Aloha Chicken Salad with Pina Colada Dressing

My mom is an amazing cook.  Recently she has been making this amazing salad.   It was inspired by a salad a  Zupas.  This salad is perfect for a holiday party. Feel free to substitute fresh lettuce from your garden, freeze dried chicken, pineapple and oranges from your pantry for a food storage salad. 

Aloha Chicken Salad with Pina Colada Dressing

3 romaine lettuce hearts, chopped

2 large cans mandarin oranges, drained

1 large can pineapple tidbits, drained

1 red onion, diced

1 1/2 cups tortilla strips

3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

3-4 chicken breasts, cooked, cooled & cubed

toasted coconut, optional

Toss all of the ingredients together in a large bowl or layer on a platter.  Serve with Pina Colada Vinaigrette dressing.

PINA COLADA VINAIGRETTE

1/2 cup plus 2 TBSP sugar

1/3 cup mr. & mrs. T's pina colada drink mix

1/3 cup rice or apple cider vinegar- rice will make it more mild or 

apple cider will make it stronger tasting

1/2 tsp. ginger powder

1 tsp. dry mustard

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/4 cup vegetable oil

In a blender combine all ingredients except the oil.  Blend well until light & frothy.  With the blender still on, slowly add oil in a steady stream.  Keep blending until the dressing is emulsified & thickened.  

Spinach Salad with Freeze Dried Raspberries

This guest post if from Sariah Schmickrath.  She is a wonderful friend and she is the woman who introduced me to Shelf Reliance.  I am so blessed to have her in my life.   Sariah is a Platinum Executive with Shelf Reliance.  She is the mother of four children.  

Does your family do spinach salad as part of your Holiday feast? Try this yummy addition to any spinach salad. It's another great way to use the end of your Thrive freeze dried raspberries.

My spinach salads vary each time I make them. To make this one:

·        Spinach

·        Bacon,

·         Thrivefreeze dried raspberries,

·        Mandarin oranges

·        Chopped walnuts from a neighbors walnut tree

My daughter and her friends gathered the walnuts and cracked them all open. I usually like to candy my walnuts or pecans but I ran out of time.

To make candied walnuts all you do is place 1/2 cup of walnuts and 1/4 cup sugar in a pan. Stir constantly over medium heat until the sugar melts and turns golden brown it will coat your walnuts. Cool on wax paper.

·        Cheese

I love cheese in my spinach salad, like feta. You could add some blue cheese or grated Parmesan.

·        Red Onion

I like red onion, but the kids don't.

·        Freeze dried strawberries or mangoes are also very nice.  I use the freeze dried fruit straight out of the can.

·        Raspberry vinaigrette this one is my favorite. 

Food Storage Salads: Tabouli Salad

(sorry no photo, I swear I have taken a ton of photos of this salad but I can't find them on my camera)
Tabouli is traditionally made with Bulgur wheat.  Bulgur is made by soaking cooked whole wheat kernels (berries) which are then dried and part of the bran is removed. The remaining pieces are cracked into small pieces. Bulgur can be cooked and served as a grain or used in breads, soups, and even desserts. I usually have a small amount of Bulgur on hand because I like it.  I don't store it in my long term storage because I have not found anywhere that sells it packaged for long term storage.  I have found that you can substitute cracked wheat, brown rice, quinoa, amaranth, barley, or couscous.  I like to substitute 9 grain cracked cereal in place of the Bulgur wheat. It gives the salad a similar taste, texture and appearance.  If I have it I like to add in a little feta cheese.  If you prefer you can use your own bottled Italian salad dressing.

Today's salad, tabouli, has tomatoes and cucumbers in it. But both are in small amounts and are grown in most people’s gardens.  I have made this salad substituting canned petite diced tomatoes and it is a okay substitute not as good as fresh but okay in a pinch.  If you are going to use canned tomatoes, use high quality tomatoes, which have been rinsed and very well drained prior to adding them to the salad.  Recently parsley has been tasting bitter to me (I know I am crazy but what can you do?)  Consequently I have been using very little when I make this salad. 

Tabouli Salad

1 ½ c. water, heated to boiling
1 ¼ c. THRIVE 9 grain cereal (or cracked wheat or if you have it bulgur wheat)

2 T. olive oil
1 tomato, diced
½ cucumber, diced
1 c. parsley, rough chop or tear into small pieces
¼ c. red onion, diced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ t. garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix together the boiling water and the 9 grain cereal and let sit 30 minutes.
Add the remaining ingredient and toss to mix. 

Shout outs: Food Storage Salad

Wheat Berry Salad from Will Blog for  Food
http://www.bloggingforburgers.com/adventures-in-the-kitchen-wheatberry-salad/

Wheat Berry Salad with dried apriocots from I dare you to eat it
http://www.idareyoutoeatit.com/2008/11/wheat-berry-salad-with-dried-apricots/

Seafood Salad from Provident Living today
http://www.provident-living-today.com/Seafood-Salad-Recipe.html

Food Storage Salads: Cranberry Walnut Wheat Berry Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

When I first started thinking about salads that could be made from food storage ingredients, the only salad I was familiar with was a salad made from Wheat berries that I tried at a food storage fair.  It was terrible.  I was reluctant to even try making one, but the idea of it was such a good one.  Wheat is the basis of most everyone’s food storage, and if I could come up with a good salad made from wheat berries it would be a great addition to my food storage repertoire.  So I tried a few and after a few yucky salads I have come up with one I really like.  I hope you like it to.  By the way this poppy seed dressing is a great recipe on any salad.   

Cranberry Walnut Wheat Berry Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

Salad Ingredients

1 1/2 cups hard wheat berries

3/4 cup chopped walnuts

1/3 cup freeze dried Celery, re-hydrated

1/3 cup freeze dried onion, re-hydrated

3/4 cup dried cranberries

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (optional)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Poppy Seed Dressing Ingredients

¾ cup sugar

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup white vinegar

1 cups vegetable oil

2 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate

1 ½  tablespoon poppy seeds

Salad Directions:

In a large pot combine the wheat berries and enough water to come 2 inches over the wheat berries. Bring to a boil and cook uncovered for 1 hour, or until tender and plump. Drain and let cool.

Toast the walnuts in a medium dry skillet over medium-high heat until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the wheat berries, walnuts, celery, dried cranberries, celery, and onion and cheese.  Add salad dressing and enjoy.  Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.  

Salad Dressing Directions:

Combine all dressing ingredient in a blender an blend until smooth and creamy. Pour desired amount over salad

Food Storage Salads: Pea Salad

My family loves this salad.  It is easy and quick and in the summer much "cooler" to eat then cooked peas.  When using freeze dried peas, make sure the peas are completely re-hydrated before mixing the dressing in.

Pea Salad                       

2 cups freeze dried peas, re-hydrated (or 1 package frozen peas, run under hot water to defrost)
½ bottle ranch salad dressing
¼ cup vinegar
2 TBS dry dill

Mix everything together and serve.

Food Storage Salad: Astronaut Salad

I was recently talking to my sister about this series of salads I am posting about.  She said "you know Jell-O is not a salad it is a dessert."  And you know what.  She is right.  Jell-O defiantly falls in the dessert category but when I am asked to bring a salad to a pot luck Jell-O definitely counts.  The only thing that I don't have in my food storage that is in this recipe is the cottage cheese.  You can leave the cottage cheese if you don't have it or can't get it. 

This recipe is from my mother-in-law.  When my husband was growing up she would make this salad and the kids said it was "out of this world" and so it was named Astronaut Salad.  My mom-in-law usually makes this with orange Jell-O.  I LOVE it with red Jell-o. 

Astronaut Salad

1 small package cottage cheese
1 small container of cool whip  (or 1 recipe THRIVE Whipped Topping see below)
1 can mandarin oranges drained
1 can chunk pineapple drained
1 small box of jell-o (what ever is your favorite)

Mix together. Serve.

Thrive Whipped Topping
THRIVE Whipped Topping—made from THRIVE instant milk
   1 t vanilla extract
   1⁄2 c thrive powdered sugar
    1⁄2 c thrive instant milk, prepared and chilled
    1⁄2 c ice water
Combine ice water and powdered milk in bowl and beat for 10 minutes. Add powdered sugar and vanilla, continue to beat until thoroughly blended. Chill.

*This works best in a stand mixer with whip beaters. If mixture begins to fall, beat again.
 Notes:  MUST use THRIVE instant powdered milk and not the standard dry milk variety.

Food Storage Salads: Fruit Rice Salad

When my family was living out of our food storage (okay not totally out of our food storage I did have a small food budget) we had a problem.  It was summer, and in the summer there are a lot of potlucks.  It seemed like ever week we were going to a pot luck and were asked to bring a salad.  I hated it.  I didn't have anything to make a salad with and I did not want to spend my small food budget on it.   At the time I did not have a very good solution but now I do.  Over the next little while I am going to post some of our favorite salads that are made mostly from food storage ingredients.

Fruit Rice Salad 

1 (15 ounce) can crushed pineapple with juice

1/2 cup Freeze Dried strawberries

1/4 cup Freeze Dried peaches

1 cup uncooked white rice

1/3 cup craisins or golden rains

2/3 cup flaked coconut

1 recipe THRIVE Whipped Topping, prepared **see below           

1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

1 pinch salt

1/4 cup slivered almonds

1.       In a saucepan bring salted water to a boil. Add rice, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer--without stirring--for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and chill until cold.

2.       In a medium bowl, mix together pineapple, strawberries, peaches.  The juice from the pineapple should cover the other fruit if not add a small amount of water.  Allow to soften 5 minutes, strain off excess juice/water.  Add a heaping cup of the cold rice, raisins and coconut. Set aside.

3.       In a separate large bowl, whip together THRIVE whipped topping, sugar, vanilla, ginger and salt until stiff. Fold in rice mixture, and stir in 1/4 cup slivered almonds.
4.  Serve immediately, if this salad is held the whipped topping looses some of its fluffiness, it is still good just not as fluffy. 

THRIVE Whipped Topping—made from THRIVE instant milk
   1 t vanilla extract
   1⁄2 c thrive powdered sugar
    1⁄2 c thrive instant milk, prepared and chilled
    1⁄2 c ice water
Combine ice water and powdered milk in bowl and beat for 10 minutes. Add powdered sugar and vanilla, continue to beat until thoroughly blended. Chill.

*This works best in a stand mixer with whip beaters. If mixture begins to fall, beat again.
 Notes:  MUST use THRIVE instant powdered milk and not the standard dry milk variety.