Take-out Tuesday, Strawberry Coleslaw Salad & Crispy Buttermilk Rings

Here are 2 easy peasy summer sides, a refreshing summer salad and crispy thin onion rings
This salad is light and fresh, and can be a meal in itself or a side dish
This is a twist on coleslaw with the addition of romaine lettuce, bacon and strawberries with a mustard vinaigrette dressing and pecans for a little crunch
Add some grilled chicken to really amp it up
Oh, did I mention that I snuck some bleu cheese in there too?
It’s dressed with a light sweet mustard vinaigrette to enhance all the different flavors
You can change up the ingredients any way you like, substitute blueberries or blackberries, try swiss cheese instead of blue, use deli meat or rotisserie chicken, dress with a fruit vinaigrette instead of sweet mustard vinaigrette…
Endless possibilities!
Now, want something crunchy?
Got buttermilk? Make these easy peasy onion rings with a seasoned salt flour batter
Slice a vidalia or sweet onion into thin slices and separate the rings. You’ll need 3 bowls, 2 for seasoned flour and one for the buttermilk
Using 2 bowls for flour keeps it from getting too lumpy from the buttermilk
Dredge rings in flour, then buttermilk, and then flour again and place them into a fryer or deep skillet with oil
You can also cook them in butter by heating 4 T butter to skillet and letting it cook until foamy, then add onion rings and cook until crisp on one side and turn to cook other side.
In no time at all you will have thin and tasty onion rings

Strawberry Pecan Salad
Ingredients
Salad ingredients per serving
- 3-4 crisp romaine leaves torn into bite size pieces
- 1-2 cups coleslaw mix
- 1-2 slices cooked bacon torn into small pieces
- 4-5 fresh strawberries cut into pieces
- 8 pecan or praline pecans* chopped or halved
- 1 oz bleu cheese crumbled
Sweet Mustard Vinaigrette
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 tsp vinegar
- 1 T maple syrup
- 1 T dijon mustard or any mustard
- salt & pepper to taste
Praline Pecans
- pecan halves
- brown sugar
- Kosher salt
Instructions
Salad
- Toss ingredients to mix and dress with Sweet Mustard Vinaigrette
Sweet Mustard Vinaigrette
- Mix ingredients in a small jar and shake to mix. Store in refrigerator for several weeks. Bring to room temperature or microwave 10-20 seconds to remix before serving. Makes about 1/2 cup
Praline Pecans
- Sauté pecans in butter and brown sugar until sugar begins to caramelize, stirring constantly and removing from heat before pecans burn. Cool pecans on a piece of wax paper or parchment and sprinkle with salt

Crispy Buttermilk Onion Rings
Equipment
- 3 cereal bowls
Ingredients
- sweet or vidalia onion
- buttermilk
- all purpose flour
- seasoned salt like Lowrey’s
- kosher salt
- peanut oil or butter
Instructions
- Heat oil in a deep pot or fryer to about 380-400 degrees. You can test it by dropping a small piece of onion in oil, if it bubbles and bounces the oil is ready. Or heat butter in a skillet and let it begin to turn brown and foamy
- Slice onion thinly and separate into rings. Place some flour into 2 separate bowls and season well with seasoned salt. Fill 3rd bowl with buttermilk. Arrange bowls in a line with buttermilk in the middle. Dredge rings, 3-4 at a time, into flour, then buttermilk, and then flour again.
- Drop battered rings into hot oil in batches to fry, or cook in butter in skillet. Cook onions until crisp and turn over to cook other side, working in batches. Cook 2-3 minutes if frying, or 8-10 minutes if sauteing, until rings are golden.
- Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with kosher salt. Serve warm. Can be placed in 200 degree oven to keep warm while cooking the remainder of rings. Plan on 4-5 rings per person
Enjoy!
for another printable version of Strawberry Coleslaw Salad click here
for another printable version of Crispy Buttermilk Rings click here
……………………………………………………………………
I will be joining these fabulous parties and blogs
Celebrate and Decorate, Rustic and Refined,
Between Naps on the Porch, Coastal Charm, Cooking and Crafting with J&J, The Scoop, Something to Talk About, A Stroll Thru Life Inspire Me Monday
Crafty Staci, Tickle My Tastebuds, Wow Us Wednesday
Full Plate Thursday, Work it Wednesday
Comments
10 Responses to “Take-out Tuesday, Strawberry Coleslaw Salad & Crispy Buttermilk Rings”Trackbacks
Check out what others are saying...-
[…] Strawberry Coleslaw Salad by The Painted Apron […]
Jenna, It’s definitely salad season around here and I love your tasty combo of ingredients! Everything is better with the addition of bacon and onion rings too 🙂
The sweetness of fruit with a tangy cheese is my latest love of the summer. Paired with a crisp white wine, I’m hooked! I love your addition of the onion rings. A light, crunchy and salty touch which completes my ultimate, perfect, heavenly bite!
how I would adore cooking and eating with you! 🙂
Jenna, the salad sounds great for these extremely hot days, I wish I could sneak the bleu cheese in, husband won’t touch it! Your onion ring recipe is just like mine and it is sooo gooood!
Everything looks amazing and oh so delicious. I will be trying these recipes for sure.
Looks like a perfect lunch:@)
I’m intrigued by the onion rings. I’ve never tried making them from scratch, but this post motivates me to give it a try.
Thanks Sheryl, easy peasy, and worth a little effort! >
Thanks so much for sharing this awesome Strawberry Coleslaw Salad with us at Full Plate Thursday this week. Hope you are having a great weekend and come back to see us real soon!
Miz Helen