Salad Recipes for Summer

Would love some salad recipes please. Pasta and Rice Salad recipes kids will love and any others that are easy
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Pasta Salad

2 cups uncooked shell pasta
2 tablespoons dry ranch dressing mix (recipe to follow)
1/2 cup cooked bacon crumbled
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
3/4 cup good mayonnaise
1 1/2 cups chopped ham, cooked chicken or turkey
2 tomatoes cut into small pieces
1/2 cup grated cheese
Lettuce for serving

Cook the pasta and rinse with cold water. Add to all the other ingredients except lettuce and stir well. Cover and refrigerate until needed. Serve on a bed of lettuce.

Homemade Ranch Dressing Seasoning Mix

2 tbsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried dill
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp pepper

Add each of the dried spices to a bowl and gently stir. Store in a re-sealable plastic bag or jar with tight fitting lid.

To make the ranch dressing, whisk together 1/3 cup mayonnaise with 1/4 cup milk (more or less depending on the consistency you want) and 1 tbsp of the homemade ranch dressing seasoning mix.

Season to taste with salt. This can be refrigerated for up to 3 days and makes about 4 tbsp of mix. Or use the ratios above to mix up a larger quantity.

This is yummy.
Orzo, Sun Dried Tomato & Hazelnut Salad
Dressing:
2 tsp minced garlic
¼ cup toasted hazelnuts
¼ cup tightly packed Italian parsley leaves (could try basil)
2 tabs white wine vinegar
¼ cup oil
1 tab brown sugar
Place all ingreds into a processor & blend until it forms a paste.
8-10 sundried tomato pieces
¼ cup black olives, halved
1 cup orzo pasta
70gr feta, crumbled
¼ cup toasted hazelnuts whole
Sea salt & freshly ground pepper
Cook orzo then drain, rinse & set aside to cool. Place orzo pasta, tomatoes, olives, hazelnuts & feta into a bowl. Add dressing & fold through lightly to combine. Just before serving sprinkle over chopped hazelnuts, rock salt & freshly ground pepper.

I love salads and this is a fav; so simple and so tasty:

1 large fennel bulb cored and sliced thinly
2 large tomatoes chopped
1 shallot or small red onion finely chopped
Large handful each mint and basil
1 ripe avocado
sea salt and ground pepper

toss ingredients together pile on a plate and dizzle the following dressing on top:

2 teaspoon capers, crushed
zest of a lemon
4 T extra virgin olive oil
1 T chopped chives

have been doing this one heaps and even mr 16 is eating it! we have heaps of silverbeet and spinach in the garden so finely slicing, then adding finely sliced cabbage, grated carrot and cheese or diced feta or your fav cheese, diced capsican, olives, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, crasins or cranberries or chucks of orange, cherry toms or anything else that takes ya fancy. toss in a light dressing of your choice - home made condensed milk dressing with a bit of home made mint sauce mixed in is the bomb!

a cauli or broc one the same type of ingreds using steamed cauli or broc and also add crispy bacon - oh so good

keeps really well. and the same ingreds using risoni pasta is suppa yum also

Note to self. buy lots of salad ingredients next time at grocer!

Cube up feta, tomato, cucumber, capsicum, sprinkle with olive oil and dried dill. Yum and refreshing.

Sorry I don't have quantities, I just make it.

Thanks to everyone so far, your receipes sound great and will be trying them.