I’m of two frames of mind – One is nooooo I want Summer to stay forever because I like being slightly tan and not having to wear 600 million layers of clothing. The other side of me is very much cheering saying “rock all the pumpkin and apple candles you can and start making all kinds of fall dishes”. Can’t lie, I’m pretty pumped for some fresh applesauce and the sweet potato apple pie I made last year. But then again I love all the fresh vegetables and vibrant colors of the Summer.
Do you see what’s going on in my head? It’s chaos! So as a compromise I made an “End of Summer Salad”. It’s a fresh, easy Salad that will help you use up the last of your vegetables – and I tossed in a little bit of sausage just make it more of a lunch instead of a side dish. So you can now sit in your kitchen, with a pumpkin candle AND this salad, making both parts of our mind happy — you’re welcome! And if you don’t have these vegetables on hand or they aren’t on sale at your local grocery store – no big deal! Just use what you have!
I’m pretty obsessed with the crunchy, meaty, tangy combination of this salad. It’s easy to make but doesn’t taste ordinary. You could also consider adding some raw chopped cashews or some goat cheese if those rock your boat to make it even more flavorful! And I know I said this was the perfect lunch, but I also think you could rock this with Burgers one night as a side dish!
And don’t be afraid to put this in the fridge and store it over night! I made it, photographed it and stored the leftovers and ate them for breakfast the next day. All I can say is it was really yummy if not better than eating it when it’s freshly made!
Bonus? If you don’t have a cooking bone in your body you can still make this. I promise – this is fool proof. Chop, dress, mix. That’s it! Dare I say this is easier than the Mug Cake? Yes, yes it is! So if you have a Labor Day Party to go to you can bring this {or you could bring mug cake ingredients and make everyone a mug cake… that would be hilarious actually. Do Both!}.
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End of Summer Salad
Prep Time: 10 mins
Total Time: 10 mins
Yield: 2
Category: Lunch / Side Dish
Ingredients
- 1/2 medium onion, finely diced
- 1 stalk of celery, diced
- 1 Avocado, diced
- 1 medium tomato, diced
- 1/2 a large cucumber, diced
You might need to peel your cucumber depending on what kind you use! - ~4 or 5 oz of cooked sausages, cooked & cut into bite sized pieces
I used Applegate Farm Chicken Apple Sausage - 1 lemon, juiced
- olive oil
Use a really good quality one - 1 tsp. dried basil
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- salt + pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Wash and chop all your vegetables and add them into a mixing bowl along with your avocado, and sausage.
–I used ready to go sausages – but if you need to cook yours up fresh I’d chop or crumble it up, let it start to cook and then chop up your veggies while it’s cooking. They should be done at the same time! And if they’re not you can finish making the salad and then add the sausage at the very end! - Add in 1/2 a lemon’s worth of juice and a big drizzle of good olive oil.
–I generally go for a first cold press, extra virgin olive oil! - Add in your basil, garlic powder, salt + pepper.
- Mix it up really well.
- Taste test and add the other half of the lemon’s juice if you need to!
And if you don’t like sausages mixed into your vegetables you can try out my Summer Salad from way back when or you can check out my Panzenella Salad recipe in my first book! Both are along the same idea as this recipe so between these three there’s something for everyone!
Happy Wednesday!
Hi Liz. Really loved this recipe – I’m always on the look out for new salads and this really hit the mark for me. I used veggie sausages, which tend to be less fatty and less messy, and it worked perfectly.
I’m intrigued by the paleo diet, but not sure I can make it work for me – mainly because of the lack of grains. I have now seen a few recipes that I like on here though and will be following with interest. Thank you. 🙂
★★★★★
I made a large batch of this and my family devoured it. My kids ended up taking from my plate when they were finished with their own. The apple sauasages were perfect with the veggies. Thanks for sharing.
★★★★★
This was a great tasting and easy to make salad. My husband isn’t one for a lot of vegetables but he gobbled it up and had a second bowl. Great job.
★★★★★
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