I make this salad often in the summer season using leftover grilled chicken and my own Italian dressing recipes, I have a few great Italian salad dressings recipes posted here on the site anyone will work fine for this recipe,  bottled will work fine but homemade is always better to use, it will improve the flavor of your salad big time!

Cubed mozzarella or provolone cheese or freshly grated Parmesan cheese may be substituted for the feta, well drained canned sliced black olives or Greek Kalamata olives are a great addition to add in also

To save time (and this is what I most always do)  a day ahead, prepare the dressing  then refrigerate, in a bowl combine the cooked pasta along with the chicken and feta cheese, toss, cover and refrigerate until ready to use the following day, before serving mix in the lettuce, tomatoes and dressing, this will save you a ton of time!

Some ingredients have no amounts listed, you can just use as much as you like

Servings 4-6

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups uncooked bow tie pasta (or use as much as you like)

1 head lettuce, chopped (or can use two romaine hearts, torn into pieces, I do not recommend using the outer leaves of the romaine for this salad, the hearts will hold up better with the weight of the pasta)

grape OR cherry tomatoes, halved

1 medium red onion, chopped

cubed cooked chicken (use as much as you like)

finely crumbled feta cheese (use lots!)

prepared Italian salad dressing (use as much as you like I would suggest to start with 1/2 cup and add in more to taste)

salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:—————————————————-

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and rinse in cold water (drain very well) then transfer to a large bowl.

Mix in romaine lettuce, chicken, onion, tomatoes and feta cheese.

Drizzle with dressing and toss to coat, then season with salt and pepper to taste.

After mixing allow the salad to sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes before serving or refrigerate for 1 hour.

If you find that the salad is dry after removing from refrigerator then mix in some vegetable or canola oil.

You will also find this recipe on Recipezazz.com

Plan ahead the BBQ sauce must be made a day one day in advance, also the ribs need 24 hours refrigeration time before freezing

My advice is to increase the rib amount and the spice amounts also so that you will have ribs ready anytime to pop on the grill

Servings 4-6

INGREDIENTS:

4 pounds pork baby back ribs (cut racks in half or thirds)

1 prepared recipe Kitten’s Famous Barbecue Sauce (remember to make this sauce a day or more in advance, or use your own favorite)

Rib Rub:

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon paprika

2 teaspoons seasoned salt

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper

2 teaspoons chili powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

INSTRUCTIONS:————————————–

Place ribs in a shallow roasting pan.

Cover and bake at 325 degrees F  for 2 hours; cool slightly.

Combine the rub seasoning ingredients together, then rub over cooled ribs.

Wrap ribs in foil and refrigerate for 24 to 48 hours.

After 24 or 48 hours hours refrigeration time, freeze ribs until ready to grill (ribs must be fully thawed before grilling)

Remember!  — the barbecue sauce must be made a day ahead before using.

When ready to grill; remove thawed ribs from the foil then brush ribs with some of the sauce.

Place the ribs on the grill over medium heat; cook 12 minutes turning and basting with sauce.

Serve with reserved sauce.

Prepare the blueberry sauce well in advance as it needs to be chilled before using

Yield 2 quarts

INGREDIENTS:

vanilla wafer cookies (or use cookies of choice)

Blueberry  Drizzle Sauce;

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 cup water

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1-1/3 cups fresh OR frozen blueberries

Ice Cream;

1-1/2 cups sugar

1 (3.4-ounce) package instant cheesecake pudding mix (if you can’t find cheesecake flavor you can use instant vanilla pudding mix)

4 cups (1 quart) heavy 35% whipping cream

2 cups milk

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS:———————————————

For the blueberry drizzle sauce; in a small saucepan combine sugar and cornstarch; whisk in the water and lemon juice until smooth.

Stir in blueberries; bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer stirring for 5 minutes or until slightly thickened.

Cover and refrigerate until cold.

For ice cream; in a large bowl whisk all the the ice cream ingredients until smooth and no granules remain.

Fill ice cream freezer cylinder two-thirds full; freeze according to manufacturer’s directions.

** For the remaining ice cream mixture cover tightly and refrigerate until ready to freeze.

When ready to use the ice cream mixture whisk before adding to ice cream freezer container (mixture may have a few lumps).

To serve; in a chilled ice cream bowl layer ice cream then blueberry sauce alternately ending up with drizzle on top.

Place 2 vanilla wafer cookies in the bowl on each side.

For chocolate option use chocolate ice cream and chocolate flavor Cool Whip topping

INGREDIENTS:

1 gallon vanilla ice cream (softened but not melted, just soft enough to mix)

1-1/2  (20 ounce) packages chocolate Oreo sandwich cookies

1 (12 ounce) container frozen Cool Whip whipped topping, thawed

This uses three 10-ounce containers of grape tomatoes, it take a few minutes to make as you will need to slice every tomato in half, also the dressing must be made at least 6 hours in advance or a day ahead and then the salad needs at least 3 hours chilling time before serving or up to 8 hours, the longer the better!

This uses both crumbled and cubed feta, use as much cubed as you like, cubed mozzarella will work great also

Servings 6-8

INGREDIENTS:

3 (10 ounce) containers grape tomatoes, sliced in half

1/2 cup finely crumbled

cubed feta cheese (mozzarella will work great also, use as much as you like for either cheese)

1 red onion, chopped

salt and fresh ground black pepper

Dressing:

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

3 large garlic cloves, minced

juice of 2 medium whole lemons

3 to 4 teaspoons dried oregano

2 teaspoons dried basil

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1 teaspoon sugar

INSTRUCTIONS:—————————————-

For the dressing (the dressing must be made at least 6 hours in advance to blend flavors) in a bowl whisk all ingredients together until well blended then refrigerate at least 6 hours.

In a large bowl combine the sliced grape tomatoes with onion, crumbled and cubed feta.

Pour the dressing over; mix thoroughly then season with salt and pepper to taste.

Refrigerate at least 3 hours, removing from the fridge frequently to stir.

Taken from my “Favorites” folder!

Do not marinade the shrimp for more than 2 hours, there is enough marinade for up to 4 pounds of shrimp

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup tomato sauce

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon black pepper ( can use more)

1 teaspoon seasoning salt

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or adjust to heat level)

3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro OR fresh basil

4 to 5 large fresh garlic cloves ( cut into large pieces, do not mince finely)

1 tablespoon hot sauce (such as Frank’s Red Hot, can use more)

INSTRUCTIONS:————————————————–

Plan ahead the patties need at least 8 hours of refrigeration time before grilling, 24 hours is even better

For best flavor and texture do not use extra lean ground turkey

Yield 8 burgers (or 6 large burgers)

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs

1/2 cup finely shredded carrot (do not squeeze out any moisture from the shredded carrots)

2 large egg, lightly beaten

2 large green onion, chopped

3 tablespoons soy sauce

6 garlic cloves, minced

1-1/2 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

2 teaspoon hot Asian chili sauce, or to taste

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

2 pounds ground turkey (not extra-lean)

8 sliced lightly buttered buns

INSTRUCTIONS:———————————————-

In a bowl and combine the first 10 ingredients together.

Add turkey; using clean hands gently mix just until ingredients are evenly blended.

Divide turkey mixture into 8 equal portions (or for larger burgers shape into 6 patties).

With your hands shape into patties

Place the patties in one layer on a plate cover and refrigerate for 8-24 hours.

Prepare  grill for direct medium-high heat.

Place burgers on well-oiled cooking grate; cover gas grill.

Cook, turning once with a wide spatula (about 10-12 minutes total cooking time for smaller patties)

During the last minute of cooking time, place buns with cut sides down next to burgers and cook until toasted.

Serve the toasted buns with turkey burgers garnished as desired.