Sour Cream Cucumbers

I found this recipe somewhere years and years ago and it has been a family favorite ever since. The original recipe calls for cucumbers and onions only; I've added the tomatoes and peppers.

Sour Cream Cucumbers

2 large cucumbers, peeled and sliced thin
1/2 medium onion, sliced into thin rings (I use purple or sweet)
1 medium tomato, diced large
1/2 sweet bell pepper, diced (I use yellow to add a different color)
3/4 cup light sour cream
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/4 cup Splenda Granular
salt and pepper to taste

Combine the cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, and peppers in a bowl. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over the cucumbers. Mix well and chill about an hour before serving.

Italian Bean and Tuna Salad

After one of our long walks, my new walking buddy, Marilyn, invited me to her house to try out a new dish. A friend of hers had emailed it to her and it looked so good she tried it right away and I was invited to be a co-guinea pig! I was kind of wondering how it would taste...after all, here in the South we smother tuna with mayonnaise and this tuna salad not only didn't have mayo, but it had beans in it! But I went and shared a lovely meal with Marilyn and the tuna salad was d.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s! Perfect for a light lunch or dinner!

Italian Bean and Tuna Salad

1-15 ounce can navy beans, drained and rinsed
6 ounce can or packet water packed tuna, drained and flaked
2/3 cup finely chopped celery
1/3 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1/3 cup fresh or frozen cut (1 inch) green beans, cooked, rinsed with cold water
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup Italian salad dressing
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
mixed greens or spinach

In a medium bowl combine all the ingredients except the lettuce/spinach and mix well. Refrigerate for at least 10 minutes to let the flavors blend. Line plates with the lettuce or spinach, spoon salad onto lettuce and enjoy.

Note: You can also add some black olives, grape tomatoes, or green onions to this salad to jazz it up any way you want to!

TIP: If you're like me and don't keep fresh herbs around but have the dried herbs that's fine, just use one-third the amount called for in the recipe.

Salad Tip

Ever want a salad and are too busy or tired to make one so you end up not having one? Yeah, me too. I just recently learned of this tip and thought I'd pass it on. Why didn't I think of this before? Duh!

Rinse and spin (or dry) your lettuce or spinach. Put whatever amount you want in a ziplock bag. Cut up some tomatoes and add to bags. Peel and cut some cucumbers and add to bags. Add whatever else you always have in your salad (except the dressing or anything that will get soggy, like croutons). Roll up the baggie and squeeze all the air out then zip closed. Refrigerate, and when you want a salad, voila, it's all ready for you to add dressing and eat!

Charlie's Corn Salad

Need a side dish for a dinner of steamed fish or a grilled hamburger steak? I present to you...corn salad! It's also great as a salad topper! Yum!!! Charlie is a former co-worker of Bob's. He brought this dish to a Christmas dinner and Bob liked it so much he got the recipe.

Charlie's Corn Salad

1 can corn, drained
1/3 medium green pepper, diced
1/2 small onion, diced (or 2-3 green onions, chopped thin)
1 medium tomato, diced
1/3 cup Italian salad dressing (I use Roasted Red Pepper with Parmesan)

Mix all ingredients, cover, and refrigerate for several hours so flavors can blend.

Sweet Vinaigrette

Bob and I ate some chicken tacos at a local restaurant recently and there was this wonderful kind of oriental tasting vinaigrette on the coleslaw topper. Oh my goodness it was wonderful. I have tried to replicate it and have come kind of close. It's missing something I can't place and when I figure it out, I'll post an update. In the meantime, this vinaigrette is very good! We had fish tacos tonight and I didn't have any cabbage for coleslaw so I shredded a little baby spring mix lettuce and marinated it in the vinaigrette. Awesome on fish tacos! I can imagine marinating some tomatoes and cucumbers in this for a small green salad. Amounts of ingredients are not listed since you will make only the amount you need and to your own taste.

Sweet Vinaigrette

Rice Vinegar
Salt and Pepper
Splenda Granular
Olive Oil
Fresh Lemon Juice (just a squeeze)

Pour the rice vinegar into a small bowl. Add the salt, pepper, lemon juice, and Splenda. Whisk in the olive oil until well blended and pour over your salad.