salad

Corn Avocado Salad

Salad Ingredients:

• White & Yellow Corn on the Cob, boiled and cut off husk
• 2 Tomatoes, diced
• 2 Avocados, diced
• 1/2 Red Onion, minced
• Mozzarella, diced into cubes

Dressing Ingredients:

• Zest & Juice of 2 lemons & 1 Lime
• 1/3 cup Olive oil
• 1 Clove Garlic, minced
• Handful of Cilantro
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Add zest, juice, olive oil, garlic, salt & pepper to blender. Mix well. Add cilantro to blender and pulse/chop dressing. Combine all salad ingredients and add dressing. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before service so flavors can combine. We actually served this salad alongside Jim’s amazing homemade spare ribs.

Saturday: Grilled Shrimp Cesar Salad

Grilled Shrimp Cesar Salad

Salad Ingredients:

• Romaine Lettuce, chopped
• 20 Uncooked/tail-on shrimp
• Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/4 Loaf Ciabatta, cubed
• Olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder
• Lemon juice
• Favorite store-bought Cesar salad dressing

Decided to focus my attention on homemade croutons vs. homemade Cesar dressing. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly coat ciabatta cubes in olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Roast on a baking sheet in the oven for 20 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy. Remove from oven and set aside. Heat nonstick grill pan on medium/high heat. Lightly toss uncooked shrimp in olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Grill shrimp for 2 minutes on each side, or until pink and juicy. Drizzle with lemon juice. Toss chopped romaine, cooked shrimp, Cesar dressing, and a sprinkling of parmesan cheese. Serve.

Sunday: Shaved Asparagus Pesto Salad

Shaved Asparagus Pesto Salad

Salad Ingredients:

• 1 Bunch of Asparagus, shaved from stalk to tip with a veggie peeler
• 4 Button Mushrooms, quartered
• 2 Tomatoes, chopped
• Handful of Baby Spinach Leaves
• Red Onion, julienned
• Grated Parmesan Cheese

Dressing Ingredients

• 1 Clove Garlic
• 2 tbsp Store Bought Pesto
• Zest & Juice of 1 Lemon
• Pinch of Salt and Pepper
• Pinch of Red Pepper Flakes
• 1/4 cup Olive Oil

Place garlic clove, pesto, lemon zest and juice, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes in blender. Mix well. Slowly add olive oil to mixture and continue blending until combined. Toss all salad ingredients with dressing and chill for 30 min. We served this salad alongside a pan-seared filet of salmon.