Take Out at Home: Sesame Chicken Salad

So.
If it hasn't been established already, I love quick dinners.  I mean, I like recipes with different techniques that use all of my kitchen utensils, but on a regular basis I'm a quick and dirty kind of girl.  Mise en place just makes sense because while the prep may take a while, when you're finally cooking everything is at your fingertips and ready to go.
You would think as a result that I would embrace Rachael Ray of the early days with her 30 minute meals.  While I watched 30 Minute Meals from time to time when it was on, I found her voice grating, and as time went on her cutesy words annoying.
I somehow acquired a copy of her 30 Minute Meals 2 in my travels.  I'm pretty sure I didn't buy it, and it's not something I would have asked for as a gift, so I'm just not sure.  I've flipped through it from time to time, but really the only things I make from it are the Italian Wedding Soup, Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches and Twice Baked Potatoes - all of which are really good.
I decided last week that I should really use some of the cookbooks that are lurking in my cupboard more and so had a flip through 30 Minute Meals 2 again.  I'm glad I did.  I found this.
I present to you now Rachael Ray's Sesame Chicken Salad:

Secret Recipe Club: Chicken Fried Chicken Salad with Semi-Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing

So.
It's time for another episode of the Secret Recipe Club!  When last we left our heroine, she was in a carb coma from amazing scones in May.  Will she solider on?  Or will she fall asleep?
Thankfully, I didn't fall asleep.  Otherwise, I would have missed out on the deliciousness that was this month's assignment!  My monthly email sent me to Sid's Sea Palm Cooking.
Sid is a Dane who loves things spicy.  I spent a long time poking around to find something that looked delicious and that we would enjoy around here.  There were cookies, and Danish specialties which all sounded delicious.  I finally settled on 2 recipes that sounded lovely.  The second is my kick-off post for #HotSummerEats, so you'll have to come back after 9AM EST to see that sweet treat, but I found this yummy looking salad that I wanted to make.
I love fried chicken.  J likes his chicken boneless.  This was the best of both worlds, plus I hadn't tried frying like this before.  I don't recommend it regularly.  There's a smell that hangs around afterwards - even if you use your hood.  Also, there's the whole pesky calorie thing.  But that's why we put it on top of vegetables.  Right?
I present to you now Sid's Sea Palm Cooking's Chicken Fried Chicken Salad with Semi-Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing:

Bride of Magazine Challenge: Pasta Salad with Broccoli and Peanuts

So.
I love being home for the summer.  I'm not always as motivated as I should be, but that's beside the point.  The long and the short of it is that I enjoy spending time in the house, cooking and slowly getting done the large number of projects around here that there never seems to be time to complete.
One of the things about being home for the summer is that I need to make lunches as well as dinners. While J believes that there should be meat at every meal, I am always on the lookout for recipes that use less meat or are meatless because I know that our consumption is probably higher than it should be.
When looking back through the issues of Everyday Food, one of the things I found were dinner salads that I had earmarked for making that were meat free.  This salad here is a case in point.  The protein is from the peanut butter and chopped nuts that are sprinkled over the salad.  Serving it warm the first day also makes it seem more of a meal and less of a side dish.
While I can't make this during the school year and take it to work because of allergies, it was a nice lunch for a couple of days this month.
I present to you now from the May 2006 issue of Everyday Food, Pasta Salad with Broccoli and Peanuts:

Bride of Magazine Challenge: Potatoes Vinaigrette

So.
It's no secret that I'm suspicious of cream sauces and dressings.  I'm not a fan of creamy salads or spreads on sandwiches.  Frankly, I prefer things I've made myself so I know exactly what's in them.
Summer salads often run into this problem for me, especially at a BBQ or picnic.  I would prefer to add my own dressing, and I skip the salads for the raw vegetables that I'll often eat without the dip (I'll also eat salad leaves straight out of the serving bowl.  I like plain raw vegetables)
J sometimes talks about his mother's potato salad, and how she'd use mustard and little to no mayonnaise.  I never make potato salad, so when I saw this it reminded me of J's talking about a mustard based potato salad.
It also reminded me of France, where I had a host mother who would take leftover boiled potatoes and cooked haricots verts, and toss them in a dijon vinaigrette for lunch on Sunday.  Frankly, it reminded me most of eating outside on a sunny day in France.  Good times.
I present to you now from the June 2006 issue of Everyday Food, Potatoes Vinaigrette:

Bride of Magazine Challenge: Thai-Style Steak Salad

So.
J and I are both fans of dinner salads.  With the success of some of the salads I've made in the past, I figured this Thai-style salad was worth a shot. 
I don't know if I have a larger pantry than many people (I probably do...), but when I read a recipe like this and start to adjust it in my head, I usually have all of the ingredients for things like the marinade in the house already.  A well stocked pantry with a variety of flavours to play with makes cooking more fun - if I had to go buy the things that make these flavours I'd probably stay away because it's expensive to stock up.  But I would say that by stocking up over time, the upkeep on a good pantry is not that bad.  Things like sesame oil and seasoned rice vinegar for Asian tastes, or cumin and chipotles for Mexican foods aren't used up quickly but add a huge amount of flavour and adventure in the kitchen.  If nothing else, a little adventure in life is a good thing.
I changed things somewhat from the original recipe.  I halved the recipe so that it was only for 2, instead of 4.  I halved the strips of carrot for ease of eating, and marinated the carrots and bean sprouts instead of pouring the reserved dressing over the mixed vegetables.  I also subbed sesame oil for some of the vegetable oil because I love the toasted flavour of sesame oil, especially with spinach as a base instead of romaine lettuce.
But in terms of quick dinner, this salad fits the bill.  Outside of marinating time, I think I put this together in about 30 minutes.  Quick dinners.  That's how we roll around here.
I present to you now from the May 2006 Everyday Food, Thai-style Steak Salad:

Magazine Challenge? Steakhouse Spinach Salad

So.
This started out as a Magazine Challenge recipe that took on a life of its own.  While the bones are the same, I added a couple of things that I think improved the salad.
I like serving dinner salads.  J enjoys a variety of vegetables, and I like the one plate complete meal idea.  I also am more prone to eat more vegetables when they are presented in dinner form like this.  While many of the salads that I find recipes for use different lettuces as a base, I almost always reach for baby spinach.  There's more fiber, more colour, and a sturdier leaf with baby spinach.  It also holds up well to a dressing with lots of flavour.
That's what we're about around here.  Lots of flavour.
This was originally in the December 2005 Everyday Food Cooking for One section as the Chili-Rubbed Steak and Salad.  I present to you now the Steakhouse Spinach Salad:

Magazine Challenge: Chicken, Rice, and Black Bean Salad

So.
I actually made this in the summer.  You know, when tomatoes were lovely looking, vine ripened, and a decent price.  I'm often looking for lunch-type things for J and I to eat.  While I could go with scrambled eggs or soup (even in summer), he's not quite that into the small lunch.  So I look for things that might work for a couple of days and don't involve my having to cook all the time.
Enter this salad.  It looked refreshing and simple, and would last for a couple of days.  I was right.  J and I both enjoyed it as something different for lunch.
From the June 2005 issue of Everyday Food, I present to you now Chicken, Rice and Black Bean Salad:

Grilled Steak and Potato Salad

So.
I love making dinner salads.  You know, the ones where you sit down and you can pretend that you're being healthy as the plate has a base of greens.  Actually, there are a couple of salads in Looneyspoons that are that healthy, I just haven't made them yet; other than the fajita salad, which is excellent.
On my way home from Quebec, I wanted a couple of magazines to zone out with on the bus.  While most people would buy People, or US, or something like that, I opted for Canadian Living and Chatelaine.  Frankly, Chatelaine was a bust.  I didn't find the articles appealing nor the recipes worth it.  The Canadian Living, however, was another story.
My mother has had a subscription to Canadian Living for a long time.  I haven't made a lot of their recipes, but those I have made are usually pretty good.  When I saw this salad, I thought it sounded delicious too.
I was right.  And it was perfect for a warm summer night.  Frankly, it would be good on a cool summer night too.  I present to you now from the June 2013 issue of Canadian Living the Grilled Steak and Potato Salad:

Easy Weeknight Meal: Fajita Salad

So.
My birthday is this week.  It hasn't happened yet, and we're going out to celebrate.  But the celebrations have really already started on the mountain.  We had cake and ice cream and presents with my parents this week.  Well, Mom, J and I had cake.  Homemade pineapple upside down  yum.  Dad had Boost.  Cancer is evil.
We also had presents.  I got a dehumidifier for the basement and this book:

Yeah, I can't spin the picture.  But it's still exciting!  400 pages of new recipes.  I spent Sunday night on the couch reading titles to J of things I want to make.  I'm excited about cooking.  Even if there's no time.
Enter this recipe.  Not a whole lot of time to put together, and with some garlic bread, a wicked filling meal.  I present to you now The Looneyspoons' Collection Eata Fajita Salad:

Dinner with Friends: Jewelled Layered Salad

So.
Keeping with the theme of what I served for dinner when friends came, I present to you this salad.
I originally made this salad to take to family Christmas 2011.  I took home an empty bowl.  I thought it was so pretty in the pictures in the magazine, and you could put it together before going, and combined a whole bunch of things I loved in one bowl.  Other people thought it was tasty too.
As opposed to Christmas with 25 other people, there were only 4 of us eating this Saturday night.  The 6 year olds each ate 1 leaf of spinach.  We had some apples and cranberries left in the bottom of the bowl with some dressing.  I plan to add new spinach and almonds tomorrow to mix and stir.  It will still be good.
I present to you now Kraft's Layered Jewelled Spinach Salad: