Summertime Loaded Salad

Springtime is here and summer will be approaching fast.  When I consider what I would like to serve our family especially for lunches it is usually not something hot from the oven this time of year.  Instead, we opt for a sandwich or a loaded-up salad. 

For our family there are few things for us that can top a really good salad loaded with lots of variety and meat for the warmer mid-day meal.  I must tell you though that I kind of think that a salad generally is just putting together some of your favorite ingredients on top of an awesome bed of lettuce.  It isn’t anything that necessarily requires a super fancy recipe card, but I will try to tell you one of our favorite go to salads.

Beginnings of a Great Salad

First, our house always has at least these three staples to any salad we choose to build.  A good selection of greens for the bed to begin, tomatoes (from Arkansas and in our house we have all been raised to where in the summer fresh tomatoes are like candy), and a good cheese.

The Centerpiece “Lettuce”

We truly love to have a good lettuce such as Henderson, Buttercrunch, or some type of leaf lettuce to begin the process.  Add in a little bit of spinach and you are really cruising.  Trust me when I say a good variety of color in your plate when starting off with the lettuce makes so much difference in the overall taste and nutrition you will be getting from this meal

My Favorite Part “The Tomato”

Okay so I know I have told you our family is from Arkansas and I grew up in a long line of family members who count the days until tomatoes officially come off the vine fresh in the summer.  For us, tomatoes can be sliced and diced, or particularly in the case of a salad we love the cherry or grape tomatoes. I can remember my grandparents growing gardens full of tomatoes and then in the summer we would just have plates set up in every area of the table loaded with sliced tomatoes to enjoy.  My Papaw and Mamaw were excellent gardeners and used their garden to provide a bounty of food for them and their four children.  Truly those gatherings have provided all of our families with many precious memories to treasure as we have gotten older.

The Third Necessity “The Cheese”

I really cringe at this point because I do not like to stir up controversy, but when it comes to cheese it really doesn’t get any better than cheese that you have grated yourself to go on top of the salad.  Please don’t shoot the messenger, but I learned this years ago when our pastor’s wife was telling me about how they always grated their own cheese instead of buying pre-grated cheese in a bag at the store.  I of course asked why, and she said first it was cheaper, and second, it was creamier and didn’t have the white coating on the outside that you see in the prepackaged stuff.  Well, I gave it a try and have not looked back.  She was so right and now years later we are still grating our own cheese, bagging it up, and keeping it ready for so many uses.  Go ahead give it a try and you will be so glad you did.

The Skinny on Salad Making

Now I don’t believe assembling a salad is rocket science by any stretch of the imagination so I will just tell you some of the ingredients we use for example in one our favorite Loaded Chicken Salads.

As you can see you can play around with this salad so easily.  We put it all together in a bowl and top it off with our homemade Italian Dressing and it is so refreshing and nutritious.

Spring and Summer are Here

It is the time of the year when we can so easily take advantage of the wonderful choices of lettuce and onions coming out of the gardens and load up on as many vegetables as possible to fill up our energy levels. 

Remember when summer is over, and fall arrives if you are like us, we will then be done mostly with our salads and instead craving those warm comfort soups to sustain us during our lunch times.

NOTE:  Replace the chicken with some leftover cold roast beef if you have it and top with some blue cheese dressing for another variation.  Also, you can possibly add some nuts, raisins, craisins, or grapes to your salad and really pile it up high for some great combinations.  The point is get creative and enjoy. 

Leave a comment below and let me know some of your favorite things to include in your salad and even let me know your favorite tomato variety for your family.

And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Matthew 9: 35-38