Pizza and salad might sound like total opposites, one’s cheesy, gooey, and indulgent, while the other is light, crisp, and refreshing. But put them together? You’ve got the best of both worlds in one bowl.

My love for big green salads has no limits, and I’ve been known to transform all kinds of comfort food into my kind of salad. I’m laughably known for my Fritos-Every-Day-Diet, as corn chips are my salad topping of choice most days.

Street tacos meet the Big Green Salad in this Carnitas Salad Bowl that I can’t get enough of lately. Crunchy lettuce is layered with juicy carnitas, tomatoes, avocado, onions, corn, beans, and cheese, then topped with a squeeze of lime. While I’m a huge fan of homemade salad dressings, this salad is so flavorful I just squeeze a lime over the top and finish with a sprinkling of salt and pepper.

This BLT Salad is fully loaded with crunchy romaine lettuce, sweet tomatoes and fresh corn, salty bacon, rich and creamy avocado slices, cubed cheddar cheese, crunchy croutons, and the perfect ranch dressing.

BBQ chicken salad with sweet potato fries has become one of my favorite lunches over the past couple of years. This is a cold garden salad tossed with warm and saucy barbecue chicken, then topped with crisp, hot sweet potato fries.

All the awesomeness of the popular grinder sandwich is tossed into this salad with crunchy greens, juicy tomatoes, and a medley of meats and cheeses. Then it’s drizzled with a delicious creamy dressing to make this Italian grinder salad.

Pizza Salad

Fresh garden salad is topped with warm and cheesy pizza “croutons” for a fun and totally satisfying twist on pizza night. It’s playful, delicious, and as much fun to eat as

This pasta feels like spring or summer in a bowl. It’s light and lemony with a great balance of flavors. The lemon cuts through the creaminess, the salmon brings that slightly smoky depth, and the pine nuts add just the right crunch.

Smoked Salmon Pasta

I’ve fallen in love with the ease of dishes made with smoked salmon. The huge boost of flavor the salmon adds to the meal is wonderful, but best of all, the cooking time is minimal.

The sauce comes together in minutes with simple ingredients, just a splash of cream, plenty of lemon juice and zest, and a good amount of Parmesan to tie it all together. Toss in the pasta, sprinkle over some buttery pine nuts, and fold in silky ribbons of smoked salmon at the end.

This meal came together quickly for a weekend lunch. My husband really enjoyed this, despite the fact that pasta is not one of his favorite foods. My sons and I loved it as well. This recipe is a definite keeper.

Salmon Pasta

Salmon and I haven’t always had a great relationship, but over the past 10 years or so, I’ve grown to love this fish. There are near-endless ways to prepare it, and I can’t get enough of it lately.

Spicy, sweet, and slightly tangy glazed salmon with broccoli has been a family favorite for a long time. One delightfully simple sauce does double duty as a marinade for the fish and a flavor booster for the fresh broccoli.

This brown sugar salmon uses the air fryer to cook a piece of salmon to seasoned and subtly sweet perfection in mere minutes.

With flavorful salmon nestled on a bed of baby greens, fresh herbs, glass noodles, avocado, crunchy cabbage and carrots, pickled broccoli and a to-die-for chili lime dressing, this Asian salmon salad is a showstopper. This is a salad to get very excited for – just ask my friends and family. I’ve been talking about it for months

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Filled with savory, sweet, and just a little bit spicy ground beef tucked into melting cheese, you’re going to love Korean Beef Quesadillas. A bit of leftover Korean Beef inspired this delicious fusion twist on our late-night quesadilla cravings.

Korean Beef Quesadillas

Is this really a Korean quesadilla? Hardly, but it is inspired by our affection for Korean flavors. (Though, now that I’m thinking about it, I’m hard pressed to think of an authentic Korean option.) Are there a lot of people making quesadillas in Korea? <- That’s a serious question, friends.

All I know is that my family, and many of you too, love this Korean-inspired ground beef skillet, (inspired many years ago by our love of classic Korean bulgogi), and we also love a great quesadilla, too. So, adding a bit of leftover Korean beef to my lunch quesadilla a while back was a particular bit of brilliance, if I say so myself.

As a result of that impulse lunch? I’ve made these quesadillas for the family multiple times now, and they have earned a place in our quesadilla recipes. And, side note, if you love Korean beef anywhere near as much as we do, you’ll want to put these Korean beef noodles on your must-try list too.

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Tender, garlicky shrimp, creamy avocado, crisp vegetables, and a tangy-sweet dressing combine in this irresistible shrimp and avocado salad. Every bite makes me grin when I’m eating this salad.

Shrimp and Avocado Salad

It takes just a few minutes to cook the shrimp, and the rest of the time required here is spent just prepping the vegetables. You can make this one ahead of time, too, if you want to make it even easier at dinner time. Just add the avocado and toss with the dressing right before serving.

The salad base is made with crunchy lettuce, spring mix, cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, carrots, and fresh parsley. If you haven’t yet tried a salad with an abundance of fresh parsley in it, you’re missing out.

Parsley brightens savory flavors similarly to the way lemon brightens the flavors in countless sweet and savory dishes. The vegetables in this salad are tossed in that honey dijon vinaigrette I shared earlier this week. It pulls all the flavors together perfectly.

Avocado Shrimp Salad

The shrimp are cooked in a bit of butter with garlic and then drizzled with a little lemon juice, leaving them super juicy and full of flavor. Pairing that shrimp with creamy avocado, crunchy crisp vegetables, and a simple vinaigrette adds up to a salad that’s anything but boring.

Whether you’re making this for yourself or serving it to friends, it’s a salad that looks great and tastes even better. It’s one of those meals that leaves you feeling satisfied and full without being too heavy.

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It isn’t often that a salad manages to qualify as a full meal for my crew, but this Italian chopped salad checks all the boxes for us, with plenty of meat and cheese, crunchy fresh vegetables, tangy olives and pepperoncini, tossed in a zesty Italian dressing.

Italian Chopped Salad

This is a terrific make-ahead meal option for summer days and nights. Divide the prepped salad into separate containers or zip-close bags. Lay a paper towel in the containers or bags to help absorb any moisture that collects, and the salad will stay fresh longer.

When you’re ready to enjoy some salad, drizzle a portion of salad with the zesty Italian dressing and toss right before serving or eating. You can add croutons, chips, or even toast some garlic herb bread to enjoy along with the salad, if you’re like me and enjoy a bit of carb-y awesome crunch with your salads.

Chopped Italian Salad

The key to a great chopped salad is to make every bite the same size. My family goes a bit crazy over chopped salads, and they often comment how great it is to have a bit of each flavor in every bite. One of my boys even insists on reveling in his salad by eating it with a spoon. And the spoon never fails to make me laugh.

I’m willing to bet that after your first bite, you’ll agree that it is well worth the few minutes of extra effort to chop things small. To make a chopped salad, simply cut all the ingredients very small and as close to the same size as possible.

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