I’m the worst.  I know.  I said I was going to make time to post last night and…  I didn’t.  I cleaned the apartment instead.  Really, if you’d seen the dust-storm that was our apartment, I think you’d forgive me — but I’m sorry, I left you hanging with no salad recipes!  Awful.

Well, to try and make up for my terribly lazy blogging habits, I’ll include both salad recipes in this post.  Two for the price of one!  Lucky you.

Let’s get started.  Here’s salad number one:

Tuna salad.  I love this salad because you can throw it together in a pinch (literally, less than 10 minutes).  Plus, it’s one of those use-what’s-in-the-fridge deals, because it works with just about anything.  I like to buy the Costco pack of Albacore canned tuna because it lasts forever, and it’s always in the pantry when I’m at a loss for what to make for dinner.

Ok, this is a very free-style salad, but I’ll list what went into mine this time: romaine, bell pepper, red onion, cucumber, kalamata olives, a large Roma tomato, and a peach (yes, I like fruit in my salad).  To make the tuna, I took 2 cans of albacore tuna (because I like leftovers) and added in some diced red onion, bell pepper, celery, cucumber, and pickles.  I also added a little mayo, salt and pepper.

The dressing is just a basic balsamic vinaigrette — I generally do 1/2 tbsp. balsamic, 1 tbsp. olive oil, a little dijon mustard, and salt and pepper.

Toss the salad with the dressing, top with some tuna and voila — tuna salad.

Usually I make some croutons for this.  I was feeling lazy so I just served it with some sliced bread (aka poor man’s croutons).  It’s gluten-free without the croutons.  I’ll just act like that was my plan right from the start…  And it’s dairy-free either way.

Ok, onward and upward: salad number two!

Greek salad.

I’m sorry, this salad doesn’t photograph very well, but I promise it’s delicious.

To make this I used: 1 chicken breast, 1/2 red onion, 1/2 cucumber, 1 bell pepper, 2 large Roma tomatoes, 2 oz light feta.

Chop it all up and toss it in: 1/8 cup red wine vinegar, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 minced garlic clove, 1/2 tsp dried oregano (rubbed between your hands before added), and salt and pepper.

This salad is great because it’s not too many ingredients, and it’s perfect for entertaining because it tastes better the longer it sits and it’s super easy to make in large batches.  And it’s gluten-free.  And it could be vegetarian if you omitted the chicken.

Wouldn’t it just be beautiful in a huge batch made with red, orange, and yellow bell peppers?  Yes, these are the things I think about that make me happy.  I’m easily pleased, what can I say.

I served this with some sliced pita, because I like to eat my Greek salad in a pita pocket.

I like to eat just about anything in a pita pocket, really.

Alright, now let’s all say a little prayer that these rioters downtown don’t shut down BART so I can make it to work safe and sound tomorrow.

I <3 you Oakland, but keep it together, please.  Thanks, Chelsea