I love eating salads. Joshua isn't a big fan of having salad for the main dish at dinner, but he graciously allows me to play around and serve salads to the family. (Of course, I serve lots of dinners he loves, too.) :)

Even the children are learning to eat salad, by having to eat a small portion whenever it's on the table. For things like burgers, I allow them to eat a big leaf of lettuce on the side if they prefer to not have it with the burger. Either way, they're having at least a little of everything and have learned to enjoy quite a variety of foods this way! :)

Dinner salads are the perfect solution to hot summer weather when I don't want to heat up the house, and our evening is full enough without turning on the grill.

When Joshua grills chicken for us, I usually ask him to do a few extra chicken breasts. Why not fill up the grill all at once? It saves time and energy (gas or charcoal)! Leftover grilled chicken breasts, thinly sliced, can make a variety of different salads and a salad topped with lean protein is healthy for all of us. (A couple of my favorites? Apple Harvest Chicken Salad and Southwest Chicken Salad.)

A reader, Debbie, introduced me to Cobb Salad when she sent me a recipe for Cobb Salad and Dressing. We made it for the first time last summer, and it was amazing!! I was in love from the first bite and it was truly one of the most satisfying, enjoyable meals I made all summer.

I don't normally have all of the ingredients on hand, as turkey bacon, avocados, tomatoes, bleu cheese, and green onions are all things I purchase only for certain recipes. However, this recipe was well worth making sure I had every ingredient, as the flavors were spectacular together and it was quite a treat!

Once everything is chopped and the dressing is blended, you can refrigerate the ingredients and pull it out and assemble at dinner time. If I serve Cobb Salad to guests, that's just what I'll do! :)

By the way, can I just say how happy I am that summer is almost here and I can eat salad without shivering? :) We've even eaten a few meals out on our deck. So much fun! :)

Do you have a new must-try salad recipe for me? Send it to me, or leave the recipe (or a link to it) in a comment! :)