Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Salad - The Ultimate Use of Leftovers

Hello, my name is Mindy and I was inspired by Tina.

Yes, after reading Tina's post on Friday about Crab Louis Salad, guess what I wanted for dinner?

Here is north Texas we've gone full throttle into summer. And though we're not experiencing 100 degree temps, our humidity has been hovering between 95 and 100%, making our 90 feel like 100+. Who wants to cook in that?

 Not me.
Well, I didn't have any crab and had no intention of making a store run, so I decided to wing it with whatever I had on hand.
Shrimp was a good idea and I had that in the freezer, so it was a go. And hard boiled eggs are a great source of protein. Then I added some sliced green onions and a little bit of tomato I had leftover.
Talk about a great dinner. YUM!

But guess what happened the next day for lunch?
I wanted salad.
Now that may not seem like a big deal to you, but I'm not a big salad person unless it's hot outside. Guess God decided I wasn't getting enough roughage. Can't you just hear it. "Cue the heat and humidity. Mindy needs more greens."

Once again, I didn't feel like running to the store for any special ingredients. And I didn't feel like cooking up anymore shrimp either. So what's a lazy cook to do?
Check the fridge.

So while the eggs boiled, I searched for salad additions.
Bacon! Bacon goes with everything. So I put a slice in the microwave to cook.
Lunchmeat! I have tons of deli-sliced ham, so I chopped up some of that, along with some more green onions. 
Then I went to the pantry. Pine nuts!
I could eat those things by the handful. How could I have forgotten them.
The result...
As I was looking for things to add to my salad, it hit me that many of the great classic salads were probably created from nothing more than leftovers. I mean, think about it. A Chef's Salad was likely invented by a chef who threw together some hard boiled eggs, leftover chicken or ham and whatever else he had on hand.
The Cobb Salad. Pretty much the same way, but "if we put each of the items in nice little row, it won't look like any old salad."

Once again. necessity is the mother of invention. We could have Salad Ruthy, Salad Jan, Salad Missy, Salad Cate, Salad MaryJane, Salad Tina and Salad Mindy and everyone of them would be different.

So now I'm curious. What would your salad look like?



Mindy Obenhaus lives in Texas with her husband and kids. She's passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner.
When she’s not writing, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her grandchildren. Learn more at www.MindyObenhaus.com.

8 comments:

  1. Favorite salad! Cobb salad or steak salad with candied pecans. Lots of fresh blue cheese in both! Yum. Crab Louie is s close third! And now I am officially starving!

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    1. I'm with you, Tina. Blue cheese and candied pecans are the perfect pairing, especially in a salad.

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  2. What great ideas!

    First, though, I have to check to see if the lettuce I bought two weeks ago is dead yet. We did eat a lot of it, but we haven't eaten at home much in the last week. (Which means that everything in the fridge is suspect.)

    Okay, so here's my plan - clean out the fridge and make a salad with everything that is left!

    I'll let you know how it turns out.... ;)

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    1. Not eating at home? Why, how could that be, Jan? What could have kept you away? ;D

      Now you can eat leftover wedding nummies. Ooo...just think of the yummy taco/southwestern salad you could make. And the bonus is that your fridge gets cleaned out.

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  3. This looks good and fresh and delicious! I love the crunch of a crisp, fresh salad any time of year, I think that's why I throw broccoli slaw or cole slaw into everything. It's just got a nice zing to it!

    And shrimp is never a bad thing!!!!! Lovely, Mindo!!!

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    1. See, salads just don't appeal to me when it's cold outside, Ruthy. Granted, that's not very often around here, but still. I do like them at restaurants. Probably because I don't have to make them. I hate chopping all that stuff. Which is why bag lettuce is my friend on most occasions.

      You are correct that shrimp is never a bad thing. Love it!

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  4. Wish there was someone here to fix me one of those salads right now. I'm deep in report cards for the largest class I've ever had. No time to cook!

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    1. Mary Cate, you of all peopl should be able to clean out your fridge and do no cooking at all. No telling what strange veggies you have lurking in there.

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