Waldorf Salad: My way

3 apples diced (leave peel on)

I like to use 1 red delicious, 2 golden delicious
but any combination will work.
1/2 cup chopped pecans
(traditional Waldorf would use walnuts)
1 large celery stalk, diced
2 T raisins,
2 T crasins,
2 T golden raisins,
Toss these ingredients.

In a small bowl mix dressing.
Dressing:
1/2 cup mayo
1 tsp. lemon juice
2 Tablespoons of honey

Mix and pour over salad just before serving.
Sprinkle granola over top of salad.

Most Waldorf salads want you to peel your apples, but it is much healthier and easier to leave them on. This is a really delicious salad. Sprinkling some granola over the top, gives it just a bit more crunch, and makes it looks a bit nicer. A Waldorf is a terrific tasting salad any time of year, but during Thanksgiving when apples are on, it can be a tasty addition to your table.  You can also sprinkle pomegranate seeds over the top, for more of a holiday feel.

Michele's honey-mustard and poppyseed dressing

Honey mustard dressing
1/3 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup honey mustard
1 tsp. poppy seeds
3/4 tsp. salt
Fresh ground pepper

Prepare a green salad:
Torn Romaine lettuce
Green pepper
tomatoes
cucumbers
carrots
celery
handful of frozen peas
1-2 chopped, boiled egg
sprinkling of crasins
sprinkling of sunflower seeds
Fresh ground pepper

Pour and toss dressing with salad just before serving.
Serves 8-10

It took me quite a while to realize that this recipe doesn't have honey in it! But, if you use honey mustard you can count it right? This is dressing that anyone can make and it has just enough kick. It is a lot of mustard but you will love it.

Grapefruit and Avocado Salad

Torn Romaine lettuce
Sunflower seeds
Craisins
Grapefruit pieces
1 ripe avocado, peeled and sliced

Dressing:
1 tsp. olive oil
1 Tablespoon lime juice
Juice of one grapefruit

Toss salad with dressing just before serving.
 Add sunflower seeds, craisins, grapefruit and avocado.

This is such a healthy, tasty salad.  Getting a green salad with fruits and veggies in the winter is a treat and this one fits the bill.  The point is to make a vinaigrette with your grapefruit juice.  Too much olive oil ruins it, so stick to one teaspoon. Don't forget salt and pepper for your avocado.

This is a great salad to make on individual salad plates and get just the amount you need. Colorful and flavorful, your body will crave this salad.
This dressing is to be lightly drizzled, just enought to wet the lettuce leaves. This dressing is too strong to toss or drench the salad. A light touch is necessary.

Apple and Beet Salad

1 1/2 cups cooked beets*
1 large golden delicious apple
1 stalk of celery
1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
craisins (a handful)
1/2 cup seedless grapes (green or red), chopped in half

Dressing:
1 cup blackberry or raspberry jam
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. Balsamic vinegar
drizzle of olive oil
Stir in a small bowl, with a fork until mixed.

I know this seems so strange, a salad with beets in it? Is it a fruit salad? Well, I think of it as a red Waldorf salad. I think it works for some strange reason. If you don't love beets, don't bother with this one.
Homemade jam will be a lot softer than store bought, so you may need more olive oil, if you are using store bought jam. Why sugar? Jam has lots of sugar but I found the sugar helped take away a bit of that strong beet flavor that is wonderful but can be a bit overpowering in this dish. Try it and tell me if you have any ideas that would add to this one.
* My Mom has had me throwing my trimmed beets in, dirt and all, to the crockpot and cooking for several hours. It looks bad, but when they are cooked, you pull them out and slip the skins and they look gorgeous! It is a lot less messy, I think, than boiling and yes, you do have to clean your crockpot, but that's easy. Try it, it works.

The picture shows some big beet pieces.  Cut them smaller for your salad,  diced would be best.

Nectarine and Spinach salad

Spinach
Nectarines
Pecans, chopped
Craisins




Dressing:
1/2 cup homemade apricot jam
1-2 tsp. balsamic vinegar



Mix dressing. If you need to thin this you can add water. You could add oil also, but I do water for less calories. Sometimes a thicker jam takes a splash of water to make it pourable.

Toss dressing with spinach. Add nectarines, pecans, craisins.

This salad is just so easy to pull off. It tastes fantastic and is a great way to get your nuts, fruits and veggies all in one serving. Your dressing should look like a rusty orange color. Try this, you will impress.
I forgot to add craisins to the picture! Make sure you add them.
This is what the jam looks like with the balsamic vinegar. Once it is mixed it looks like this picture on the bottom. It's almost a glaze. It should be drizzled onto the salad, not tossed.

Mexican Caesar Salad

Romaine lettuce
Shredded pepper jack cheese (a sprinkling)
Roasted pumpkin seeds
Salted sunflower seeds
Croutons, pretzels, or crushed tortilla chips.
(I prefer something with kick; we've used Doritos sweet and spicy or buffalo wing flavored pretzels, whatever your heat preference is.)

Mexican Caesar Dressing

4 oz. canned green chilies
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
1/8 cup red wine vinegar
2 bunches cilantro
a few good pepper grinds
1/4 cup oil
1/3 cup mayo
spoonful of sour cream
a dash of cayenne pepper.

Mix greens, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds. Toss with dressing just before serving. Sprinkle with croutons, crushed Doritos, and pepperjack cheese over top.

Instead of croutons try Snyder's Hot Buffalo Wing Pretzels, crushed, Fresh Gourmet Tortilla Strips, Santa Fe Style, or Doritos Spicy Sweet Chili Flavored Tortilla chips, crushed.

This is a recipe I have modified from the internet (dubstogsdill). It is an excellent recipe. It makes five cups which was too much for our family. I tried to reduce the fat. Also took out a few ingredients and added my own. This will make enough for two or three salads. We have also used this on a steak salad and it was great as well.
I've been unhappy with this lately, I think I may have taken out too much of the fat.  Putting  a dollop of sour cream has helped quite a bit.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Fresh spinach leaves
Sliced and washed strawberries
sliced almonds
craisins
granola

Dressing:
1/2 cup to 1 cup homemade strawberry jam
1 tsp. Balsamic vinegar
You can thicken this by refrigeration, or you can thin it by adding water. Pour over salad just before serving.

I tried earlier to make a vinaigrette, it can take up to two days! The beauty of this recipe is you can use your own jam to make something even better in just a few seconds. This has been a hit whenever I've served it. People have said it is so sweet, it's like eating candy. Your dressing should look like a rusty color. Not too brown, not too red.

If you are making a small salad for two, just a few spoonfuls of jam with a splash of balsamic vinegar will work very well.

You sprinkle the granola on top of your salad just before serving.

I'm sure any granola would work but if you want my homemade, here it is:

Honey Granola with Fruits, Seeds and Nuts
1 cup honey
1/3 cup canola oil
1/8 tsp. salt
4 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
2 tsp. sesame seeds
1 cup crasins
1 cup golden raisins

300 degrees. Spray cookie sheets with Pam.
Combine honey oil and salt in small saucepan. Stir over med. heat until well blended. 2 minutes

Mix oats, pumpkin seeds, almonds, sunflower seeds, and sesame seeds in large bowl. Stir honey mixture and drizzle over oat mixture while stirring. Continue stirring until oats are coated.

Spread mixture onto baking sheets and cook 15 minutes. Stirring and toatating pan until golden brown. Watch closely to avoid burning. (It usually takes me around three sets of 15 min.)

Cool and stir in crasins and raisins.
This part of the recipe came from Prevention magazine.