In summer, when all the products in the market are fresh, you need to jump at the opportunity and pick up plenty of fruits and vegetables cheaply. Salads are one of the best ways to enjoy their taste. Here are a few simple salad recipes that you can have fun with.
Table of contents:
- Traditional macaroni salad
- Cucumber salad
- Broccoli salad
- Greek orzo salad
- Garbanzo bean salad
- Insalata
- Amish slaw
- Avocado and strawberry salad
- Sweet-and-sour tomato salad
- Tomato and chickpea salad
1. Traditional macaroni salad
Add a little salt to a large pot of water and cook some elbow macaroni in it. When the macaroni is tender after about 10 minutes of cooking, drain the water out and rinse the macaroni in a strainer. Mix mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper, and sugar in a bowl, add diced carrot, green pepper, pimento, and celery, and stir well. Refrigerate overnight and serve chilled.
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2. Cucumber salad
Cut a cucumber and an onion into thin slices. Mix vinegar, sugar and water together in a saucepan and heat to boiling on the stove. Pour this dressing over the cucumber and onion.
Throw in some dill, mix well and refrigerate for an hour. Serve after the vegetables have marinated well in the dressing.
More: 8 Healthy Reasons to Eat Cucumbers
3. Broccoli salad
Chop a head of broccoli into bite-sized bits. Mix with thinly sliced onion and throw in a mix of nuts and raisins.
Cook a slice of bacon in a skillet until it’s evenly browned, and cut up into small pieces. Mix in with the salad. Dress in a mixture of mayonnaise, vinegar and sugar, and chill before serving.
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4. Greek orzo salad
Cook orzo pasta in boiling water for 10 minutes and drain. Open a can of marinated artichoke hearts, drain out the liquid and save.
Throw the artichokes in with the pasta and add chopped tomato, cucumber, feta cheese, parsley, olives, and onion. Season with lemon juice, oregano and lemon pepper. Chill in the refrigerator for an hour, take out and dress in the artichoke liquid marinade.
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5. Garbanzo bean salad
Open a can of garbanzo beans and drain the liquid out. Chop cucumber, tomato and red onion and toss in with the beans. Dress with Italian salad dressing and lemon juice, and refrigerate. Before you serve, season with salt, pepper, garlic and crumbled feta cheese.
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6. Insalata
Cut large tomatoes into thick slices. Pick up fresh mozzarella and cut it into thin slices as well. Arrange the tomato slices and the mozzarella slices around a plate and decorate with basil. Season with black pepper and sea salt, and drizzle olive oil over the salad.
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7. Amish slaw
Shred a head of cabbage and mix with finely chopped onion. Mix sugar, mustard, vegetable oil, vinegar, salt and celery seed in a saucepan, and heat for 3 minutes. Once it cools completely, use it to dress the salad. Leave overnight in the refrigerator for the flavor to develop.
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8. Avocado and strawberry salad
Whisk olive oil, honey, sugar, lemon juice and vinegar in a bowl and set aside. Chop up salad greens, and mix with sliced strawberries and avocados. Mix with the dressing, decorate with chopped pecans and refrigerate for a couple of hours before serving.
More: 10 Healthy and Delicious Avocado Recipes
9. Sweet-and-sour tomato salad
Cut tomatoes and an onion into thin slices and toss together with distilled white vinegar, vegetable oil, pepper, salt and sugar. Serve fresh at room temperature.
More: 9 Best Health Benefits of Tomatoes
10. Tomato and chickpea salad
Soak chickpeas overnight and boil for an hour. Mix them with garbanzo beans, chopped red onion, tomato and parsley. Mix with a dressing of olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and garlic. Chill overnight and serve.
Fresh salads that you make yourself at home tend to be far better than anything you can get at the average salad bar. Not only do homemade salads tend to be fresher, you get to make them exactly as you like them. What are your favorite summer salads? Feel free to share your recipes with us in the comments section.
