Dried Beef Summer Salad

Here’s another super simple, super quick & super delicious summer salad recipe. Garden-fresh tomatoes & cucumbers are in season right now and easily found at most farmer’s markets.

This recipe is great for those days when it’s too hot to cook, or when you just don’t have 30 minutes (or more) to get supper on the table. Or when your friends are gifting you fresh vegetables from their abundant supply.

You can also make this salad in a jar to take to work. Just place all the ingredients for 1 serving in a quart jar. When you’re ready to eat, dump the contents into a larger bowl to enjoy at work or a lunch date with a friend. This works really well and eliminates the need for separate salad dressing containers as the dressing will either be mixed in or settle to the bottom of the jar & will be on top when it’s all dumped out in the bowl.

You can also make several substitutions, creating a different salad every day.

Dried Beef Summer Salad

• Prep time: 5 minutes                                                                               
• Total time: 5 minutes                                                                                           
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1 large head leaf/Romaine lettuce
• 1 medium cucumber
• 1 tomato
• 8 oz dried beef
• 1-2 Tablespoons salad dressing per individual bowl
• 1- 2 Tablespoons shredded cheese

Directions

• Shred lettuce & place in large bowl.
• Dice tomato & cucumber and add to lettuce.
• Cut up dried beef into small ½ inch chunks & add to vegetables.
• Toss & divide into 4 or more bowls.
• Drizzle salad dressing over salad.
• Top with cheese.
• Enjoy!

Julie’s Notes

• You can use any lunch meat
• You can use all cucumbers and no lettuce
• You can add in any number of vegetables: onions, green beans, peppers, radishes, celery, broccoli, beets, etc)
• You can use Kale, spinach or other greens
• You can use leftover cold meat
• You can use beans or hard-boiled eggs instead of meat
• You can use any shredded cheese (dairy-free I like Daiya Shreds)
• You could use mayo or Miracle Whip salad dressing
• For egg free mayo I use Follow Your Heart Soy Free Veganese
• You could use sour cream or Greek yogurt (dairy-free option: Follow Your Heart or Silk brands)
• You can add fresh or dried herbs like dill weed, basil, thyme, rosemary, oregano, marjoram, parsley, etc
• You can add in spices like coriander, paprika, cumin, ginger, hot red pepper flakes
• You can add in salsa or spaghetti/marinara sauce
• You could use sesame, olive or avocado oil and/or a splash of balsamic or apple cider vinegar

What else can you think of? Share in the comments below!