Salad recipes

Italian pasta salad with rotini, broccoli, mozzarella, bell peppers, and a homemade basil-oregano vinaigrette. A make-ahead cold pasta dish for potlucks and picnics.

Ranchera sauce made from scratch with a roux-thickened tomato base, cumin, garlic, and fresh vegetables. A versatile Mexican sauce for rice, enchiladas, and huevos rancheros.

Retro frosted liver pate made from braunschweiger mounded with garlic, onion, and basil, then coated in a cream cheese and hot pepper sauce frosting. A classic party spread served with dark rye crackers.

Cheese tortelloni tossed with stir-fried cabbage, red, yellow, and green bell peppers in olive oil with basil. A colorful vegetarian pasta dinner that comes together in one hour.

Louisiana courtbouillon of redfish, the classic Cajun fish stew. Whole redfish or red snapper steaks simmered in a brown roux, holy trinity, tomatoes, herbs, and white wine. Spooned over rice, this is bayou comfort food.

This soup is a complete meal when served with a green salad and French bread.

Fish fillets are cooked on a bed of mushroom-bread stuffing in this dish. Just add a salad or vegetable, and dinner is served.

This is a great dinner side dish to accompany almost any kind of meat, poultry, or fish. Or serve for lunch with a salad.

Fat-free tomato onion dressing blended with sauteed sweet onion, herb vinegar, basil, poppy seeds, celery seeds, and dill. A light, tangy salad dressing with no oil.

Southwest meatball supper with chili-spiced beef meatballs in taco sauce and fresh tomatoes, served over shredded lettuce with cheese, avocado, and tortilla chips. A taco salad meets meatball dinner.

Here is a kind of throw together recipe I came up with: If you are entertaining you can garnish with fresh parsley and serve with a caesar salad, garlic bread and a nice chablis. The vegetables can vary. I've used mushrooms, spinach, cauliflower etc. Grouper works well with this because it has a lot of flavor. I've used fresh tuna and halibut but prefer grouper.

Hearty vegetable barley soup with lean ground beef, pearl barley, tomatoes, carrots, celery, and frozen mixed vegetables. A budget-friendly weeknight pot full of fiber.

Stovetop chicken lasagna layered with ground chicken, cottage cheese, egg noodles, and crushed tomatoes in one skillet. All the lasagna flavor without the oven or the wait.

Jumbo pasta shells stuffed with ricotta, Parmesan, and egg, baked in a homemade basil tomato sauce and topped with melted mozzarella. Classic Italian comfort food.