Spicy Thai Shrimp Salad

 

I fell in love with Thai and Vietnamese food a few years ago while visiting San Francisco. Whenever I stumble across a recipe that reminds me of the culinary adventure I experienced on vacation, I am eager to add the recipes to our weekly menu. 

Once I opened up the recipe, I was slightly intimidated...there are a lot of ingredients but if you break it into the dressing, shrimp, and salad categories, it becomes much less daunting. 

Black Bean & Corn Salad

 

I do love a good salad! This Black Bean & Corn Salad was easy to throw together and I really liked the flavor of the homemade dressing. 

While I liked it, it wasn't my favorite salad. I could see myself making it again in the future when I meal prep lunches for myself for the week. The kids thought it was good but didn't like it enough to request to have it again. 

Crispy Fish Taco Bowl

 

We haven't had fish in a while so when I saw this recipe, I was immediately drawn to it. I usually season fish but avoid adding any additional fats or oils but for this recipe, I did use a small amount of mayo to help the panko breadcrumbs adhere to the fillets. It turned out great and was a crunchy treat to add to our taco bowls. 

When I first made the sauce, I was a little nervous that it would be too spicy for the kids (I halved the adobo sauce called for in the recipe). If eaten alone, I think it may be however, when mixed with all of the ingredients in the bowl, it provided the perfect amount of added heat and flavor. 

Chickpea and Cucumber Salad

This Chickpea and Cucumber Salad was a tasty treat. It was full of flavor and crunch. The added sunflower seeds were a nice addition. 

I’m usually not one to add dressing to an entire bowl of salad. I tend to keep the dressing on the side and add a little as needed. For this salad, I took the plunge and added the dressing. Good decision 🙂 It was delicious! If you find it has too much dressing for your taste, just add in a little more cabbage. 

Mediterranean Chickpea Salad

I had some extra quinoa from earlier in the week so I decided to make this Mediterranean Chickpea Salad to use it up. Great decision…it was a delicious salad that the whole family enjoyed.

The sauce was easy to throw together using my Cuisinart Mini Prep Plus. Gather all the ingredients and throw them in together. A few minutes later, tadah! Beautifully blended sauce with very little clean up. So handy and perfect for smaller jobs when a full sized food processor isn’t needed.

Pesto Shrimp Salad

My kids were seriously licking their plates to devour the last bits of their dinner. This Pesto Shrimp Salad was ridiculously delicious. Needless to say, we didn’t have any leftovers tonight.

Lexie was in love with this sauce immediately. My kids are usually not huge fans of quinoa but it worked so well with this dish. The original recipe is meant to be a quinoa bowl but since I love extra veggies and salads, I used quite a bit more lettuce and served this as a salad instead. Good choice because it was amazing!

Avocado Salmon Salad

This Avocado Salmon Salad is light and fresh and full of flavor. It would be a lovely salad to serve in the summer when fresh dill can be added to the top. I am typically not a huge lemon fan but this salad was a definite keeper for our family.

To slice the veggies, I used my mandoline for a quick and uniform slice in no time at all. I have the older model of this de Buyer mandoline which I love. The blades are SUPER sharp so beware. It comes with interchangeable blades to slice, crinkle, julienne 4mm and 10mm, and waffle cut. It also has an integrated cube system. One side of the blade is serrated for waffle cuts; the other side has a micro-serrated edge for cutting fruits and vegetables. The newer model pusher is a nice upgrade to protect your fingers.

Just be careful when washing it! I’ve had other mandolines in the past that I always had to replace because they didn’t work well. This mandoline does everything you need and more!

Substitutions/Additions made by Cooking After Class for Avocado Salmon Salad:

• used dried dill instead of fresh
• used a regular cucumber instead of an English cucumber

Tips from Cooking After Class for making Avocado Salmon Salad:

• bake salmon in an air fryer instead of pan frying to avoid the extra oil
• be sure to slice the radishes as thin as possible so they do not overpower the salad

RECIPE: Avocado Salmon Salad Recipe

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5

Effort: Quick & Easy

Time: 30 minutes

Kids Comments: Surprisingly good 🙂

Make it Again: Yes…nice fresh, salad…salmon is a great addition

all ingredients ready to go

salmon is seasoned

baked in air fryer

veggies are all chopped

Kenxie was excited for the avocado