Yum, all of these sound really good. I’m going to print this thread out and have salad ideas for a month.
Embrace the artichoke.
Add cubed cooked chicken to this, if you like.
**Southwestern Pasta Salad **
1 package tricolor or mixed shapes pasta (16 oz.)
1 large or two small avocados, cut into bite size pieces
1 red bell pepper, cut into bite size pieces
1 to 2 bunches green onions, sliced
1 small can green chili peppers, drained
1 small can of whole kernel corn (or about half a regular can)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tbsp. lime or lemon juice
2 tbsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
Dash salt
Couple grinds or dashes of pepper
Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, and rinse with cold water until cool. Place in large bowl. Prepare vegetables and add to pasta. Put spices in jar; add oil, vinegar and juice, shake to mix. Pour over salad. Stir well and refrigerate at least two hours.
If you enjoy shrimp, a mexican shrimp cocktail is technically a salad, but to really toss it up, I might incorporate it into a type of Caesar salad. This is a simple and convenient salad I came up with working off the Mexican shrimp cocktail idea…
Ensalada Camarones ala Caesar
Cocktail:
1 bag of frozen, cooked, tiny or salad shrimp (You can usually get these very cheap or on sale at the supermarket)
Juice of 2 limes (reserve a couple of lime wedges for garnish)
1/2 cup of your favorite prepared chipotle salsa
1-2 tbs.of your favorite vinegary hot sauce or to taste
1/2 onion sliced
1 avocado diced
1/2 cucumber peeled, seeded, and diced
3 tablespoons of fresh chopped cilantro (optional)
Salad:
1 head of Romaine Lettuce, large tear or chopped
1/4 cup of your favorite prepared Caesar Dressing
1/4 cup Plain Corn Nuts
Thaw the shrimp per directions. Toss all of the shrimp cocktail ingredients together in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate for about an hour or enough time to let the flavors come together (Overnight is too long.).
Lightly dress the Romaine with the Caesar dressing just before serving. Scoop portions of the Shrimp cocktail over the salad and sprinkle with Corn Nuts, garnish with lime wedges.