SHEET PAN SALAD

There is nothing like a crisp cool salad on a hot summer day by the pool. So refreshing. And they are so quick and easy to fix. I absolutely love the versatility of toppings you can use for a sheet pan salad, and the wide range of dressing selections. You can be so creative with them, and make them very eye appealing.

One of my favorite poolside salads is a tossed garden salad that takes advantage of summer fresh vegetables: lettuces, cucumbers, green onions, ripe tomatoes, green and red sweet bell peppers -- simplicity at it's best.

But my favorite thing in the summer is to quickly throw together a sheet pan salad. It's so quick and easy to throw together. You can make them as dramatic or as simple as you wish. When you entertain -- you can simple place them out along with dressing selections and just sit by and collect all of the compliments. You'll be surprised with how simple it is to impress your guests or relax with family.

I like to use the biggest sheet pans I can find. So what is the difference between a cookie sheet and a sheet pan? A sheet pan has a rim around it that keeps juices in. A cookie sheet does not necessarily have the rim.

Let's construct your base: GREENS. You can select any combination of salad greens you like. There is nothing like fresh young lettuce from your garden....

But store bought does equally well. I personally like the iceberg, romaine and spinach. But for ease in preparation, I like to pick up the packaged ready to go salad greens, and they come in all varieties and mixes. I like the butter crunch, spring mix, baby field of greens, hearts of romaine, Italian blend, American blend and the veggie lovers garden mix the best.

I do wash even the packed salad greens, and finish all produce: vegetables, fruit and berries, with a final soak in food-grade hydrogen peroxide and water for safety. Once you have your salad greens base prepared (cut and washed), just spread a coating over the entire base of your sheet pan. Amounts will vary depending on your pan size and preferences. This is not an exact science, it is a fly by the seat of your pants creative endeavor.

Here is where that creative part comes in -- you can top your base with whatever combinations your little heart desires! And you can just pile it on, or you can get fancy and "design" your salad to make it more eye appealing.

I am going to give you some examples of salads I have done that are my most popular among my friends, along with pictures of them. Try some of my combinations -- and then go ahead and create your own favorites.

STRAWBERRY AND SLICED ALMOND SUMMER SALAD is a favorite among my guests and it disappears quickly once put out. Just halve, quarter or slice your strawberries and spread over the base. Sprinkle the sliced almonds over the top. You can serve as is or garnish with whatever you have. Here, I had an abundance of cucumbers and cherry tomatoes from the garden. I had some black cherries leftover that I placed in the middle. I like to puree strawberries, almonds and lemon and mix in a little balsamic vinegar with some fresh olive oil and spices for a dressing with this. But you can put a selection of any dressings out. And don't forget to put the vinegar and oil cruets out too, along with the salt and pepper -- personally, I like Himalayan salt and fresh pepper in grinders.

In the above 3 COMBO SHEET PAN SALAD, I made 3 separate combinations and separated each with a row of veggies. You'll see from left to right: a row of green pepper slices, a row of Italian salad, a row of artichoke hearts, a row of quartered tomatoes, a row of orange/pineapple salad, another row of quartered tomatoes, a row of sliced cucumbers, a row of strawberry and sliced almond salad and a row of broccoli florets. I garnished it with deviled eggs. I have chickens and ducks, so I always have a lot of farm fresh eggs. I like to make deviled eggs to garnish salads with, but you can also halve or quarter them and even dice them.

For the Italian salad, I shred ham, pepperoni and hard salami and spread that over the greens. I add whatever I have in the refrigerator or pantry: black olives, green olives, roasted red peppers, fresh mozzarella balls, onion, pepperoncini, etc. Then I top with 6 blend Italian cheese. I like to use the fine shred and I prefer Sargentos, but there are other brands out there that do as well.

The Pineapple/orange salad is very simple. I put pineapple cubes and mandarin orange segments over the greens. I garnish with shaved coconut. On this one I had extra oranges, so I sliced up a few oranges, cut a slit in each slice and twisted to do a row down the middle.

In the above photo, you see another strawberry and sliced almond salad on the left, and another Italian salad on the right. But in the middle, is -- or was -- my SPINACH SALAD WITH RED RASPBERRIES AND TOASTED PECANS. I goes so fast! I put it out and people scramble to get it. It is so simple but elegant. I got this idea from a lady from my home church -- Sue. She taught me a trick that makes this salad pop -- you must carefully toast the pecans. Toast them well but do not let them burn. This is a 10 minute step you must watch carefully, but will take your salad to the highest level. I also make certain to take the stems off of each spinach leaf. Takes a few minutes, but it is so worth it. The simple construction consists of placing the spinach leaves on your sheet pan, covering with your red raspberries and topping with your cooled toasted pecans. Serve it with red raspberry salad dressing. There are several varieties out there, including sugar-free and fat-free. I like to make my own by pureeing some red raspberries, toasted pecans, lemon and honey and adding some balsamic vinegar, fresh olive oil and few spices.

Another favorite is the TACO SHEET PAN SALAD that you see in the above photo on the left. The salad on the right is the Strawberry and Sliced Almond Sheet Pan Salad.

I like to use my own homemade chili for taco salad, but you can use a canned chili for convenience. If I am out of chili, I take 3 pounds of ground beef, brown it and drain the grease off. Then I mix in a can of re-fried beans and 2 packages of taco seasoning -- you can use regular, mild or hot, depending on your preferences. I let this cool and use half of it for the Sheet Pan Taco Salad and put half in the refrigerator to use for making nachos later that night or the next day. (For the nachos: spread taco chips on a sheet pan or a cookie sheet and drop teaspoons of the beef and re-fried bean mixture over the chips. Top with lots of shredded cheddar cheese and bake until hot and melted. Serve as is or make it deluxe by topping with shredded lettuce, diced onions, diced fresh tomatoes, cilantro, black olives, jalapenos, etc. Garnish with sour cream, salsa, guacamole and lime wedges.)

To construct my taco salad, I spread the base of salad greens on my sheet pan. I spread the chili or beef and bean mixture over the the greens. I top with shredded cheddar cheese and top with fresh tomatoes. I put all of the "extras" out for people to select what they prefer for toppings: diced onions, sliced black olives, sliced green olives, diced tomatoes, sliced jalapenos, guacamole, sour cream, salsa, quartered slices of lime, cilantro, etc. I put chips in a bowl to the side -- I NEVER put them on the salad because the get soggy too fast. I usually put 3 kinds of chips out for guests: regular, lime flavored and nacho cheese Doritos. Here is a picture of some of the toppings:

Another favorite is my SMOKED TURKEY AND BACON SHEET PAN SALAD. This idea was born from unexpected guests dropping in and me scurrying to find something to throw together at the last minute. My sons had gone turkey hunting, as they always do. And my oldest brought some tough old birds in. Wild turkey is tough and requires finesse in cooking to make it tender. Usually we grind it into bacon turkey burger -- but this time I decided to try smoking a few of the breasts. I made a rub for the turkey breast and wrapped them completely with bacon. Then I smoked them with hickory wood. They were delicious and very tender. I sliced up the remainder turkey breasts -- I had smoked 6 whole breasts -- and I put them in freezer bags and stuck them in the deep freeze. When the unexpected guests dropped in, I just grabbed one of the bags of turkey and bacon and quick thawed it in the microwave on the defrost setting. Now, you can use leftover turkey or sliced turkey from the deli, and fry up your own bacon or use the convenient packed bacon bits.

Just place your smoked turkey and bacon over your base of salad greens. I added sliced and quartered cucumbers and shaved carrots to this one. If you like, you can top it with shredded Swiss cheese. A cool ranch, Italian or French dressing goes nice with it.

The possibilities are endless. Use your imagination to create your favorite combos, and.......ENJOY THE BOUNTY OF SUMMER!