What are your recipes for nice, cool summer cookout salads?

[smirkymonkey]

Vegetable salads, pasta salads, potato salads, etc. Looking for some new ideas.

Some of my favorites are corn, black bean, avocado, cherry tomato, red onion salad with a cilantro lime vinaigrette, or organic cherry/grape tomatoes with mini cukes, feta, mint and Greek vinaigrette, potato salad with a dijon mustard vinaigrette, scallions, fresh dill and parsley, beets with a balsamic vinaigrette, parsley and goat cheese, etc.

Would love to hear your ideas!

[Phoenix61]

1. Cheese tortillini

with black olives, sliced sweet peppers(yellow/red/orange), thawed frozen broccoli, and sliced zucchini. Saturate with Spicey Italian dressing. Best made the day before. You'll need to have extra dressing as the pasta soaks it up. Top with halved cherry tomatoes just before serving. It's cool and filling.

[smirkymonkey]

2. Sounds delicious! I was especially looking for some good pasta salad recipies.

Thanks!

[Phoenix61]

4. I've tried it with fresh broccoli but

the frozen works better. It's like blanched but without the work. I've tossed some feta cheese in it for a little extra kick.

[smirkymonkey]

3. I also like to make a salad of greens (arugula, baby kale, baby swiss chard - whatever you like)

with gorgonzola or goat cheese, walnuts or slivered almonds, raspberries and peaches (or whatever fruit you like) tossed in a raspberry or other fruity vinaigrette. Very nice for summer cookouts.

[Ohiogal]

5. This is one of my favorites

and it uses very common ingredients.

In a bowl combine 2 or 3 cold cooked and shredded chicken breasts, 1 head lettuce, shredded, 4 green onions, chopped, 1 small can chow mein noodles, 1/4 cup sliced almonds, 1/4 cup poppy seeds. For dressing: blend together 2 tbsp. sugar, 1 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper, 4 tbsp. cider vinegar, 1/2 cup canola oil.

I think it's the poppy seeds and the almonds that give it a crunch that I like. If you're Polish (or half, like me) you love anything with poppy seeds!

[smirkymonkey]

6. Sounds great! I am not Polish, but I love Polish food and love poppy seeds!

We had a Polish community in our city area growing up and my mother dated a Polish man in college so she would buy these great pierogi (handmade by local Polish grandmothers) and kielbasa and also make her own golabki. I always loved it!

[Ohiogal]

9. Cabbage rolls, pirogi, halushki

I love it all!

Except for kishka. Yuck.

[smirkymonkey]

10. That's stuffed intestine! Yuk!

There were a number of Polish and Eastern European restaurants in New York in the East Village that were great and very inexpensive. Unfortunately, we don't seem to have many here in Boston. The food is heavy, but it's great in the winter! Excellent comfort food!

[pnwest]

7. One of the simplest, that's very

cool and refreshing - diced tri -colored bell peppers, salt and pepper mixed through cottage cheese. I hate cottage cheese, but this I can eat once a year

[smirkymonkey]

8. Sounds very cool and refreshing! I like cottage cheese, but for some reason I rarely eat it.

This sounds like a nice light lunch or dinner. Maybe some scallions too!

[pnwest]

20. I have to laugh - I've been craving this since

this post - broke and got the stuff to make some just now - I’m two bites in and I’m already like “bleeccchh - yup, that’s enough” LOM!

[ghostsinthemachine]

11. Grspe tomstoes, red onion

Feta cheese, fresh basil, in a balsamic vinegar dressing (no oil,).
Yum, first thing to go at potlucks in my experience.
Cut tomatoes in half. Onions dice. Fine chop basil. Good balsamic.

[smirkymonkey]

15. Sounds great!

I do something like that but I add cukes as well. Very refreshing!

[ghostsinthemachine]

18. cukes too, BUT

people sometimes dont like em....

[Texasgal]

12. Cut watermelon

with red onion, mint and feta cheese. I toss with a bit of balsamic for a bit of flavor.

[smirkymonkey]

16. I have never tried that, but it sounds great.

I will have to try it for one of this summer's cookouts. Watermelon is one of my favorites!

[ghostsinthemachine]

19. thats a good one too

yeah. Lets eat!

[Vinca]

13. I've got the corn/black bean salad in the fridge at this very moment chilling for supper.

I make potato and pasta salads and there's a broccoli salad we like - raw florets. chopped red onion, crumbled bacon, tiny chunks of cheddar with a dressing of mayo thinned with some white vinegar and a touch of sweetener. I make it ahead of time so it will chill and top it with halved cherry tomatoes. It goes really well with grilled salmon.

[smirkymonkey]

17. That sounds great! I am always looking for different types of veggie salads besides

just the regular old tossed salad. There is so much you can do - the variations are endless!

[Little Star]

14. Mandarin Orange Jello Salad......

Ingredients:
•1 package (3 oz.) orange gelatin
•16 oz. cottage cheese (we prefer the small curd)
•11 oz. or 15 oz. can mandarin oranges, drained*
•2 cups Cool Whip (or use Homemade Real Whipped Cream like I do!)

Instructions:
1.Mix powdered jello with cottage cheese. Add mandarin oranges and combine.
2.Fold in Cool Whip (or Real Whipped Cream).
3.Best if refrigerated for several hours before serving, but it's definitely good right after it's made too! The chilling just helps it set up better.

[smirkymonkey]

21. That sounds like a very refreshing dessert!

A nice way to finish up a meal!

[blaze]

22. Sometimes I just want a plain ol' deli-style macaroni salad

Chef John on Allrecipes has a nice recipe for one but it's his technique that I've really appreciated.

Make the dressing (with all your add-ins (celery, bell pepper, onion...)) first and chill it.

Then cook the pasta and drain, but don't rinse and then let it cool to room temp. The pasta will feel sticky. Then add the dressing. This helps prevent the dressing from from running off the pasta and pooling at the bottom of the dish. Then chill the salad.

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/244305/chef-johns-classic-macaroni-salad/