West African Fruit Salad

I found this recipe one Thanksgiving when I was assigned to bring fruit salad to the family celebration. I didn't want to make the same old thing or pay for super out of season produce. This salad was the perfect remedy. It's great as a side or dessert. The recipe came from allrecipes.com

West African Fruit Salad

4 cups cubed pineapple, canned or fresh
2 mangoes, peeled and diced
2 oranges, peeled and segmented
2 bananas, peeled and sliced

2 TBS dark brown sugar
2 TBS lime juice

1 cup toasted coconut

Combine fruit in large bowl. Mix brown sugar with lime juice and stir into fruit. Chill for 1 hour or more. Add toasted coconut before serving.

Fiesta Salad

This bean and brown rice based salad is great for a main dish or as a side. My kids eat it happily and we love it too. Vary the number and types of beans as well as the amount of jalapeno to suit different tastes.

Fiesta Salad

Mix the following in a large bowl:
2 cups cooked and cooled brown rice
1 can of corn (frozen corn would work too)
2-3 cans of beans-black, pinto, garbanzo, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup minced onion
2 jalapenos, seeded and minced
2 TBS cilantro, chopped

Mix and add dressing:
1/4 cup white vinegar
2 TBS vegetable oil
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt

Stir, mix and serve. This salad is even better after it sits in the fridge for a couple of hours so all of the flavors can combine.

Edamame Garden Salad with Citrus Soy Vinaigrette

Steph requested this one, so here it is...

This comes from the book Simply Salads by Jennifer Chandler. Highly recommended.

Salad:
2 cups frozen shelled edamame
1 carrot, peeled and shredded
1/4 cup halved and sliced radishes
1/4 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/2 cucumber, halved lengthwise, seeded, and diced
1 bag (5 ounces) Sweet Baby Greens

*Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the edamame, return to a boil, and cook until just tender, 3 to 5 minutes more. Drain the edamame and rinse with cold water until cooled. Place in a large salad bowl.

*Add the carrot, radishes, tomatoes, cucumber, and Sweet Baby Greens. Add the vinaigrette to taste and gently toss to coat. Serve immediately.

Citrus-Soy Vinaigrette:

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons canola oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

*In a small bowl whisk together the orange juice, lemon juice, soy sauce, and oil until well combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Note: You can just use orange juice and lemon juice from a bottle, and it's still really good. However, I have noticed that the flavor is noticeably better if you squeeze it fresh.