Thrifty Thursday: Summer recipes using your salad dressing stockpile!

Kraft salad dressing is $.89/bottle after coupons at Target this week, which is a pretty good “stock up” price. One of the things I love about summer is summer salads!  If you decide to stock up on salad dressing this week (or you already have a stockpile), here are some great recipes (salads and non-salads) that will help you actually use your stockpile!

Do you have a favorite recipe using some sort of dressing to share or a Thrifty Thursday tip to share? If so, please link up below!

Chicken Spinach Bow Tie Pasta Salad ~ I had this salad for the first time at Marci’s baby shower last year and I was totally hooked.  It became my favorite salad to take to family gatherings and potlucks last summer!

Ingredients:
baby spinach
grilled chicken
bow tie pasta
pesto
feta cheese
toffee glazed almond accents
diced tomatoes

-make the dressing by mixing equal parts Italian dressing and Caesar dressing

Chicken Pasta Salad with Grapes and Poppy Seed Dressing – I love pasta salad in the summer! I found this recipe on Bettycrocker.com last summer and decided to try it out.

Ingredients:
1 box Betty Crocker® Suddenly Salad® classic pasta salad mix
1/2 cup refrigerated poppy seed dressing
1 1/2 cups cut-up cooked chicken
3/4 cup halved red grapes
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted

Directions:
1. Empty Pasta mix into 3-quart saucepan 2/3 full of boiling water. Gently boil uncovered 12 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Drain pasta; rinse with cold water. Shake to drain well.
3. In large bowl, stir together seasoning mix and dressing. Add pasta and remaining ingredients; toss to combine. Serve immediately, or refrigerate.

Taco salad ~ This is a pretty basic recipe that my mom used to make all of the time when I was a kid – it sounds a little bit strange, but when you mix it all together, it’s yummy!

Ingredients:
Iceberg lettuce, shredded
Tomatoes
1 can light red kidney beans, drained
Ground beef, browned (I mix mine with a little bit of taco seasoning as I cook it)
Corn tortilla chips (crushed)
Shredded cheddar cheese (8 oz bag)
Thousand Island salad dressing (chilled)

Mix all ingredients together and serve.

Parsley parmesan chicken: I love the recipe!  It’s one of our favorites. 

Ingredients:
2 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts (or 6-8 chicken breasts)
1/3 bottle of Italian salad dressing
1/2 c shredded Parmesan cheese
1/3 c dry bread crumbs (used Seasoned Italian bread crumbs)
1 1/2 T parsley flakes
1/2 T paprika
Salt & Pepper

Assembly Directions:
Marinate chicken in dressing overnight.
Mix the remaining ingredients and bread each breast with coating.

To Freeze: Lay chicken breasts side by side on baking sheets and place in freezer for 1 to 2 hours to firm up. Place chicken in labeled gallon size Freezer Bag and freeze.

Cheesy Ranch Potato Bake – I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but I found it on a Menu Planning Monday post this week and it is on my list of recipes to try.

Ingredients:
4 pounds russet potatoes, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
6 tablespoons butter, cubed
1 (8 ounce) package shredded colby-Monterey Jack cheese blend
1 (8 ounce) bottle Ranch dressing

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9×13 inch baking dish.
2. Place the potatoes in the baking dish. Season with chili powder, salt, and pepper. Evenly distribute the butter over the potatoes.
3. Cover dish with aluminum foil, and bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, until potatoes are tender. Remove from oven, and mix in the cheese and Ranch dressing. Continue cooking 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly.