Salad recipes

Chili-dusted pan-seared pork chops served with a fresh corn, black bean, and tomato salad tossed in lime juice and cilantro. A colorful, protein-packed weeknight dinner ready in 35 minutes.

Penne alla malefemmina, a no-cook Southern Italian pasta sauce of raw tomatoes, kalamata olives, capers, and garlic marinated in olive oil. Tossed with hot pasta or served cold as pasta salad.

Mexican-style bow ties: hearty pasta salad with seasoned ground beef, kidney beans, corn, tomatoes, cheddar, and a zippy yogurt-salsa dressing, topped with crushed tortilla chips. Warm or cold crowd-pleaser.

Classic Shrimp Louis salad with poached shrimp, crisp asparagus, tomatoes, cucumber, and hard-boiled egg on lettuce, drizzled with a tangy yogurt-chili Louis dressing. A lighter take on the West Coast original.

A colorful salad of black-eyed peas tossed with wild rice, white rice, tomatoes, bell pepper, and corn in a fresh oregano-thyme vinaigrette. Feeds a crowd and tastes even better the next day.

A stunning cold Chinese platter of shredded vegetables, wood ear fungus, egg strips, and hand-pulled chicken, layered and dressed in a mustard-ginger-sesame-Chinkiang vinegar sauce. A showpiece salad for special occasions.

Baked Idaho potatoes loaded with a tuna nicoise salad of green beans, tomato, cucumber, and red pepper in a red wine vinaigrette, topped with diced egg and anchovies. A no-cook 20-minute meal.

Savor the fresh, vibrant flavors of Italy with these Caprese Melts. Toasted bread is layered with juicy tomato slices, creamy mozzarella, and fragrant basil, then broiled to golden perfection. This quick and easy recipe is perfect for a light lunch or appetizer, delivering classic Caprese salad flavors in a warm, melty sandwich.

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.

There is a bit of confusion about these two plants. For some reason,the fennel plant, which resembles celery with fern like tops, has been called sweet anise in produce markets. The true anise is cultivated only for its seeds. So what you see labelled "sweet anise" in your market is probably fennel, but no matter what you call it, this is a highly interesting vegetable. Every part of this aromatic plant has a taste and aroma similar to licorice. The stems are eaten like celery,uncook, or cooked and served as a vegetable (heavenly with apples in waldorf salad) available from September to May.

Chicken Morocco with skinless thighs braised in stewed tomatoes, prune juice, diced prunes, and warm allspice. Served over fluffy bulghur for a North African weeknight dinner.

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.

Enjoy your summer with this succulent dish that will have you eager to make dinner!

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.

This is a great recipe- very light and a great dish for a veggie night!

Spiced shrimp and zucchini simmered in a chili-cumin tomato sauce, then topped with golden drop cornbread and baked until bubbling. A one-pan dinner that feeds a crowd.