Salad Bar Board

Too hot to cook?  Here’s a different twist on an at-home salad bar – a salad bar board.

Using different cutting implements for variety and using ingredients for a well-balanced meal, this board will give you a yummy and satisfying summer meal without heating up your kitchen.

I used the Mueller Chopper for carrots and celery, a Pampered Chef julienne peeler for radishes, Pampered Chef tomato knife and Pampered Chef utility knife for everything else.

The Board

Evon gifted a beautiful marble board for Christmas and it made the perfect surface for a cold meal.  A cutting board would also be great to use – just cut up your veggies and display them on the same board.

The Dressing

I’m always experimenting with vinaigrette.  This time I used apple cider vinegar and added capers.  Capers are so fancy, aren’t they?

From Flavor the Moments, I found a recipe for Greek Yogurt Ranch Dressing.  This was an easy recipe and I got to use herbs from my own garden.  Except dill.  I’m not growing dill.  I specifically searched for a no-mayo recipe and this turned out really good.

Hub likes blue cheese and bottled ranch dressing so he’s on his own.  He generally gets the Litehouse brand in the refrigerator section.

A little preplanning for the dressing is helpful.  It is best if the dressing is made and the flavors mingle for a few hours in the fridge.  For vinegar and oil concoctions, letting them come back to room temperature and shaking gets the best results.

The Greens

I love arugula and he loves ice berg.  Two plates lined with greens was the base and then we used the board to select our other toppings.

The Protein

Canned chicken makes a wonderful protein topping for a no-cook salad day.  Premade bacon bits are excellent too.  We get a large bag from Costco, separate into small packages, vacuum seal and freeze. A little bit of bacon bits goes a long way.

For this board’s protein selection I used boiled eggs and Marcona almonds.

The Sweet

A few dried cherries, berries or even summer fruit make a little surprise for your taste buds.  I don’t like a lot of sweet in my salad, but the tart cherries are just enough.

The Vegetable Toppings

No salad is complete without tomato and cucumber.  Well, okay if I don’t have a cucumber, I can still make a salad.  But if I don’t have a tomato, forget about it.

Hub loves carrots and celery chopped small on his salad.  While I like those veggies in other things, I think they ruin a salad.

See where I’m going with this?  One prep but each person gets to decide what they want. 

The Starch

Nothing is a meal in my book if it doesn’t include starch.  A crunchy roll, a few crackers or in this case, warmed pita bread is what makes a salad satisfying for me.

Wrap Up

I’m really happy with the presentation of this salad board.  Simple enough for everyday and fancy enough to serve to company.

If you’re reading this on the Fourth of July, thank you for being here with me.  Fun plans?  Good weather?

Sending lots of love and blessings to you and yours.