Lettuce Wedge Salad

With so much choice in greens today, I tend to mostly use dark leafy greens for my salads, but here we have a refreshing salad using iceberg lettuce with an easy Thousand Island dressing. It makes a nice appetizer.

Ingredients for four servings:

• 1 head lettuce, cut into quarter wedges
• 2 - 3 chopped tomatoes
• 3 Tbsp crumbled bacon pieces
• 2 Tbsp chopped chives

dressing:

• 1/2 cup light mayonnaise
• 2 Tbsp red pepper or hot pepper (hamburger) relish
• 2 Tbsp ketchup

1. Mix dressing ingredients according to personal taste (less or more of each ingredient)  and divide over lettuce wedges.
2. Top with tomatoes, bacon and chives.

Creamy Cilantro Dressing

This winter when we were in Texas we always went to eat at the same chicken place every Sunday after church. We fell in love with their salad served in a tortilla bowl. It was filled with rice, beans, lettuce, grilled chicken, pico de gallo, cilantro, sour cream, cheese, and with salsa and a lovely creamy cilantro dressing on the side. Once home I immediately made this cilantro dressing. It is a little different in taste from the restaurant but wonderful all the same. I tried to replicate the salad as I remembered it. I didn't have the tortilla bowls but served the salad with tortilla chips which was quite tasty too.

• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1/2 avocado
• 1 cup packed cilantro, stems removed
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Put all ingredients in the blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
2. Store in refrigerator.
3. Yield: 1 1/2 cups