Picnic, Potluck or Party Perfect

It's summertime!

Time for church picnics, weekend barbecue potlucks, lazy Sunday brunches, and nights when you just don't want to turn on your stove!  What we all need this time of year is a good recipe for a healthy and tasty dish you can   cook up fast,   take on the road,  and serve up without a care.
I've got just the thing:  a hearty, delicious and picnic-worthy salad.  

It starts with great-tasting green beans.  Unless you insist on picking, trimming and steaming your own fresh beans, I'd recommend trying Archer Farm's extra fine green beans, which I buy at Target.  They come in a convenient, steam-in-the-microwave bag, and they are tasty!

Trader Joe's frozen haricot vert also work really well in this recipe.

(Neither Archer Farms, Target nor Trader Joe's compensated me in any way to make these statements -- I just love their beans!)

To make the salad, simply toss together

• about 1-½ lbs. of fresh (or 2 12 oz. packages of frozen) green beans, cooked and chopped into approximately 1 inch pieces.  I do not recommend using canned green beans in this recipe.  Or ever.
• 1 can of chickpeas, drained
• ½ of a large red onion, finely diced
• 1 cup of crumbled feta cheese
• ¾ cup of crushed walnuts
• 1 cup of homemade garlic herb vinaigrette.  (I recommend the fresh mint variation, but use any kind of herb you like.

Then refrigerate in an air-tight container at least one hour.  It's best, though, to make this the day before, if possible, because this is one of those recipes that taste even better the next day.

Just give the chilled salad a good shake to recoat all the ingredients before serving.

You'll be delighted with the creamy-crispy-chewy texture, the bright appearance and the fresh taste of this summer-perfect salad.

Enjoy!


Looking for more good salads?  Try:
Caesar salad
Broccoli salad
Arugula and watermelon salad

Picnic Salad    from grannyfab.blogspot.com
Ingredients:	Instructions:
For the salad: 1-½ lbs. cooked fine green beans 1 can of chickpeas ½ large red onion, finely diced 1 cup crumbled feta cheese ¾ cup crushed walnuts For the vinaigrette: ¾ cup olive oil ¼ cup vinegar of choice 1 clove of garlic, peeled and chopped ¼ cup fresh mint leaves Scant ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard Salt and pepper to taste	1.    Chop the cooked green beans into approx. one inch pieces. 2.    Drain the can of chickpeas and add to the beans. 3.    Add in the diced onion, feta cheese and walnuts. 4.    Toss all together with vinaigrette. 5.    Refrigerate at least 1 hour, but overnight if possible.