By Janet Groene, F47166
September 2016
Salads are the essential make-ahead meals for motorhome travel. A salad can be a main dish, a side dish, or a dessert. Most salads can stretch to feed a crowd just by adding more of this and that. Whether you’re preparing a meal for vegans, vegetarians, people who are diabetic or who follow a raw diet, there’s a suitable salad recipe. Salads can be high or low carb, sweet or savory.
These recipes take shortcuts for motorhome travel but do not detour from eye appeal, taste, and a touch of class.
Amsterdam Apple Salad
1 bunch curly endive, cut up
1 yellow apple, diced
1 red apple, diced
1 green apple, diced
1 small sweet onion, thinly sliced
½ cup raisins
1 ½ cups diced Dutch cheese such as smoked Gouda or Leerdammer
Spicy mustard (such as Gulden’s)
½ cup vinaigrette salad dressing (or to taste)
½ cup sunflower seeds
Mix the endive, apples, onion, raisins, and cheese. Just before serving, squirt a dainty drizzle of spicy mustard over the salad, add dressing, and toss well. Sprinkle with sunflower seeds. Makes six servings.
California Grape Salad
1 8-ounce brick of cream cheese
1 cup sour cream (8-ounce container)
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon sherry, rum, or brandy extract
6 cups seedless grapes, washed and thoroughly dried
¼ cup turbinado sugar such as Sugar In The Raw
Let the cream cheese soften in a bowl, and then mix in the sour cream, sugar, and flavoring. Fold in the grapes and chill. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar and serve as a salad or dessert. Makes eight to 10 servings.
Belgian Salad
1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon dill weed
1 cup creamy Italian dressing
Trim the sprouts, cut them in half, and cook them in salted water. Drain well. Toss them with lemon juice and allow them to cool. Stir in the onion, dill weed, and dressing, and then chill overnight or for at least three hours. Makes six servings.
Canadian Caramel Apple Salad
3 large apples, cored and diced
1 package instant butterscotch pudding mix, regular or sugar-free
1 8-ounce carton whipped topping, thawed
1 small can pineapple tidbits with juice
Toss the diced apples with the dry pudding mix until well coated. Fold in the whipped topping and pineapple tidbits. Chill. Makes six dessert portions.
Colombian Citrus Salad
2 cups drained mandarin oranges or sections from a peeled, fresh orange
½ cup pomegranate seeds
1 small sweet onion, cut in crescents
4 cups buttercrunch lettuce, torn up and chilled
1/3 cup bottled citrus vinaigrette (more or less to taste)
1 cup dry-roasted peanuts
Combine the oranges, pomegranate seeds, and onion; chill. Just before serving, toss the mixture with the lettuce and citrus vinaigrette and sprinkle with peanuts. Makes four servings.
Cornhusker Cabbage Salad
1 14- to 16-ounce bag of shredded cabbage
1 small onion, finely chopped
¼ cup sugar
1 12-ounce can whole-kernel corn with red and green peppers, drained
1 small can sliced black olives, well drained, OR 1/3 cup chopped, stuffed green olives
Dijon-style mustard
Ranch dressing
Put the cabbage and onion in a bowl and sprinkle with the sugar. Chill or set aside. Just before serving, add the corn and olives. Drizzle with a little mustard, then toss with ranch dressing to taste. Makes four to six servings.
English Pea Salad
1 10-ounce box of frozen peas, thawed
½ cup grated carrots
½ cup sliced celery
½ cup sliced scallions
1/3 cup real bacon bits
1 cup ranch dressing (more or less to taste)
1 cup whole, salted cashews
Gently mix the vegetables, bacon bits, and dressing, and then chill. Stir and serve topped with cashews, alone or on a bed of lettuce. Makes four to five servings.
Hawaiian Carrot Salad
1 10-ounce can mandarin oranges, drained
1 small can pineapple tidbits, drained
½ cup golden raisins
2 cups matchstick carrots
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup lemon-flavored yogurt
Drain the oranges and pineapple into a microware cup and heat to steaming. Add the raisins and let them soak 15 minutes or more. Drain well. Combine the fruit and the remaining ingredients and serve at once or chill. Makes six to eight servings.
Michigan Fruit Salad
1 can sour cherries with juice
½ cup sugar
¼ cup cherry liqueur or schnapps
4 to 5 cups cut-up mixed fresh fruit
10 fresh wintergreen mint leaves, snipped into strips
Bring the cherries, juice, and sugar to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Turn off the heat and allow to cool. Stir in the liqueur. Fold the cherries into the fruit with the mint and chill. Serve in bowls as a dessert. Makes six servings.
Cook’s note: If you prefer the alcohol to evaporate, cook the liqueur with the cherries.
Ohio Backyard Broccoli Slaw Salad
3 cups packaged broccoli slaw
1 cup matchstick carrots
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup salad oil
½ cup whole-berry cranberry sauce
1 teaspoon dried orange peel zest (such as Spice Islands brand)
Lightly toss the broccoli and carrots. Mix the vinegar, oil, cranberry sauce, and zest and then toss with the vegetables. Chill. Stir before serving. Makes four to six servings.
Sonora Avocado Salad
4 cups mixed greens, torn into bite-size pieces
Whole, toasted pecans to taste
1 can of sliced beets, well drained
1/3 cup drained and chopped pickled beets
2 ripe, firm avocados, sliced
Citrus vinaigrette
Make a bed of mixed greens on four plates and scatter with toasted pecans. Arrange the sliced beets on the greens and sprinkle with the chopped beets. Arrange the sliced avocados and drizzle with vinaigrette. Serve at once. Makes four servings.
Shanghai Spinach Salad
1 12-ounce bag of baby spinach
1 8-ounce can sliced water chestnuts, drained and rinsed
1 8-ounce can sliced water chestnuts, drained and rinsed
1 cup fresh bean sprouts
1 bunch scallions, sliced (white and light green parts only)
Dressing:
1 cup canola oil
½ cup ketchup
½ cup sugar
½ cup rice vinegar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt, pepper to taste
1 cup crisp Chinese noodles
4 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
Put the spinach, water chestnuts, bean sprouts, and scallions in a bowl and chill. Whisk the dressing ingredients and chill. To serve, toss the spinach mixture with the crisp noodles and some of the chopped eggs. Then toss with the dressing to taste. (Save the leftover dressing for another time.) Garnish with the remaining chopped eggs. Serve at once. Makes six servings.
Wisconsin Blues Salad
2 hearts of romaine lettuce
½ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon oregano
1 cup crumbled Wisconsin cheese such as Buttermilk Blue or Wausau Gorgonzola
Spicy mixed nuts to taste
Set the grill on high heat. Cut the romaine in half, lengthwise. Whisk the oil, vinegar, sugar, and seasonings and brush generously on the cut sides of the lettuce. Grill the lettuce, cut side down, just until golden brown. Place the lettuce on plates, cut side up. Sprinkle with the cheese and nuts. Makes four servings.
Pantry Salad Stretchers
- Canned foods that go well with salad greens include French-cut green beans, bean sprouts, baby corn, and mixed Chinese vegetables. Drain and rinse them to remove excess salt.
- Water chestnuts are one of the few foods that survive canning without losing their crunch. Use them as a celery substitute.
- Create your own three-, four-, and even 10-bean salads.
- Drain canned fruit, saving the juice for another use. Splash the fruit with a little fresh lemon juice and toss with nuts, seeds, and bits of dried fruit.
- Mash whole-berry cranberry sauce and mix it with Waldorf salad.
- Make tuna or chicken salad from canned goods, and then serve it in Boston lettuce wraps or endive “boats.”
- Mix fruit-flavored dry gelatin dessert mix into cottage cheese to taste. Serve it in scoops on beds of shredded lettuce.
- Cut up well-drained canned beets and mix with diced apples, sour cream, and a little cinnamon sugar.
- Make panzanella (Italian salad with bread cubes) with cornbread cubes.
- Cook a package of cheese tortellini, chill it, and fold it into mixed greens. Add Italian dressing to taste.