How to Make Strawberry Salads

Salads are palettes for creativity. You can mix and match ingredients to suit your tastes and what is available. Strawberries make a wonderful component.

In this section, we'll look at three types of salads: a tossed green salad, a gelatin salad, and a main dish salad with chicken. All are very good. We hope you will look at these as templates to create your own masterpieces.

I'm not much for strawberry salads. For this one, I'll make an exception. It is absolutely delicious. It makes a great, cool summer salad and a perfect salad for the holidays. Save this recipe.

For the base layer:

1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple
2 cups apple juice
3 cups sliced fresh strawberries (about 1 1/2 pounds before trimming and slicing)
1 banana, sliced
3/4 cup pecan pieces
2 3-ounce packages strawberry flavored gelatin
1 8-ounce package cream cheese
2 tablespoons light mayonnaise
2 cups whipped topping such as Dream Whip®

1. Drain the pineapple and reserve the juice. Set the drained pineapple and juice aside.

2. In a saucepan, bring the apple juice mixture to a boil. Pour the hot water into a bowl and add the gelatin. Stir to dissolve. Refrigerate until partially set.

3. Beat the cream cheese and mayonnaise together until light and fluffy. Fold in the gelatin mixture. Fold in the whipped topping.

4. Fold the pineapple, strawberries, sliced banana, and pecans into the remaining cream cheese mixture. Pour into an 8 x 13 pan. Chill until the top sets, about 20 minutes.

For the top layer:

reserved pineapple juice plus water to make one cup
1 packet unflavored gelatin
1 cup miniature marshmallows
1 cup whipped topping such as Dream Whip

1. Bring the juice and water mixture to a boil. Dissolve the unflavored gelatin in the boiling water. Turn the heat down, add the marshmallows and stir until the marshmallows are dissolved. Set aside to cool until tepid but not set.

2. Fold in the whipped topping. Spread the topping mixture over the fruit mixture. Chill for several hours before serving.

2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
4 cups iceberg or Bibb lettuce shredded
1 1/2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
1 cup vinaigrette dressing or your choosing
3/4 cup pecan pieces
1/2 cup crumbled asiago or bleu cheese

1. Cook and season the chicken breasts. Cut into slices.

2. Arrange the shredded lettuce on salad plates. Top with sliced chicken and then sliced strawberries. Drizzle with vinaigrette1 1/2 cups sliced fresh strawberries. Sprinkle with nuts and cheese and serve immediately.

Fresh fruit is always refreshing. This salad is made with ripe strawberries and cool cucumbers. It's framed with a honey vinaigrette and served on spinach greens. This is a wonderful mid-summer salad.

Ingredients

1 C. frozen peas
2 C. fresh strawberries, sliced
1 medium cucumber chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 cup walnut pieces
1/4 cup white wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
spinach greens

Directions

1. Mix the peas, strawberries, cucumber, and nuts together. The peas do not need to be thawed.

2. In another bowl make the vinaigrette, by mixing the vinegar, honey, oil, and salt together.

3. To serve, arrange spinach greens on a plate, place the strawberry mixture on the greens, and serve the dressing on the side.