Super Supper Salads and Faux Olive Garden Dressing

Supper Salad with Vegetables, Ham, Egg, and Cheese.

Often times on Monday evening we have a "Super Supper Salad" for supper.  Brian in his more recent years has come to be a big salad fan whereas in his youth the would have had a hemorrhage  had I set a salad down for his dinner regardless of how chocked full of protein and "goodies" it was!!  There is another reason for this Monday night occurrence.  I usually have on hand a lot of fresh greens and raw vegetables from the weekend shopping and leftovers from the "Sunday Dinners" our family still has.

Supper Salad for My Husband.

You can use any number of terrific items to combine with great results.  This weeks salads for two went like this:

Iceberg lettuce washed and torn, !/2 head
Cherry tomatoes, 1 pint
Sliced celery, 2 stalks
Carrot shreds, 1 large
Sliced green onions, 2 with tops
Sliced sweet pickle*
Thawed and rinsed frozen green peas*, 1/4 cup
Sliced hard cooked eggs, 2
Diced baked ham, 8 ounces
Shredded cheddar cheese, 4 ounces
Croutons*, 1/4 cup
Olives
(*these items were used on only one of the two salads)

Start by laying down the lettuce in the bottom of a broad flat dish.  You can make one large and serve from one bowl or make individual salads as I did for us.  Next place the various vegetables then top with the eggs, ham, cheese, and croutons.  We season with salt and pepper and add our dressing!!

My husband loves ranch dressing and that recipe is given in an earlier post.   Salads with Ranch and Thousand Island Dressing  Made at Home,  5/30/2011.

I found this Faux Olive Garden Dressing recipe someplace and wrote it down in long hand.  I honestly cannot remember where it came from to give credit or I certainly would!!  At any rate it is a spin off using Good Seasonings Zesty Italian Mix and adding some pantry staples to it. 

Faux Olive Garden Dressing in an Old Mason Jar!!

Faux Olive Garden Salad Dressing Ingredients:

1 pkg. Good Seasons Zesty Italian Dressing Mix,  follow the directions on the back of the package then add:

1 t. dried Italian seasoning
1/2  t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1/2 t. sugar
1/4 t. garlic powder
1 1/2 t. mayonnaise
1/4 C. Safflower Oil
2 T. vinegar
1 1/2 t. water

Add to the dressing and shake vigorously to combine until the dressing is smooth.  Chill and serve.  Keep refrigerated in a covered container.  Enjoy. 

Note:  For perfect hard cooked eggs cover egg in their shells with 1" tap water and bring to a boil in a covered pan.  When the pan boils immediately turn the heat off but leave the eggs in the water.  Keep the pan covered and set the timer for 15 minutes.  At the end of the 15 minutes pour off the hot water and rinse in cold water until cool enough to handle and peel.  Hint,  the fresher the egg is the harder it is to peel.  I often buy eggs weeks ahead (for Easter) just not to have them be too fresh!!

Note:  For croutons dice French bread into cubes and drizzle with olive oil, season and bake on a cookie sheet in a 200 degree oven for 2 hours.  Cool completely and store in an airtight container.