This salad is so good, it's very lemony, and garlicky, it's just superb.  I found it years ago on a now defunct site, Gail's Recipe Swap.  Gail's had so many wonderful people that posted daily, chefs, gourmet cooks, everybody shared their favorite recipes.   It was sponsored by Epicurious and it was a sad day when they closed it.  It's become a family favorite over the years, it's a keeper recipe for sure.  And I do have a treat for you, it's at the bottom of this post.

Homemade croutons make this amazing salad even better. They are so easy to make, just melt a stick of butter, toss in some minced garlic, cube bread, of course Italian or Artisan is best, but a loaf of bread will work, too.  Toss everything together, put on a sheet pan and bake in 375 degree oven until toasted and brown.

DRESSING

Mix together and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving:
3/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
3-5 cloves of garlic crushed
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar

SALAD

1 head of romaine
1/2-1 lb. of bacon, cooked crisp and diced
2/3 cup of toasted almonds
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup julienned Swiss cheese
2 cups of sliced plum tomatoes, or cherry tomatoes quartered
1 cup of croutons

If you are a foodie like I am, you can access all the archived recipes from Gail's Recipe Swap.  It's a really big data base, but if you have the time, it's wonderful to read the recipes and the comments.  It may take awhile for the link to open, it does for me and I have fast internet, but trust me it's worth the slow load.  Bookmark this site, it's the best of the best that will never be recreated.  Here's the link...

Gail's Recipe Swap Archives

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#lemonsalad #lemon #salad #romaine

#bacon #jancooksrealfood #saladdressing #yummy #lunch

#lunchideas #croutons

Oh, this is the stuff that Italian dreams are made of, Portillo's Chopped Salad, creamy dressing, lots of bacon, cheese, pasta, what's not to love...

It's Monday, I was going to post a healthy salad and then I thought, no, why would I do that when I can share this knockoff Portillo's Chopped Salad with all of you.  If you're not familiar with Portillo's, it's a famous Italian restaurant in Chicago who's humble beginnings go back to 1963 when it all started as a hot dog stand.

Over the years, Portillo’s has developed a huge fan base that includes many Hollywood actors, professional athletes, and politicians – you can see many of their pictures hanging on their restaurant walls. 

SWEET ITALIAN DRESSING:

1/3 cup white or regular balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 teaspoons sugar, honey or maple
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

SALAD:

8 ounces (about 1 cup or so) uncooked Ditalini pasta (see note)
5 cups chopped lettuce (use what you like: romaine, spring mix, iceberg or a combo)
1 cup chopped red cabbage (see note)
1 cup chopped tomatoes
3 green onions, chopped
1/2 - 1 cup cooked and crumbled bacon
1/4 - 1/2 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
2 cups cooked, diced chicken (see note)

Steps

Combine all the dressing ingredients in a blender or jar. Process or shake until well-combined. Add additional salt and pepper to taste, if needed. You can make and refrigerate the dressing a week or two in advance.

Cook the pasta according to package directions in boiling, salted water. Drain and rinse quickly with cool water so it doesn't stick together while it cools. Pour a few tablespoons of the dressing over the pasta and stir lightly. Set aside to cool to room temperature (spreading it into a flatter layer - versus mounded in a bowl - will speed up the cooling process).

In a large bowl, toss together the lettuce, cabbage, tomatoes, and green onions. Add the cooled pasta, bacon, gorgonzola cheese, and chicken.

To serve, you can toss the salad with the dressing before serving - or, if you anticipate leftovers, add dressing only to the portions of salad served and then store the dressing and salad separately for fabulous leftovers.

Notes

Pasta: ditalini pasta is a tiny tube-shaped pasta. If you can't find it, you can easily substitute another small pasta shape. Even small elbow macaroni would work. You're looking for about 3 cups cooked pasta when it's all said and done. 

Lettuce: the lettuce is really customizable, the original Portillo's salad is a combination of iceberg, romaine and red cabbage. 

A rotisserie chicken works great here, as well as any other kind of leftover cooked/grilled chicken (the more flavorful, the better!). You could also leave the chicken out completely for a side dish salad.  

Vinegar: white balsamic vinegar works really well, but regular dark balsamic will work, too, just keep in mind that the darker dressing will add color to the salad.. I think you could easily use red or white wine vinegar, too. 

Leftovers: this salad makes the best leftovers. If you aren't going to eat the entire salad, just don't add the dressing until you serve it so it doesn't get soggy.
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#salad #choppedsalad #jancooksrealfood #portillos #bacon #tomatoes #healthyeating #healthyfood 

 If you're in the Nashville area, Meridee's Breadbasket in Franklin is definitely something you won't want to miss.  Our family loves Meridee's, it's my favorite restaurant, wonderful food, fresh baked pies (the key lime is ahh-mazing and you can never go wrong with the cherry)  homemade bread, what's not to love.

 This recipe dates back to the 70's, when I was a young mother.  It was given to me by my next door neighbor, she was a really special lady, and a great cook.  This is so simple, but it's excellent.

What a great salad this is.  My friend Barb gave me this recipe and she thinks it’s far superior to any other Ramen Noodle Salad she’s ever had.  I agree, this is absolutely wonderful!

1 package Chicken Ramen Noodles

1/4 cup butter

1/3 cup sesame seeds

1/4 cup sliced almonds

1 Tablespoon low sodium soy sauce

1/4 cup white vinegar

1/4 tsp. sesame oil

1/3 cup sugar (can substitute Splenda)

salt and pepper to taste

1 large head cabbage, chopped - I use a package of coleslaw mix

6 green onions, chopped

Melt butter, add seasoning mix from noodles.  Break up dry noodles and mix with sesame seeds and sliced almonds in skillet and brown.

Let cool.

Mix together soy sauce, oil, white vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, salt and pepper in pint Ball jar and shake to emulsify.  Stir crunchy mixture and sauce into chopped cabbage and onion 20-30 minutes before serving.  Let set at room temperature.

Notes:

I only stir the crunchy topping into the portion of the salad I’m using.  This coleslaw keeps well in the fridge and I store the crunchy topping separately in a sealed baggie with paper towel to absorb the moisture.  Then I pour the amount I need to serve.  If you mix it all together it gets soggy in the fridge.  

 

Who wouldn’t enjoy a collection of great kopy-kat Olive Garden Recipes.  Six Sisters Stuff has published all of the above.  You can grab their recipes here...

Recipes courtesy of Six Sisters’ Stuff

 

This is the perfect low carb ranch dressing, so easy to make and really good!

 

2 c. mayonnaise

1/2 c. sour cream

1-1/2 t. vinegar

1/4 t. Worcestershire sauce

1/3 cup chopped chives

1/3 c. grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 t. dill weed

1 tsp. garlic powder

1/8 t. pepper

 

Whisk together all ingredients in a large bowl. Pour into a large jar with a tight-fitting lid. Secure lid and store in refrigerator up to 2 weeks. Makes 4 cups.

 

This is thick, dip consistency, thin with a little half and half if you want thinner dressing

My friend Barb, told me about how awesome Portillo’s Chopped Salad is.  Portillo’s is a Chicago institution, a hot dog stand that was started in 1963 by Dick Portillo’s in a small trailer with no running water, and has now grown to 47 locations.  Their chopped salad is famous, and rightly so.  Oh, what a great summer recipe this is for all of you…  The recipe is widely available online, this is how Barb makes hers…

Portillo’s Chopped Salad

1 head iceberg lettuce
1 – 2 heads Romaine lettuce, depending on size
1 small head red cabbage, minced or 1 bag sliced red cabbage, chopped
1 small red onion, finely minced
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
3 tomatoes, seeded and diced
2  c. ditalini pasta, cooked and cooled
1 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 c. gorgonzola cheese, crumbled (Amish Blue Cheese from Sam’s is awesome)

Vinaigrette dressing, bottled or homemade

Wash and dry the lettuces. Finely chop until the lettuce is in small pieces, this is the secret, you want this to be finely chopped, not large chunks.

Put in large salad bowl and add the remaining ingredients, except dressing, and toss to combine well.

Serve dressing along side the salad or pour on and combine just before serving.

Dressing:

Barb uses a Honey Mustard Vinaigrette, I’ve also read that Marzetti’s Sweet Italian Dressing is a dead ringer, Commenters also say that Aldi’s Grandesse House Salad Dressing tastes really similar.  I also found a homemade recipe with positive reviews  if you would like to try it.

This Italian Dressing is from  the Chicago Sun-Times. It is similar to the dressing found on salads at Portillo's and Maggiano's restaurants.

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

Place vinegar, garlic, sugar, oregano, salt and pepper in a blender or food processor.

While the machine is running, slowly drizzle olive oil through the blender top or feed tube until dressing is combined and emulsified.

Store in an airtight container in refrigerator for up to two weeks

This recipe is serious stuff, the thickest, yummiest, best salad dressing you will ever eat.  My friend Ramona gave the recipe to me years ago, and it’s delightful.  This dressing is nectar of the gods, pinkie swear it is.  You will love this!

I have modified this by using Splenda instead of sugar.   You can add nuts and fruit to your greens, strawberries, grapes, mandarin oranges, feta cheese, slices of grilled chicken breast is good, too, and it’s wonderful with just onion and mushrooms.  It’s the best salad dressing I’ve ever tasted.  Enjoy  ~ jan

Poppy seed dressing:
3/4 C. (sugar) Splenda -I cut this back a bit, i think 3/4 cup of Splenda is too sweet, so I use a heaping half cup of Splenda
1 t. dry mustard
1/2 C. chopped onion
1 t. salt
1/3 C. balsamic vinegar
1 C. mazola oil
1 1/2 T. poppy seeds - always store poppy seeds in fridge, they get rancid easily, if you have them open in your pantry they are probably rancid, throw them out and buy fresh.

To make dressing:

Whisk together all ingredients until you can no longer feel the sugar grains (because they have dissolved in the liquid) and the whisk leaves a trail in the thickened mixture.

Makes about 3 cups, so you will have leftover dressing.

It is the color of molasses, and after it’s refrigerated it’s as thick as molasses, it’s just incredible.

NOTE: When I make this, I find it necessary to blend dressing ingredients in my food processor to get the silky smooth, honey like consistency.  If you just whisk it, sometimes it’s a bit gritty.  I add my ingredients and just pour the oil thru the tube until it is incorporated, don’t overmix it or it will be foamy.  You can also do this in the blender, just don’t overblend it.  It should look like the above picture when it’s finished.

It fits perfectly in a pint jar.  I like to use jars because you can spoon out the amount you want, and since I’m a FoodSaver Fruit Jar Sealing Fanatic, I always seal mine in the fridge to keep it fresh.

Servings: 4-6

The GMA news anchor, who says she never travels without her "world-famous recipe," was happy to share it."

Here it is:

Ingredients

1/2 cup olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon garlic, minced

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

Cooking Directions

Mix above ingredients in a mixing bowl.

Add salt and pepper to desired taste.

Source:  GMA

Servings: 6-8

Savannah restaurateur and Food Network star Paula Deen joined "Good Morning America" to whip up a few of her favorite home cooking recipes from her book, "Deen Family Cookbook."

"Whip up a bowl of this light and refreshing beauty anytime you want to make salad a little more special than just plain greens. It's just so perfect for brunch on a hot summer day, it'll perk you right up!" she said in the book.

Recipe courtesy of Paula Deen's The Deen Family Cookbook; Simon & Schuster 2009.

Ingredients

Dressing

6 tablespoons buttermilk

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 teaspoons shallots, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon fresh tarragon, chopped

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Salt and pepper

Salad

1 head Boston lettuce, rinsed dried and torn into pieces

2 medium navel oranges

1 pint strawberries, hulled and quartered

1/2 cup pitted dates, thinly sliced crosswise

Cooking Directions

To make the dressing, whisk together the buttermilk, lemon juice, shallot, and tarragon. Slowly whisk in the oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

In a bowl, coat the greens with all but 1/4 cup of the dressing. Arrange the greens on individual serving plates.

Cut off the top and bottom of each orange, just exposing the flesh. With a sharp knife, follow the curve of the fruit to cut away the peel, completely removing the white pith. Slice out each segment of the fruit, cutting along the membrane. Divide the oranges, strawberries, and dates among the greens.

Drizzle each serving with the remaining dressing.

If you like honey dijon salad dressing, you’ll love this recipe – it’s is a winner!
~ jan

1/2 cup olive oil
6 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon dried basil (I omitted this)
1 large clove garlic, crushed/finely minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
pepper, to taste

Whisk all together or buzz with an immersion blender.

A tried-and-true totally great salad!!!!! If the measurements seem a bit odd, it's because I had to cut it down from a gallon recipe of a top-notch, great restaurant in town.This lady got down on her knees and begged for this recipe.

Ingredients:

  ● 2/3 Cup 100% maple syrup (the real thing)
  ● 2-1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
  ● 1/3 tsp. maple extract (imitation maple flavor)
  ● 1/3 cup distilled white vinegar
  ● 1 tsp. kosher salt
  ● 1/5 tsp. cayenne pepper
  ● 1/2 tsp. minced fresh thyme
  ● 3-3/4 tsp. minced shallot
  ● 2/3 cup olive oil or olive oil blend

Directions:

Blend all ingredients well except oil. Then whisk in oil slowly to emulsify. (Best made the morning of, or the night before to blend flavors.) Toss well with:

Romaine lettuce

Mixed baby greens

Ripe pears (Anjou are nice) cut bite-size

Candied pecans

Plate greens. Dribble a squeeze of fresh lemon juice over each serving (this is an important step) and top with a little sprinkle of bleu cheese crumbles. Add more candied pecans if needed.

Source:  Finer Kitchen Forums

We all love Olive Garden Salad, it’s a total girl thing.  My Food Network Magazine duplicated their recipe.  This salad dressing differs from other ones I’ve seen online that tried to copy them.  This is a must try, ladies.  I would make it tonight but I don’t have white wine vinegar.  If you make this, let me know what you think.  I’m really excited about the possibility of making this at home and having it taste like Olive Garden.  Hot Damn, wouldn’t that be something?

~ jan

Ingredients

For the dressing:

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons Miracle Whip
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning

For the salad:

• 1 10-ounce bag American salad blend
• 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
• 4 small pickled peppers, such as pepperoncini
• 1 small vine-ripened tomato, quartered
• 2 tablespoons sliced black olives
• 1/2 cup large croutons
• 1 tablespoon grated

Directions

Combine all the dressing ingredients and 1 to 2 tablespoons water in a blender or food processor; puree until smooth.

Place the salad blend in a large bowl and top with the remaining salad ingredients. Drizzle with the dressing.

Yield

Makes 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

• 1  (16-oz.) package romaine lettuce, thoroughly washed
• 1  (6-oz.) block Swiss cheese, shaved
• 1  cup  roasted, salted cashews
• 1/2  cup  sweetened dried cranberries
• 1  large apple, thinly sliced
• 1  large pear, thinly sliced
• Lemon-Poppy Seed Dressing

Preparation

1. Toss together first 6 ingredients in a large bowl; serve with Lemon-Poppy Seed Dressing.

Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing

Yield

Makes 1 1/4 cups

Ingredients

• 2/3  cup  light olive oil
• 1/2  cup  sugar
• 1/3  cup  fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2  tablespoons  poppy seeds
• 2  teaspoons  finely chopped onion
• 1  teaspoon  Dijon mustard
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt

Preparation

1. Process 2/3 cup light olive oil and remaining ingredients in a blender until smooth. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 1 week; serve at room temperature.

Lori Manry, Rochester Hills, Michigan, Southern Living, MARCH 2007

This stuff is AWESOME - we've made it for years, it's a great recipe... ~ jan

Andrea's Garlic Salad

DRESSING
Mix together and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving:
3/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
3-5 cloves of garlic crushed
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar

SALAD
1 head of Romaine
1/2-1 lb. of bacon, cooked crisp and diced
2/3 cup of toasted almonds
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup julienned Swiss cheese
2 cups of sliced plum tomatoes, or cherry
tomatoes quartered
1 cup of croutons

Serves (about) 6

1/3 cup loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
2 roughly chopped small dill sprigs
7 fresh basil leaves
2 roughly chopped green onions
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. honey
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Salad greens for serving



Put the parsley, dill, basil and green onions on a cutting board and chop finely.

Using a small spatula or teaspoon, put the mayonnaise in a dressing mixer carafe. Add the buttermilk, honey, lemon juice, chopped herb

Add lots of finely chopped fresh basil and oregano, chopped onions, and minced garlic to a quart of a very good extra-virgin olive oil. Allow to marinate in the fridge for at least two weeks, shaking daily. Strain, then whenever you make a salad, blend the oil with a small amount of wine vinegar for a delicious smooth vinaigrette.