I have reached the point that I do every summer where I’ve decided I hate it here and where I’d pretty much sell my soul to live anywhere else. Don’t worry…this happens every summer. Come fall and I’ll remember that it’s not so bad. In the winter, it’s cold but not so cold that I have to wear pantyhose (which is awesome) and in the spring, the weather is amazing while those suckers I call my parents have three feet of snow in their yard.
It is also July, which has, in the past, proven to be a sucktacular month for our family (you get to hear all about it tomorrow when I post one of my favorite comfort foods) and this particular July, while not the worst we’ve ever had, has just been one big run-in with Murphy’s Law.
So basically what I’m trying to say here is that a) I need a little pick-me-up right now and b) anything that isn’t warm or hot and involves minimal cooking on my part is awesome. And this salad fits the bill on both counts. I made this for my husband’s birthday party last month (you know, the party where I fell backwards down the hole in my deck? Oh, that was only the beginning of the fun!), only I used Parmesan cheese instead of feta because I couldn’t find feta at my backwoods Walmart. It was really good with the Parmesan, but I knew it would be better with feta and when I made it again this week, I was so right. I just really love that sweet/salty combination that you get from the strawberries, candied nuts, feta, bacon, and the honey vinaigrette. Because I recently made this for dinner and not as a side dish, I added some grilled chicken, but you could easily leave that out based on your preferences.
Like the other Quick Fixes we’ve posted, this really isn’t so much a recipe as it is an idea–measurements are up to you and what you’re in the mood for!
Summer Salad with Strawberries and Feta
Recipe by Our Best Bites
—Salad greens (I just used chopped Romaine lettuce because I wanted that crispness, but you could add spinach or other varieties of lettuce)
—Crumbled feta cheese (I used theAthenos Black Peppercorn variety and the mild variety for the kids, so use whatever)
—Thinly sliced red onions
Â
–Sliced strawberries
–Candied pecans or walnuts (check out how I did it in this recipe)
—Grilled chicken breasts(optional)
—Honey Red Wine Vinaigrette to taste
You can either combine the ingredients in a plastic storage container and gently shake the container to combine and then transfer the salad to serving dishes or, if you want a pretty presentation, divide the greens among salad bowls or plates and then arrange the remaining ingredients on top and drizzle with the dressing. You can also toss it all together in a big bowl to serve at a party.
Any way you do it, it’s a cool, delicious, quick and easy summer dinner that even my “Where’s the Beef?” husband loved.
Simple and dilicious!!! Yummmy
feta is really good with melon too!! u should try that combination too!!
Thanks- so tasty and easy!
So I just had an amazing salad for dinner. This one!! I used gorgonzola instead of feta because that’s what I had and I also only had smoked almonds so I rinsed off the flavoring and candied those. You could still taste the smoke flavor but that added a whole other element. It was awesome!
This salad and dressing are AMAZING! I made it Thurs night for dinner (and my husband is not a big salad kind of guy and he loved it!). My husband begged me to make it again the following night for a BBQ we were having, so I did and it was a huge hit! This salad will impress anyone, it's a real gourmet salad! THank you Kate and Sara! This will be a favorite in my family from now on!
Sign me up for the strawberries and feta! The dressing sounds wonderful too. Love this.
I love strawberries on salad, yours looks delicious. This is my first time stopping by-I'm so glad a friend told me about your blog, I can't wait to see more!
That looks really good…
Feta & fruit make such a good flavor pair!
Que ensalada más espectacular, y con un colorido y mezcla de sabores fantásticos.
Un beso