Some side dishes

Here’s a selection of side dish salad recipes I found while wandering around on MSN.Com.

Marinated Vegetable Salad

Serves 6 to 8 as a side dish

2 medium tomatoes or 4 Roma tomatoes
1 medium green sweet pepper
1 small zucchini or yellow summer squash, thinly sliced (1-1/4 cups)
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
2 tablespoons snipped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic or wine vinegar
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon snipped fresh thyme or basil or 1 teaspoon dried thyme or basil, crushed
1 clove garlic, minced

Cut tomatoes into wedges. Cut sweet pepper into small squares. Combine tomatoes, sweet pepper, zucchini, onion, and parsley; set aside.

For dressing, in a screw-top jar, combine oil, vinegar, water, thyme, and garlic. Cover; shake well. Pour over vegetable mixture. Toss lightly to coat.

Let mixture stand at room temperature 30 to 60 minutes, stirring occasionally. (Or, refrigerate, covered, for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours, stirring once or twice. Let stand at room temperature about 30 minutes before serving.) Serve with a slotted spoon.

Garden and Grain Salad

Serves 6

Dijon Dressing (see recipe below)
2 cups water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup dry lentils, rinsed and drained
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup uncooked basmati rice or long-grain rice
1 medium carrot, chopped (1/2 cup)
1 medium stalk celery, sliced (1/2 cup)
1/4 seedless cucumber, chopped (1/2 cup)
1/2 red sweet pepper, coarsely chopped (1/3 cup)
1/2 yellow or green sweet pepper, coarsely chopped (1/3 cup)
3 large radishes, chopped (1/4 cup)
2 green onions, chopped (1/4 cup)
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (2 oz.) (optional)
Celery leaves (optional)
Prepare the Dijon Dressing as directed and set aside.

For salad, in a medium saucepan, heat the 2 cups water and 1-1/4 teaspoon salt to boiling. Stir in lentils. Return to boiling. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer mixture for about 25 minutes or until lentils are tender, but not soft. Drain well. Spoon the lentils into a large bowl; set them aside to cool.

In a medium saucepan, combine the 1 cup water and the 1/4 teaspoon salt. Heat to boiling. Stir in rice. Return to boiling. Reduce the heat. Cover and simmer the rice mixture over medium-low heat for about 12 minutes or until tender and liquid is absorbed. Let stand 3 minutes; add to lentils in bowl. Cool.

Stir in carrot, celery, cucumber, red and green sweet peppers, radishes, and green onions. Add dressing; toss salad gently to coat. Serve at room temperature. Sprinkle with feta cheese and garnish with celery leaves, if you like. Makes 6 servings.

Dijon Dressing

In a blender container, combine 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 tablespoons Dijon-style mustard, 1 clove garlic, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cover and blend till mixture is smooth.

Minted Wild Rice Salad

Serves 12
1 cup uncooked wild rice, rinsed and drained
1-1/2 cups chopped tomatoes
1 cup chopped yellow, green, or red sweet pepper
1 cup chopped green onions
2/3 cup golden raisins or dried cherries
2/3 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1/2 cup snipped fresh mint
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Cook wild rice according to package directions; drain and cool.

In a large bowl combine cooled rice, tomatoes, sweet pepper, green onions, raisins, pecans, and mint; set aside.

In a small bowl combine olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper; mix well. Pour over wild rice mixture, tossing to coat. Cover and chill for 2 to 8 hours.

To Tote: Transport in an insulated cooler with ice packs.

Sweet Potato Salad

Serves 8 as a side dish

1/2 teaspoon cooking oil
3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
Salt and black pepper
1/4 cup salad oil
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup or maple-flavored syrup
2 tablespoons Dijon-style mustard
1 tablespoon snipped fresh parsley

To roast potatoes: Brush a 15x10x1-inch baking pan with the cooking oil. Arrange the sweet potatoes in a single layer in the pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast potatoes in a 425 degree F oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until tender. Remove pan from oven; let cool on a wire rack.

For dressing: In a bowl, whisk together the salad oil, vinegar, maple syrup, and Dijon-style mustard.

Transfer sweet potatoes to a bowl. Sprinkle with parsley. Pour dressing over all. Toss gently to combine. Serve at room temperature.

Italian Basil, Tomato, and Pasta Salad

Serves 16

1/2 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon-style mustard
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup slivered fresh basil
8 ounces dried pasta (such as rotini, bow ties, shells, cavatelli, or penne)
2 9-ounce packages frozen cut green beans
6 medium tomatoes, cut into thin wedges
1 cup sliced pitted kalamata olives or ripe olives
2 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves
3/4 cup (3 oz.) finely shredded Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons snipped fresh parsley

For dressing: In a small bowl whisk together vinegar, mustard, pepper, and garlic. Gradually whisk in oil. Stir in the slivered basil. Set dressing aside.

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Rinse with cold water; drain again.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan cook frozen beans according to package directions; drain. Rinse with cold water; drain again.

Toss one-third of the dressing with the cooked pasta; place pasta in the bottom of a very large salad bowl. Layer ingredients on top of the pasta in the following order: cooked green beans, tomatoes, and olives. Top with remaining dressing. Sprinkle with the basil leaves, the Parmesan cheese, and parsley. Cover and chill for 4 to 24 hours. To serve, toss lightly to combine.

To Tote: Transport in an insulated cooler with ice packs.

Chicken Experiment

I played around with some chicken today, with OK results.

I found this cranberry mustard at Meijer's yesterday, so I made a sauce / glaze for some chicken by mixing the cranberry mustard with a little orange juice (I'd guess 1/3 cup of the cranberry mustard to 1.4 cup of OJ) and added some Italian seasoning to it (a few generous shakes). This I poured over the chicken and baked for 30 minutes at 350 degrees F.

I forgot to baste, so the glaze didn't cover the chicken as well as I would have liked, but other than that it was relatively tasty. I'll probably play with this a little more later in the week – in my head I see something thicker on the chicken, so I probably need to adjust my proportions a bit. Less OJ perhaps. Possibly different spices as well – the Italian didn't really match up well with the rest of it. Or possibly I need a different liquid to thin the mustard a bit. Soy sauce maybe?

Suggestions are welcome.