I will be very sad when this summer is over! I’ve been so spoiled with fresh veggies from my garden this year, and sure will miss just going out to the deck and picking them every morning! We’ve literally been eating the small ones, (grape, pear and cherry), like candy! Just slice them open and enjoy with a little salt and pepper! Plus, of course, the ones I’d eat that never even made it into the house! 😀 😉  

It sure has been a banner year for peppers and tomatoes, that’s for sure! And though I’ve made some very nice sauces with them, and fancier dishes, sometimes, you just want to enjoy them with little added to mask their natural beauty!

So I kept this salad super simple and fresh, and just mixed some freshly picked grape tomatoes and a gorgeous deep red, sweet Carmen pepper, with a cucumber from my neighbor’s garden, a little onion, a few crumbles of bacon and folded them into some Greek yogurt that I lightly flavored with Ranch and lemon juice.

Wah-lah! Easy and simple as that, but so very good!! I could just sit there and eat the whole bowl! 

I honestly had to cover it and put it away, or I’m afraid I would have!

A wonderfully tasty, easy and quick salad or side dish, that’s nice and cool to compliment spicy dishes or even a simple corned beef on rye sandwich! 😉 A really nice dish to take to a picnic, too, especially if you garnish the top nicely! It seems the “pretty dishes” always get eaten first as we do eat with our eyes first! 😉  

Stick to the tomatoes that have a lot of meat to them and not as much juice and seeds like cherry tomatoes do. I use grape tomatoes and they always work really well. They’re nice and sweet, too!

As far as the peppers go, you can pretty much just use whatever kind you enjoy! Sweet, hot, mild, any kind will compliment the rest of the ingredients. 

I went with low-fat Greek yogurt, but you can also use light sour cream, or of course, go “full monte” and indulge in a little regular sour cream! Nothing wrong with that, either! After all, it’s loaded with fresh veggies, right? 😉  

You can even stretch this out and turn it into a very nice wrap by adding grilled chicken, then assembling into a nice veggie-flavored tortilla used for sandwich wraps, along with some lettuce or fresh spinach leaves! This makes for a fantastic lunch, trust me! 😉  

So if you’re in need of a quick side dish to add that’s budget-friendly and doesn’t require yet another trip to the store, this simple but delicious salad will really fill out the menu, and would be very much appreciated on a buffet table of hot wings and spicy dishes at a football party! 😉 (It also makes for a darn good lunch, too! 😉 )

I really hope that you whip this up before the summer is over while tomatoes and fresh vegetables are still available! Sadly, soon, we’ll be stuck eating those awful “winter tomatoes”…need I say more? Enjoy all, and I’ll see you later! ~Kelly   

Yield: 4

Creamy Bacon Ranch Summer Salad with Cucumbers, Peppers & Tomatoes

Print

Prep Time 15 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/2 small sweet onion, Vidalia or red onion
• 1/2 cucumber, (peeled or unpeeled), quartered, deseeded and sliced
• 24-36 grape tomatoes, halved, (depending on size and how many desired)
• 1 small to medium-sized sweet, hot or mild pepper (see note), sliced into rings, center membranes and seeds removed
• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt, can sub light or regular sour cream
• 1/4 cup creamy prepared Ranch Salad Dressing
• 1/2 tsp. bottled lemon juice
• 1/4 cup Real Bacon Bits (such as Hormel), do not use imitation, or sub real (lean, quality) bacon cooked crisp and finely chopped
• 1 cup coarse chopped lettuce, optional*

Instructions

In medium bowl, stir together the Greek yogurt, Ranch Dressing, and lemon juice well.

Fold in rest of ingredients.

Chill.

Garnish top with more real bacon bits, parsley and a sliced grape tomato if desired.

*If all of salad is going to be eaten the first day, some chopped lettuce is nice added. Lettuce will wilt overnight, though.

Notes

Peppers that work well include sweet, hot or mild banana peppers, cubanelles, fresh pimiento, Carmen, and New Mexico Heirloom. But you can use your own favorite!