IT IS AMAZING.

Every ingredient is so well thought out, each delivering a unique flavor and/or texture.

This chopped salad begins with a base of orzo pasta and builds from there. Check out the ingredients below.

The ingredients laid out above will make a gigantic crowd-worthy salad. Easily enough to feed 8 people as a meal, more as a side dish. We’ll be eating on it for days and I’m okay with that!

The Ingredients

• Orzo pasta – cooked, drained and cooled
• Boneless skinless chicken breasts – grilled and cubed
• Spinach and radicchio – julienned
• Tomatoes – diced
• Black olives – sliced
• Sundried tomatoes – chopped
• Pine nuts – lightly toasted
• Capers – drained
• Parmesan cheese – shredded or shaved
• Roasted Garlic Lemon Vinaigrette – garlic, lemon, red wine vinegar, honey, olive oil, salt

The Process

• Roast garlic at 400 degrees for 45 minutes (see How to Oven Roast Garlic)
• Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package instructions
• Grill chicken breasts
• Slice and dice remaining ingredients
• When garlic is done, prepare vinaigrette
• Toss and serve

Right before serving, toss the salad with the Roasted Garlic Lemon Vinaigrette. The wonderful thing about this salad (and vinaigrette) is that it holds up nicely in warm weather. This might be my favorite picnic salad yet!

This Insalata Chicken Florentine also keeps well. We literally will eat on this for three days and it’s just as good as the very first bite.

Are there recipes that remind you of a favorite vacation that you’d like to see us recreate? I’d love for you to comment below. Your feedback is so important to me (and keeps the recipe love fresh).

Don’t forget to follow us @LemonyThyme on Instagram and Facebook! And check out our latest TikTok videos and Pinterest boards too!

All my best,
xo Libby

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Insalata Chicken Florentine (Macaroni Grill Copycat)

This crowd-pleaser salad is amazing! Every ingredient is so well thought out, each delivering a unique flavor and/or texture.

Course Entree, Salad Entree

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts grilled and cubed
• 1 pound orzo pasta cooked, drained, cooled
• 5 ounces fresh spinach julienned
• 1 head radicchio julienned
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes halved
• 1 cup black olives sliced
• 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes chopped
• 1 cup pine nuts lightly toasted
• 3.5 ounce jar capers drained
• 4 ounces Parmesan cheese shredded or shaved
• 1 cup Roasted Garlic Lemon Vinaigrette see recipe link in post

Instructions

• Grill chicken and cut into bite-sized pieces. Prepare orzo according to package instructions. Drain and cool. Julienne, slice or chop remaining ingredients. Place all ingredients in a large salad bowl. Toss with vinaigrette. Garnish with additional parmesan cheese.

The post Insalata Chicken Florentine (Copycat Macaroni Grill) appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

If you need a go-to summer time pasta salad that everyone will love….

Look no further. This is the one!

Italian Tortellini Pasta Salad has been the one dish I know I can put together quickly. It transports easily, please everyone and I always wish I had made a double batch!

There’s something so addicting about the submarine dressing. It’s tangy and herby. The traditional Italian flavors keep them coming back for more.

I start with a batch of homemade Submarine Dressing. This go-to dressing is packed with oil, vinegar and herbs. It delivers that classic Italian sub flavor to this pasta salad.

If time permits, I marinate the mozzarella pearls (you could easily cube up fresh mozzarella for this) for a couple hours to boost them with herby flavor too.

For this Father’s Day weekend, if you’re looking for a hearty pasta salad that dads and kids alike will love, give this one a try!

What’s in your go-to pasta salad? I’d love for you to comment below.

Don’t forget to follow us @LemonyThyme on Instagram and Facebook! And check out our latest TikTok videos and Pinterest boards too!

All my best,
xo Libby

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Italian Tortellini Salad

If you need a go-to summer time pasta salad that everyone will love….look no further. This Italian Tortellini Salad is bursting with fun flavors like fresh basil, mozzarella cheese, and pepperoni.

Course Pasta, Side Dish

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Marinate Mozzarella (optional) 2 hours hours

Servings 8

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 1 20 ounce package fresh cheese tortellini can sub frozen
• 1 8 ounce package mozzarella pearls or cubed fresh mozzarella
• 6 ounces sliced pepperoni cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 6 ounce can small pitted black ripe olives
• 10 ounces cherry tomatoes halved
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves torn
• 1 recipe submarine dressing recipe link in post

Instructions

• Prepare tortellini according to package instructions. Allow to cool before preparing salad. Prepare Submarine Dressing (recipe link in post). Place mozzarella in a jar and cover with dressing, allow to marinate for 1-2 hours (optional). Toss cooled tortellini with remaining ingredients. Chill or serve at room temperature.

This Italian Pasta Salad is equally delicious made with bowtie (or your favorite) pasta!!

The post Italian Tortellini Pasta Salad My Go-To Family Favorite appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

Do you grow your own herbs? Cooking is such a joy when you can walk to your back patio or apartment balcony or front porch or massive envy-of-the-neighborhood raised bed garden and pluck fresh tender herb leaves and stems from plants that you’ve nurtured yourself. Fresh herbs will change your cooking life! I promise!!

Basil is a relatively easy plant to grow. It needs two three things to thrive. Dirt, water, and sun. If you can give it a bed of good dirt, promise to water it pretty much daily and put it in a sunny spot – you’re almost guaranteed to have a happy basil plant. One that will continue to produce all summer long if you harvest regularly. Here’s a handy reference guide I wrote in an article about Growing, Harvesting, Using, Storing, Freezing and Drying Fresh Herbs.

This Basil & Herb Vinaigrette is everything! Truly the epitome of fresh, bright, flavor!

Don’t forget to follow us @LemonyThyme on Instagram and Facebook! And check out our latest TikTok videos and Pinterest boards too!

All my best,
xo Libby

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Italian Tossed Green Salad {with Basil & Herb Vinaigrette}

There's something so delicious about a fresh crisp Italian Tossed Green Salad. A few simple ingredients tossed with a nice herby vinaigrette is the perfect start to an Italian themed dinner.

Course Salad

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

For the Salad

• 3 hearts of romaine chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 1 cucumber sliced or diced
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• 1 can ripe black olives
• 1/2 cup ricotta salata cheese (or feta) crumbled
• 1 bag favorite croutons

For the Vinaigrette

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves only
• 1/3 cup fresh oregano and/or parsley and/or cilantro leaves only
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 shallot rough chopped
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Instructions

For the Salad

• Combine ingredients in a large salad bowl. Serve with Basil & Herb Vinaigrette.

For the Vinaigrette

• Combine ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Store in an air tight container in refrigerator for up to a week.

The post Italian Tossed Green Salad {with Basil & Herb Vinaigrette} appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

While the guest list will be dramatically reduced, the enthusiasm will remain high and the food options plentiful.

As we started to kick around new and old-favorite recipe ideas for Sunday’s big game, we took a moment to reflect.

We’re likely not to pack our living room with dozens of screaming fans any time soon.

How we scale, prepare and serve dishes has and will continue to change.

So for those of you folks like us who love to cook and entertain….we’re in this together.

That’s when we decided to take our beloved dip and turn it into individually portioned Walking 7-Layer Mexican Dip!

Remember Walking Tacos served in single-serving bags of chips?!

Which reminds me… have you seen the pictures on social media of Jarcuterie?!! Mini mason jars filled with skewers of meats and cheeses, fruits and veggies, savory and sweet.

Simply Brilliant!

Our Walking 7-Layer Mexican Dip goes like this:

• Begin with 12 wide-mouth 8 ounce mason jars.
• Layer 1: Refried Beans (the smooth restaurant style works best) piped into the bottom of each jar.
• Layer 2: Guacamole
• Layer 3: Sour Cream & Cream Cheese with Taco Seasoning (also in piping bag).
• Layer 4: Shredded Cheese
• Layer 5: Diced Tomatoes
• Layer 6: Sliced Black Olives
• Layer 7: Sliced Scallions

Recipe Note: cover each jar and refrigerate until ready to serve. Preferably serve within 24 hours but will keep in refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Best served with Tostitos or Fritos SCOOPS.

If you have any leftover fixings grab yourself a small bowl and layer away, there should be no wasted ingredients.

Don’t forget to follow us @LemonyThyme on Instagram and Facebook! And check out our latest TikTok videos and Pinterest boards too!

All my best,
xo Libby

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Walking 7-Layer Mexican Dip

Without question, 7-Layer Mexican Dip should be included in your Game Day appetizer spread. While the guest list may be dramatically reduced, the enthusiasm will remain high and the food options plentiful.

Course Appetizer

Servings 12

Ingredients

• 1 16-ounce can Refried Beans smooth restaurant style
• 8 ounces sour cream
• 4 ounces cream cheese softened
• 2 Tablespoons taco seasoning
• 1 cup guacamole
• 8 ounces Colby Jack cheese shredded
• 2 Roma tomatoes diced
• 1 2.25 ounce can sliced black olives about 1/2 cup
• 3 scallions thinly sliced

Instructions

• Begin with 12 8-ounce wide mouth mason jars. Stir refried beans in a bowl to make them smooth, then transfer to a quart sized storage bag or piping bag. Combine sour cream, softened cream cheese and taco seasoning until well blended then transfer to a quart sized storage bag or piping bag.
• Pipe about a 1/2" layer of refried beans into the bottom of each mason jar. Next top each with a spoonful of guacamole, then pipe a layer of sour cream mixture. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top of sour cream, followed by diced tomatoes, sliced black olives and scallions.
• Store in refrigerator prior to serving. Best served with Tostitos or Fritos Scoops. Note: If you have any remaining ingredients you can make additional jars or layer into a small bowl.

The post Walking 7-Layer Mexican Dip appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

By the summer of sixth grade I was old enough to head off on my bicycle in the morning, with one stipulation, be home before dark.  Most days for lunch I split an Italian Grinder with my BFF before heading to the lake.  This Chopped Italian Submarine Salad has all those familiar wonderful flavors.

I grew up in a two stop-light old mill town in southern New Hampshire.  The first light was at ‘the bridge’ and the second was at the crazy five-way intersection.  Turn left and you head out of town.  Left of center led you to Silver Ranch (now called Kimball Farm), home of the Ice Cream Shop and Restaurant (serving hand dipped homemade ice cream, lobster rolls and seafood plates).  Right of center took us past the middle & high school, the ball fields & ice rink and ultimately to ‘the lake.’  All of which we could reach on our bicycles, which is how we traveled in the summers before turning 16.  It was however, the short dead end road to the hard right at that 2nd stop-light that has inspired this post.

One block in on the right, sits The Pizza Barn.  A local favorite in our small town, a place I visit every time home, and I’m willing to bet their pizzas and grinders (aka submarines) could hold their own against most.  If any of my hometown friends are reading this, feel free to comment below and share your Pizza Barn favorites.

In my opinion, what makes an Italian Sub is Submarine Dressing.  Today I decided to recreate my favorite supermarket brand from scratch (Seriously, how can you be out of Submarine Dressing??!!).  Click here for recipe or pick up a bottle at your deli counter.

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Chopped Italian Submarine Salad

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 4- ounces ditalini pasta cooked
• 2 heads romaine lettuce chopped
• 1/4 lb. thick sliced pepperoni diced
• 1/4 lb. thick sliced salami diced
• 1/4 lb. thick sliced ham or mortadella diced
• 1/4 lb. thick sliced provolone diced
• 1/4 lb. thick sliced mozzarella diced
• 1 3.8- ounce can sliced ripe olives
• 10-12 cherry tomatoes sliced
• 10-12 pepperoncini peppers sliced
• 1/2 cup red onion fine diced
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• freshly cracked black pepper
• Submarine Dressing recipe link in post

Instructions

• Slice and dice ingredients.
• When ready to serve, toss pasta and romaine with diced meats, cheeses, and veggies. Sprinkle with dried oregano, pepper and a generous serving of Submarine Dressing.
• Serve immediately.

The post Chopped Italian Submarine Salad appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

Looking for an easy appetizer to bring to a holiday party….Cowboy Caviar might just be the answer.  Cowboy Caviar is one of our most popular recipes.  It’s no wonder since you can whip up a batch from ingredients already in your fridge and pantry. 

What makes this an easy no fuss recipe is you can substitute any ingredient with what you have on hand.  Just use a nice combination of crunches and colors.  We had a can of black eyed peas in the pantry, but kidney or black beans would be great too.  I used a zucchini for my ‘green’ but avocado is wonderful in this dip as well.  I’m a black olive freak so I added some of those, along with corn, jalapeno, red onion, radish, pimento, garlic, scallion, cilantro and tossed it all in a cumin lime dressing.  Serve Cowboy Caviar with tortilla chips and look how cute it is delivered in a mason jar!!

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Cowboy Caviar

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

For the dip…

• 1 can black eyed peas drained and rinsed
• 1 small zucchini diced
• 1 jalapeno fine diced
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 1 cup frozen corn thawed (or canned)
• 2 oz. diced pimento
• 12-15 black olives sliced
• 1 scallion thin sliced
• 2-3 radishes fine diced

For the dressing

• 3 Tbl. olive oil
• 1 Tbl. fresh lime juice
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. chili powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper

Instructions

For the dressing…

• Combine dressing ingredients and chill while making the dip.

For the dip…

• Combine all ingredients then gently toss in dressing. Chill before serving. Serve with corn tortilla chips.

The post Cowboy Caviar appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

I love a party where everyone brings an appetizer to share.  Such a great way to sample new recipes.  When we get the whole family together to celebrate a birthday this has become our favorite kind of meal.  I made Antipasto Skewers to share at our last get together.  They were fun to eat and easy to make.

Lay out all your ingredients in the order you want to skewer them and let the assembly begin.

What’s your favorite Appetizer or Finger Food?  I’m always looking for recipe inspiration and would love to recreate YOUR favorites.

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Antipasto Skewers {a fun & easy party food}

Servings 12

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 1 lb. tortellini cooked al dente
• 1 can colossal ripe olives drained
• 1 jar marinated mushrooms drained. Marinade reserved.
• 8 ounces fresh mozzarella cubed
• 1/2 lb. hard salami sliced thin
• 1/2 lb. pepperoni sliced thin
• 1/2 cup Italian dressing plus marinade liquid from mushrooms
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• 24 fresh basil leaves
• 24 wooden skewers

Instructions

• Cook tortellini according to package instructions. Then drain and run under cold water. Toss tortellini with Italian dressing and reserved mushroom marinade. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• To assemble skewers, place ingredients in order then slide onto skewers.

The post Antipasto Skewers {a fun & easy party food} appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

In an era of gourmet pasta salads…you know the ones, with over the top ingredients, exotic herbs & seasonings, and pasta varieties that make you go hmmm…is there room for a good ol’ Macaroni Salad?

Completely rhetorical. Hell yes there’s room!! Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE every kind of pasta.  I appreciate and (on occasion) aspire to create a unique and intriguing ‘Pasta Salad.’  Yet they will never make me as happy as Macaroni Salad does.

Elbow macaroni and mayonnaise is where we start.  For my Picnic Perfect Macaroni Salad I like to add hard boiled eggs, crispy bacon, diced tomato, celery, scallions, and black olives.  This gives a nice variety of color and crunch and the flavors all play nicely together.

There is room for creativity when making macaroni salad.  Just don’t stray too far from elbows and mayo.  That’s all :)  Tuna Mac with Peas I’ve got my eye on you.

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Picnic Perfect Macaroni Salad

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb. elbow macaroni
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise or more to taste
• 3 hard boiled eggs peeled & finely chopped
• 4 slices of bacon cooked crispy & crumbled
• 2 Roma tomatoes diced
• 2 scallions thinly sliced
• 2 celery stalks finely diced
• 1 small can 3.8-ounce ripe black olives, sliced
• salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

• Prepare macaroni according to package instructions. Drain, run under cold water and cool completely.
• Meanwhile prepare remaining ingredients. In a large bowl, combine cooled macaroni with enough mayonnaise to coat. Add in remaining ingredients and gently fold until well combined. Season with salt & pepper.
• Refrigerate until ready to serve.

The post Picnic Perfect Macaroni Salad appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

Crab Louie Salad Sliders.

The Crab Louie Salad has been around for over 100 years and first became popular on the West Coast of the United States (or was it King Louie himself who first dined on this salad…the world may never know).  The salad consists of crisp lettuce, sliced tomato, hard boiled eggs, ripe olives, sometimes asparagus….and of course gorgeous crab meat which is tossed in Crab Louie Dressing.

Some time last summer I decided it would be fun to pay tribute to as many of the classic salads as I could recreate.  I’m checking them off one by one and have loved learning their history and discovering their flavor personalities.  One consistent theme is that most of these salads were born out of Eat Out of the Fridge/Pantry Weeks aka combining ingredients already on hand.  Having said that, for many of these classics we’ve given them a twist of our own.  We decided to serve our Crab Louie Salad over toasted buttered rolls.  Crab Louie Salad Sliders were fantastic and needed to be shared.

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Crab Louie Salad Sliders

Servings 2

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 1 Romaine lettuce heart shredded
• 1 medium tomato sliced
• 1 hard boiled egg sliced
• 6-8 ripe black olives sliced
• 4-6 ounces crab meat
• 2 slider rolls buttered & toasted

Crab Louie Dressing…

• 2 Tbl. mayonnaise
• 2 Tbl. chili sauce
• 1 Tbl. grated onion
• 1 tsp. capers
• 1 tsp. lemon juice

Instructions

• Combine the dressing ingredients. Toss the crab meat in the dressing then layer the salad as follows: toasted roll, shredded lettuce, tomato slices, egg slices, olives, and dressed crab meat.

Here are some of our favorite classic salads.

Lunch Counter Chef’s Salad

Classic Cobb Salad

Grilled Caesar Salad

The Wedge Salad with Homemade Russian Dressing

Greek Salad

The post Crab Louie Salad Sliders appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

Fish Taco Bowls.

I just adore complete meals served in a bowl.  For breakfast, lunch or dinner.  And I don’t discriminate against ingredients based on the time of day.  As long as they are fresh and flavorful…I’m a happy girl.

I walked by my co-worker’s door carrying my breakfast the other morning and she called out….”are you having a salad for breakfast?”  My go-to weekday breakfast is a big bowl of fresh spinach leaves (a great source of calcium and vitamins), topped with cooked egg whites and melted cheese (to give me enough protein to satisfy me until lunch) aka my breakfast salad.  I’d be quite happy with a Fish Taco Bowl for breakfast any day.

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