Summer brings the heat but also brings salad season, which I happen to love.  I’m sure many of you have seen (and perhaps even tried) this Avocado-Tomato Salad but for those who haven’t, it’s a great dish to carry to a cookout, have on fajita day, and even mash up the leftovers (if any) to serve as a dip.    I have some great salad recipes but sometimes I just want something simple.  This recipe calls for 3 ingredients and should most definitely be served on a hot day!  And if avocados aren’t your thing, how about a little Tomato & Cucumber Salad?

Avocados can be expensive so make sure to buy them when they’re on sale.  I’ve been trying hard to plan meals around sale items and I’ve already been saving a ton.  If serving that day, make sure to pick avocados that aren’t too hard.  If I’m on a strict budget for the month, I go with Roma tomatoes but I love and prefer the ones on the vine.   What type of tomatoes do you like?

INGREDIENTS:

• Avocados
• Tomatoes
• 8oz Bottle of Italian Dressing

DIRECTIONS

Cut and slice up avocados and tomatoes; pour dressing over.  Keep cool.  I’d chill for about 30 minutes before serving.

What is your favorite fast fix during the Summer season?

Most of the time, I despise salads. I don’t really like a lot of toppings that most people do so they don’t interest me too much but thanks to my personal trainer (from my local Anytime Fitness), I’m learning to tweak things a bit to allow my palette to enjoy them more.

First, she recommend I keep 100% chicken in water as a substitute for when everyone else is eating foods that I shouldn’t. So today, while my boys were eating pizza, I decided to make me a salad. It turned out so good that my husband asked for one as well.

I started out using Marketside’s Premium Romaine Salad Mix. I cut up a roma tomato and placed on the side. I don’t like when it mixes into my greens. I’m weird that way. I opened a can of Valley Fresh 100% Natural White Chicken in Water (97% fat free). I put half the can on my salad, the other half on my husband’s. I sprinkled with a small amount of Great Value Cheese and topped with Kraft’s Dressing made with Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Basil Parmesan Vinaigrette.

The Kraft dressing was AMAZING!  It was PACKED full of flavor and since I cannot go without dressing, I chose one that had under 100 calories per serving. This one had 70.  The chicken tasted SO good and is much better than some other versions I’ve had that included rib meat or something.  I added a little pepper to it all and man, this was the tastiest salad I’ve had in a long time!  It may look plain to y’all but I like simple.

What do you like to eat on your salad?

I’m not quite sure why it’s not called a Tomato, Onion, & Cucumber Salad considering onions are in it too but, nevertheless, it’s a favorite around here and an easy to one to make!

Per my mother’s advice, I used a mason jar to give it “the look”.  Of course I was unable to find a lid and had to transform into MacGyver for a minute but no problemo for this girlio.  I simply placed a plastic wrap sheet on the top of the jar and stretched a rubberband around to seal it;)  My mom should really get her own food blog…she would make it wonderful!

Salads increase in popularity over the summer because they’re a cool, healthy dish that’s easy to make and serve.  I personally don’t like onions or cucumbers so this isn’t one of my faves.  I am picky though and am trusting everyone else’s tastebuds on this dish.  They praise it every time, unless they’re just stroking my ego???

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 medium tomatoes diced or sliced the way you want them
• 2 medium cucumbers, peeled & sliced
• 2 onions, sliced and separated into rings
• 2 Tbsp. Vinegar
• 1/4 c. Oil, I used Olive Oil
• 2 Tbsp. Sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 2 tsp. minced fresh parsley.  I used the jar because I NEVER have fresh herbs on hand :/

PREPARATION:

Set aside your cut up tomatoes, cucumbers & onions.  In your bowl or mason jar, pour in the remaining ingredients and mix or shake. Throw in your maters, cumbers, and onions into the jar with the mixture and toss around until mixed good.  Marinate 2hrs before serving.  I ususally marinate one hour on the table at room temperature and one hour in the frig!

Here we go!

Gather all the goodies:)

Slice everything up!

Add all the remaining ingredients to your bowl or jar like this……..

Mix or stir:)

Throw in your sliced goodies and cover with a lid or create your own like I did……

Shake or stir again!

Viola!  Ready to serve and eat:)