Easy and Quick Chopped Salad

I first had a real Chopped Salad at a pot-luck, made by my friend Lindy, who I knew in High school but didn't see again until about 5 or 6 years ago. It was great. I had no idea why I never saw or heard of chopped salad before. I love being able to put a huge salad in my bowl and eat it with a spoon. :-) I'm posting this here because a couple people asked me for the recipe (such as it is).

One of my friends teases me that I "don't like salad" because I never order it in restaurants. That's because the lettuce is always in giant pieces so it's hard to eat without getting salad dressing on my face. I like salad, just not wearing it!

I searched for recipes for Chopped Salad, and then realized why I never had one: none of the recipes were appetizing to me, often consisting primarily of things I either can't eat or just don't like. Also, many of the recipes were way too much trouble - I'm basically very lazy about food.

You might look at this and say that ingredients like Cruciferous Crunch, shredded carrots, and broccoli slaw are already prepared and ready to eat. Yes, but, they are not chopped. I eat my chopped salad with a soup spoon - the pieces have to be small.

So this is my own easy version made with things I like! I probably never make it exactly the same way twice, but this is the basic version. Almost everything is from Trader Joe's:

• 1 bag Cruciferous Crunch, chopped
• 1 bag shredded carrots - 10 oz, chopped
• 1 box grape or sugar plum tomatoes 1 lb - cut each in half
• 1 bag sliced mushrooms, chopped (10 oz bag)
• 1 cup (approx) unsalted toasted sunflower seeds

Protein Add-ins, pick one (or mix & match):

• One carton of TJ Fresh mozzarella Ciliegine, drained, cut each in half (these are little balls about an inch or so in diameter)
• 4 - 6 chopped hard-boiled eggs
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups chopped chicken

Something a little sweet (optional):

• 4 - 6 oz chopped dried cherries (TJ has some with no sugar added)
• 1/2 - 1 cup raisins or other chopped fruit.

I mix all of this together in a large bowl. It makes a *lot*; pretty much fills a 1 gallon zip-lock baggie. Sometimes I add dressing when I mix it all up, but usually I wait and put dressing on when I eat it. I eat from a huge bowl (Chinese restaurant soup bowl) and I get 4 - 5 hearty servings.

Dressings (my favs):

• TJ Cilantro
• TJ Pear Vinaigrette
• Panera Fuji apple dressing
• Ranch dressing (I only like this when there's eggs and no fruit)

Serving time:

• If there is no dried fruit, I sometimes chop a half or even a whole fresh apple.
• Sprinkle a little shredded cheese (TJ Quatro fromaggio is good) or parmesan flakes [what's up with parmesan flakes? What's wrong with shredded parmesan?]
• Some fresh HB egg if no egg already. OK, I'm weird, I like HB eggs.

Other additives/alternatives sometimes:

• Toasted sliced almonds, pumpkin seeds, or pignolias
• TJ has some sweet/spicy pecans I sometimes chop and throw in.
• Have extended it with a can of garbanzo beans (Lindy uses black beans too). I imagine peas and/or corn would also be good.
• Would be good with some avocado mixed in at last minute
• Shredded or chopped bacon
• Chopped/sliced olives if you like them.
• I've made it with broccoli slaw + red cabbage slaw mix instead of Cruciferous crunch
• I've also made it with spinach or spring lettuce mix