One of my favorite salads is a steak salad. I always look for them on restaurant menus. They are so good…full of all kinds of good stuff. They are also very filling. My second favorite salad is a chicken and pear salad. One of my favorite department stores has a café and they serve this chicken and pear salad. I was reluctant to try it at first. But since their menu is limited, I decided to give it a try. I’m so glad I did. YUMMMMMMM. Now I make them all the time.

Now, let’s start with the steak salad.

I love piling all the goodies of this salad onto a piece of toasted sourdough. But it’s just as good without the bread.

Steak Salad

Sirloin or ribeye steak, cooked the way you like it and sliced thin
good mixture of salad greens – arugula, spinach, lettuce, etc
crumbled blue cheese
dried cranberries
purple onion, sliced very thin
tomato slices
candied walnuts or pecans
Orange Vinaigrette (recipe below) or you can use Italian salad dressing

Mix everything but the steak together, in a large bowl. Toss with salad dressing and scoop it onto a plate. Arrange slices of steak on top. Sprinkle with a few blue cheese crumbles. Simple right?

Ok, now the chicken and pear salad……

Chicken Pear Salad

Chicken breast, cooked and cut in large pieces
1 fresh ripe pear, (any kind works), sliced
good mixture of salad greens – arugula, spinach, lettuce, etc
crumbled blue cheese
dried cranberries
purple onion, sliced very thin
candied walnuts or pecans
Orange Vinaigrette (below)  or you can use Italian dressing

Toss everything together in a large bowl, scoop onto a plate and sprinkle with some nuts.

Orange Vinaigrette

1/4 cup orange juice
2 Tblsp Vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 Tblsp honey
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Place everything in a jar and shake, shake, shake.