My favorite.

I’m not sure if it’s all the delicious salad ingredients or the dressing I love more.

But I’m hooked!

To begin, give your chicken a nice soak in this easy Asian Marinade.

Chicken thighs will take on flavor within 30 minutes. You want to marinate chicken breasts 5-6 hours, but any amount of time is better than no marinade at all.

After marinating the chicken, you can pan sear or oven roast the chicken. Always allow the chicken 5-10 minutes resting time before slicing. This allows the juices time to redistribute.

Your Asian Chicken Salad should include a variety of colorful veggies. I like purple cabbage, shredded carrots and lettuce as the base.

Sliced scallions, fresh cilantro, and edamame are key.

And don’t forget mandarin oranges, a signature ingredient.

Sliced almonds or roasted cashews are a wonderful addition. Crispy wonton strips bring a crave-worthy crunch factor.

The marinated chicken is super tender and juicy and full of flavor. The Asian Marinade brings a subtle heat that’s balanced by the other savory ingredients.

Asian Vinaigrette makes this salad. It’s bursting with sesame, soy and ginger flavors, and just a touch of sweetness from honey.

You can easily make this salad a day in advance. You’ll just wait to slice the chicken and add the crispy wonton strips and dressing. A great lunch option is to stuff your favorite wrap with this delicious salad!

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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Asian Chicken Salad

A rainbow of colorful & healthy ingredients, delightful textures, and savory Asian flavors makes this Asian Chicken Salad an all-time favorites.

Course Salad Entree

Cuisine Asian

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

For the Chicken

• 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
• Asian Marinade See recipe link post

For the Salad

• 3 hearts of romaine chopped
• 1-2 cups purple cabbage thinly sliced
• 1 cup carrots shredded
• 1 cup cooked edamame
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 2 scallions thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup crispy wonton strips
• 1 cup mandarin orange segments
• 1/2 – 3/4 cup Asian Vinaigrette See recipe link in post
• 1 Tablespoon sesame seeds for garnish

Instructions

For the Chicken

• Combine marinade ingredients in a zipper top bag or bowl. Add chicken and turn to coat well. Refrigerate chicken breasts for 5-6 hours (preferred) or chicken thights from 30 minutes – 2 hours.
• Remove chicken from marinade and grill, pan sear, or oven bake until cooked through. Allow to rest 5-10 minutes before slicing. Serve on top of Asian Salad.

For the Salad

• In a large bowl, add all salad ingredients including sliced cooked chicken. Toss with Asian Vinaigrette, garnish with sesame seeds and serve in individual bowls or plates.

The post Asian Chicken Salad with Asian Vinaigrette 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.

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.

This Warm 7-Layer Salad is addicting and gorgeous.  There’s so much going on here.  Layers and layers of going on.  Every bite is unique and delicious.  All credit to Rachel Ray for this fabulous recipe.  I must admit I was a bit skeptical the first time we made it, but once we took the first bite we were all in.  That may have something to do with the wonderful bacon flavor infused throughout the layers.

Let’s build this salad.  Shall we?!  Which by the way I did in 37 minutes from start to finish, including taking pictures of each layer.  You can do it in 30.  To begin, cook 6 slices of bacon until crispy.  Remove to drain on paper towels.  Pour off bacon drippings into a heat proof bowl and reserve.  While the bacon is cooking, prep your next ingredients.

Layer #1 ~ Green Beans

Into the same skillet that the bacon was cooked in, add about a 1/2 cup of water and the green beans and simmer over medium heat until the water has evaporated and the green beans are crisp tender.  Season with salt and pepper and add those to the bottom of your oven proof bowl.  I used my trifle dish to show off these gorgeous layers.

Layer #2 ~ Summer Squash

Remember the reserved bacon drippings? Add 1 1/2 tsp. of drippings into the same skillet with your diced summer squash.  Cook for 4-5 minutes until beginning to lightly brown.  Season with salt & pepper and add the squash on top of the green bean layer.

Layer #3 ~ Cherry Tomatoes

Add 1 1/2 tsp. of reserved bacon drippings to skillet.  Add cherry tomatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes until warm.  Season with salt & pepper and add on top of squash layer.

Layer #4 ~ White Beans

That’s right, add 1 1/2 tsp. of bacon drippings to the skillet, then add the drained and rinsed white beans.  Saute for a couple minutes until heated through then add on top of the tomato layer.  This is the point in the original recipe where I veered off course.  The recipe instructs you to now place the dish in the oven for 10 minutes to heat the veggies.  I was fighting the light needed for good pictures.  The way I saw it, my veggies all went in hot, so I skipped this step.  Warm is key though, so if your layers have cooled off I recommend warming them in the oven.

Layer #5 ~ Romaine Lettuce

Layer chopped romaine lettuce on top of the warm veggies.

Layer #6 ~ Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Shredded cheddar cheese is the next layer and goes right on top of the lettuce.

Layer #7 ~ Greek Yogurt

You can see from the picture that I got ahead of myself and started adding the bacon before taking a picture of the Greek yogurt layer.  Which illustrates my confusion as to why this wonderful salad is called 7-Layer Salad.  The Greek yogurt is essential and becomes the dressing for this salad.  Trust me, you will not need any other dressing.  The yogurt mixes with the juices of the warm veggies and is fabulous.

Layer #8 ~ Crispy Bacon

The last step to complete this salad is to sprinkle on the crumbled crispy bacon.  It’s how we started this dish and it is the icing on the cake that finishes it!!  Here at Lemony Thyme we’ll call this the Warm 8-Layer Salad, giving full credit and praises to Rachel Ray for creating the recipe.

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Warm 7-Layer Salad {or is it 8-Layers}

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Author Rachel Ray

Ingredients

• 6 slices bacon
• 8 ounces green beans cut into 1-inch pieces
• Salt and pepper
• 2 medium yellow squash diced
• 20 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 14- ounce can white beans rinsed & drained
• 1 heart romaine lettuce chopped
• 4 ounces sharp yellow cheddar cheese shredded
• 1/2 cup plain fat-free Greek yogurt

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees . In a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp. Transfer to paper towels to drain; pour the bacon drippings into a small, heatproof bowl. While the bacon is cooking, prepare other ingredients.
• Add the green beans and 1/2 cup water to the skillet and simmer over medium-high heat until the water evaporates, 2 to 3 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Transfer to an ovenproof glass bowl (Layer #1).
• In the skillet, heat 1-1/2 tsp. of the bacon drippings. Add the squash and cook over medium-high heat until light brown; season with salt and pepper. Spoon the squash over the green beans (Layer #2).
• Add 1 1/2 tsp. more of the bacon drippings and the tomatoes to the skillet and cook for 2 minutes; spoon over the squash (Layer #3).
• Add another 1-1/2 tsp. of the bacon drippings and the white beans to the skillet and heat through; season with pepper and spoon over the tomato layer (Layer #4). Bake the vegetables until warmed through, 10 minutes.
• Top the baked vegetable bowl with layers of the lettuce (Layer #5) and cheddar cheese (Layer #6). Top with the yogurt (Layer #7), then crumble the bacon and sprinkle on top (Layer #8).

The post Warm 7-Layer Salad {or is it 8-Layers} appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

This is such a wonderful weeknight meal. 

Simple fresh ingredients that come together with ease.  Glorious maple pecan encrusted salmon over a bed of crisp romaine with hard boiled eggs, fresh tomatoes, homemade croutons and shaved Parmesan cheese.  As delicious as you could find in a restaurant, enjoyed in the comfort of home.

We coat the flesh sides of the salmon pieces with a little mayo, maple syrup, cayenne dressing, then press chopped pecans on top.

Place the salmon pieces in a baking dish coated with cooking spray and bake at 375 for 20 minutes.  Meanwhile prepare the salad of torn romaine lettuce, hard boiled eggs, tomato wedges, shaved Parmesan cheese and a handful of croutons.  Since croutons aren’t something we keep on hand, when I picked up the salmon I bought a ciabatta roll at the bakery counter.  When I got home I cut it into cubes, tossed those in a little olive oil and seasonings and baked them along side the salmon.  They were delicious.

All my best,
xo Libby

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Pecan Salmon Caesar Salad

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 2 6- ounce salmon fillets
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 Tbl. maple syrup optional
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 4 cups chopped romaine lettuce
• 2 eggs medium-hard boiled
• 1/4 cup shaved Parmesan cheese
• 1 to mato cut in wedges (omit for low-carb)
• 1 handful croutons omit for low-carb
• Caesar dressing

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a baking dish with olive oil spray. Combine mayonnaise, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper. Spread on top of salmon fillets. Press chopped pecans into mayonnaise coating. Place in baking dish and bake for 17 – 20 minutes (according to desired doneness).
• Meanwhile, place all remaining in a large bowl. Top with cooked salmon and serve with Caesar dressing.

The post Pecan Salmon Caesar Salad appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

I’ve been intrigued by the sounds of a Grilled Caesar Salad for some time now.  And even more so when it’s topped with Herb Grilled Chicken & Shrimp.  Perhaps it’s the warm weather that’s rolled in or the upcoming ‘official kick-off to summer’ Memorial Day Weekend.  Whatever the reason…I want to be out of the kitchen and onto my back deck.

We decided to grill as many components of this salad as possible.  The chicken breasts were coated with extra virgin olive oil and tossed with a few handfuls of fresh herbs (sage, rosemary, and lemony thyme sprigs).  While they were grilling, we prepared the other ingredients.

The shrimp were double skewered to make them easy to handle on the grill, then sprayed with a little olive oil and seasoned with salt & pepper.  The romaine lettuce was sliced in half lengthwise, drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with salt & pepper.  For the Homemade Croutons, we followed this recipe.  We also boiled the eggs while the chicken was grilling, so they would be warm when we were ready to plate.  Lastly we shaved (not grated) fresh Parmesan cheese.

We are firm believers in letting meats rest for 10 minutes after grilling.  So while the chicken rested we grilled the other components.  We grilled the shrimp, romaine lettuce, and croutons for a couple minutes on each side, then removed them to a large wooden cutting board with the chicken, hard boiled eggs, and Parmesan cheese.  Not only did this make a beautiful presentation but it allowed us to each build our own salad.  The warm, slightly wilted lettuce was amazing.  Every layer came together beautifully.  But this Homemade Caesar Salad Dressing…oh my.

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Grilled Caesar Salad {with Herb Grilled Chicken & Shrimp}

Course Entree, Salad

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 2 hearts of romaine lettuce
• 1/2 lb. medium shrimp peeled & deveined
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 Tbl. extra virgin olive oil
• Fresh herb sprigs such as rosemary, sage, lemony thyme
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup shaved Parmesan cheese
• Homemade croutons see recipe link in post
• Homemade Caesar salad dressing see recipe link in post

Instructions

• Prepare the Caesar Salad Dressing.
• Preheat grill to medium-high.
• In a zipper bag, toss the chicken breasts with 2 Tbl. olive oil, fresh herb springs, and salt & pepper. Grill chicken on first side 5-7 minutes until lightly grill marked (1/4 turn midway through for crisscross grill marks). Then turn over and continue cooking another 5-7 minutes until done. Remove from grill and cover with foil.

While the chicken is grilling, prepare the remaining ingredients…

• Bring the eggs to a boil, then turn off water and allow to sit covered for 8 minutes. Then drain and cover with cool water.
• Skewer the shrimp, then spray them with olive oil and sprinkle with salt & pepper.
• Rinse and dry, then cut the romaine in half lengthwise, leaving the root in tack. Drizzle the lettuce with olive oil and sprinkle with salt & pepper.
• Butter the croutons.

While the chicken is resting…

• Grill the shrimp skewers, romaine lettuce, and croutons.
• Peel the hard boiled eggs and cut in half.
• Shave (not grate) the Parmesan cheese

To serve…

• Place all grilled ingredients on a large platter or wooden cutting board. Add the hard boiled egg halves and shaved Parmesan cheese. Serve with Homemade Caesar Dressing (see recipe link in post).

The post Grilled Caesar Salad {with Herb Grilled Chicken & Shrimp} appeared first on Lemony Thyme.