What's your favorite summer salad?
BLT’s are always a favorite summer meal when the garden tomatoes are sun ripened to perfection, but wait until you try an easy summer BLT salad! Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato Salad takes dinner to a whole new level of healthy summer goodness. Chop up some fresh lettuce and summer tomatoes. Add some perfectly cooked bacon (whatever your definition of perfect is) and top with homemade ranch dressing made with plain Greek yogurt and spices. If you need a side, Texas toast or potato chips are a good addition. I have a recipe for ranch seasoning that you just stir into plain yogurt or sour cream for a quick dressing or dip. This is literally one of those quick meals that comes together with the items you have on hand! Adding avocado kicks it up a notch in sophistication that leaves you wondering if you need to change the title or not. Like country farm cousin meets Manhattan city cousin in the summer.
Ranch Seasoning Mix
1 t garlic powder
1 t onion powder
1 t salt
½ t pepper
½ t dried parsley
½ t dried dill
Use this base recipe to double, triple, or make any size batch and store in an airtight jar in the pantry. Try a few spoonfuls mixed with 1 c Greek yogurt to make ranch dip. You can thin the dip with some milk or buttermilk to make a dressing. Store the dip or dressing in the fridge. The best part is that you can vary the amount of seasoning to your taste.
My other favorite summer salad is Big Mac Salad. You know the song… “Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, all on a sesame seed bun”? Just cook up some ground beef, drain and season with salt and pepper. In a pretty bowl, layer lettuce, grated cheddar cheese, the cooked ground beef, hamburger pickles, tomatoes (if you want) and diced onions. Top with Thousand Island dressing and toasted sesame seeds. YUM! You can Google recipes for Big Mac Salad and get recipes for dressing. I prefer to top with Thousand Island if I have it on hand. This recipe looks great in a clear glass trifle bowl when you need to bring a dish to a potluck.
There you have it. Two easy summer salads that you need to make before winter sets in. The taste of fresh summer lettuce and tasty garden ripened tomatoes won’t be available in a few months. If you have an abundance of garden tomatoes right now, share this blog post and a bag of tomatoes with a friend. Hint: my porch is available for delivery!
Table Talk: What’s your best memory of BLTs? What summer salad will you add to your menu this week?
