from Lila Alexander: Broccoli Salad 2 cups broccoli florets, chopped 1/4 cup onion, chopped 1 cup red grapes, cut in half 1/2 pound bacon, fried and chopped 1 cup golden raisins 2 small packages sliced almonds, toasted (Toast in a dry frying pan over medium heat. Stir constantly so they don't burn) Dressing: 1 cup mayonnaise (I use Best Foods) 1/4 cup sugar 1 tablespoon cider vinegar Mix the salad ingredients together. Mix dressing ingredients together and mix into salad ingredients. Let sit at least 2 hours. (I never have done this, we just eat it as soon as it's done!) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- from Karen Kidd: Here is a different twist on a potato salad, very colorful and really yummy...... SPRINGTIME POTATO SALAD 1. Slice 1 lb. unpeeled BABY RED POTATOS into 1/4" slices into a large microwave baking dish. 2. Add 1/4 c. WATER, cover and microcook 6 min. 3. Add 1 lb. fresh ASPARAGUS, sliced into 1 1/2" pieces, and microcook 6 min. more. 4. Drain off the liquid into a measuring cup and add more WATER to equal 1/2 c. 5. Set the veggies aside to cool. 6. Make a dressing of: the reserved liquid, 2 tsp. SUGAR, 2 tsp. DIJON MUSTARD, 1/4 c. WINE VINEGAR, 1/8 tsp. TARRAGON and 1/8 tsp. PEPPER and 1/4 tsp. SALT. 7. When veggies have cooled, add the dressing with 2 c. sliced MUSHROOMS and 2 sliced hard-boiled EGGS. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- from Barb: Chicken Salad 1 pound poached chicken breast 1 celery stalk, chopped 3 tablespoons mayo 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (whoops, I added 1 tsp., but it was still yummy!!!) 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley (I didn't have this) Cut chicken into 1/2 inch cubes. Mix celery, mayonnaise, mustard, and parsley in a bowl. Add chicken; toss to coat. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- from Karen Kidd: Curried Chicken Salad For a delightfully different chicken salad, add sliced toasted almonds, raisins, finely chopped onion, finely chopped celery, 1 tsp. (or more) curry powder and enough mayo to moisten the diced cooked chicken. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- from Teri Leigh Baird: Sweet & Sour Coleslaw Shred: l large head cabbage Work in l tables. salt & let stand for l hour Drain thru colander & press out juice Boil: l l/2 cups sugar l cup white vinegar 1/4 cup water l tables. mustard seed l tsp. celery seed Bring to boil and cook l minute. Let cool. Grate: 2 carrots l bell pepper (green) l onion Put together with cabbage. pour liquid over all and refrigerate. Lasts for days. ENJOY -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- from Lynn Pato: Try this one on a hot day so you don't have to heat up the kitchen: DRUNKEN SHRIMP & MELON SALAD 3/4 lb med. shrimp, shelled, cleaned 2 Tblsp fresh lime juice Dressing: 1 1/2 Tblsp balsamic vinegar 2 Tblsp finely chopped red onion 2 Tblsp chopped chives 1 tsp. minced Jalapeno pepper 1 tsp. chopped fresh oregano 3 Tblsp olive oil 1 Tblsp tequila 1/3 cup seeded, diced cucumber 1/3 cup finely diced jicama 1/3 cup diced red or yellow bell pepper 2 cups melon, 1 inch cubes,- honeydew is great Salt & pepper to taste Lettuce Combine shrimp with lime juice, refrigerate 1 hr. Combine all dressing ingredients except oil. Gradually add oil, whisking in slowly. Before serving, drain the shrimp, add cucumber, jicama, pepper and melon and toss gently with dressing. Line a platter or bowl with lettuce and spoon shrimp mixture over the greens. Add another squeeze of lime if you wish. Serves 4. YUM. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- from Janice Gabrielson: Spinach Salad I just made the best salad for lunch. Fresh spinach, strawberries, toasted walnuts, and feta cheese. I used Brianna's red blush wine vinaigrette dressing. For those of you who are getting tired of salads, it is a wonderful alternative to some variety of lettuce. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- from Karen Kidd: Heavenly Hash Fruit Salad Drain, halve and rinse in a colander: 1 jar Maraschino Cherries. Drain 1 can Pineapple chunks and 1 can Mandarin Oranges. Dice a fresh Apple and/or Pear and toss with some lemon juice (to discourage browning) Wash 3/4 c. seedless Green Grapes. In a large bowl, combine 1/2 c. Sour Cream and small carton Whipped Topping. Stir in the fruits, 1/2 c. chopped Pecans, 2 c. Miniature Marshmallows and 1/2 c. Coconut (optional). Chill in refrigerator overnight. If it then seems too soupy, add more marshmallows. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- from Meg: Ambrosia Ambrosia is traditional in my family. Peel and cut oranges into chunks (figure on about one orange per person). Mix with one jar drained maraschino cherries, cut into halves (one jar per about half a dozen people?). If you like coconut, mix it to cover everything lightly (my sister and I don't, so my mother always left some without the coconut for us -- it's a bit tart that way, but still good). Chill for at least an hour. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- from Kathy M: I buy the canned "chunky" mixed fruit and also canned mandarin oranges. I add fresh apples and bananas. I like to use the heavy whipping cream as once it is whipped it holds up better. I usually buy two cans of the chunky fruit, one can of mandarin oranges and use two apples and two bananas. Growing up, my grandma used to also add miniature marshmallows but I don't put them in because my DH doesn't like them This makes enough to feed my usual crowd (8-10 people) with some leftover. Ingredients: 2 15 oz cans chunky mixed fruit(preferably packed in it's own juice or extra lite syrup) 1 8 oz can mandarin oranges 2 apples (I like to use Gala) 2 bananas heavy whipping cream (about 1/2 pint but it might be more - I've always done this by sight) optional: mini marshmallows and pineapple tidbits Directions: The night before. open the canned fruits and draining colander. I usually fit the colander in a bowl, after draining most of the juice, and put it covered in the refrigerator so it drains really well. Putting it together: In the morning, I pour the drained fruit in a large bowl (large enough to mix well - not the bowl I serve it in). I cut up the apples in bite size pieces and slice the bananas. I put them briefly in lemon water to preserve their color them drain them well. Mix the apples and bananas into the other fruit and mix well. About an hour before serving, I whip the cream, adding a little powdered sugar and dash of vanilla. I them fold the whipped cream into the fruit, carefully mixing thoroughly. Now, I like to add my own secret ingredient - none of my family does this - a bit of cinnamon (about 1/4 teaspoon) - it just seems to add a little something! That's it. Sorry I can't give you exact amounts on the whip cream but I've been making this for so long, I never measure anything. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- from Kathy Nannery: use any fruit you want, but make sure you add a can of fruit cocktail and a can of mandarin oranges, pouring the can AND syrup in the bowl. Throw in any other fresh or frozen fruit you have. Sprinkle a small box of instant pudding (not gelatin) over the fruit, fold in. It combines with the juices and makes a wonderful dressing. The updated version would be to use cans of fruit with light syrup or just juice, and using the sugar free instant pudding. I have used both vanilla and lemon. Banana would be good. I doubt I would like the color chocolate would give, but the new white chocolate flavor would be "da bomb" to quote my students. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- from Lila Alexander: Snickers Salad 1 small box instant vanilla pudding mix 1 cup cold milk Mix these together for about 2 minutes with a whisk until thick. 12 ounce container of Cool Whip Fold into the pudding mix 2 - 4 large apples, washed, cored, unpeeled, and chopped into bite-size pieces (slightly tart apples are best in my opinion) 6 regular size Snickers bars, cut down the center lengthwise, then cut into 1/2" slices crosswise Mix the apples and Snickers into the pudding/Cool Whip mixture and serve. I've used instant white chocolate pudding, and also cheese cake flavored pudding for this. The cheese cake flavor is my favorite. I suppose to be really healthy you could mix in some diced celery also if you wanted to. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- from Sue Bechtold: Fruit Salad I use any fresh fruit in season Apples Bananas Grapes Oranges Pears pineapple Frozen berries (summer - nectarines, peaches, fresh berries) For dressing - low fat peach yogurt fruit in the bottom and I usually don't put the fruit from the bottom in because I feel that is where more of the sugar is. I add however much of the top yogurt I need to make the salad moist - but not soupy. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- from Joanne: This might sound weird to some people but I'm Filipino so we eat weird foods anyway. When I make Fruit Salad, I take a few cans on fruit cocktail (my favorite is throwing in the tropical mix) and drain. While it's draining, I take a container of sour cream about the same amount or more of softened cream cheese and mix it really well and add some sweetened condensed milk to taste (I like it sweet so I add the whole can). That alone could be a really good dip for fruits, it tastes like the fruit dip you can buy in stores. Then just mix it together. You can add any other fruit you like to the mix like bananas, apples, mandarin oranges, etc. We usually add this gel like stuff called Coconut Palm that you can get in an Asian mart. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- from Sandi Iyall: Fruit Salad got nostalgic reading all the fruit salad recipes. Back when I was a healthy, hippie Evergreen College student I used to make a nice fruit salad for pot lucks and special dinners. I cut up fresh apples, oranges, bananas, seedless grapes, I bet pears would be good too, and fresh berries if available. Then I made a dressing with yogurt flavored with honey, vanilla, Sometimes almond extract too, and cinnamon to taste with 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. of cardamom. I toasted some coconut in a dry frying pan over very low heat, and when it cooled a bit, added it to the bowl. Save adding the bananas until right before serving or they get brown and gooey. The cardamom goes wonderfully with the fruit - it is a sprightly almost peppery, yet sweet taste. I always add cardamom and almond to my banana smoothies! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- from Marie Windham: Cranberry Orange Gelatin Salad/Relish If you put this in a gelatin mold you can turn it out onto a plate for an attractive addition to your holiday table. 2 packets unflavored gelatin 1 cup Raspberry Sugarfree Syrup 1 cup water 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 teaspoon orange zest 2 cups whole cranberries, finely chopped 1 cup chopped pecans 1 cup finely chopped celery 1/2 cup Maltitol (or sweetener of choice) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- from Jodi Mettler: 1 Large package Orange Jell 1 Large tub Cottage Cheese (2 Cups) 1 Large tub Cool Whip (2 cups) 2 Cans Mandarin oranges 1/2 cup pecans Miniature marshmallows Let sit overnight It tastes great and is so easy to make. The cottage cheese may seem strange but it is very good and it pretty too. When the Strawberries are fresh we like to use strawberry Jell and fresh sliced strawberries -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- from Joy Neal: Fruit Salad Combine: Cubed apples (leave skin on for color); sliced bananas, and cut up oranges. Mix a dressing of mayo thinned with a little milk. Toss the fruit with the dressing. Before serving stir in chocolate chips. As kids we loved it because of the chocolate chips. I have substituted raisins, but it is just not the same (VBG) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- from Sheri Iyall: Christmas Salad or NW Autumn Salad >From the Jr. League Cookbook - Simply Classic 1993 (and my Mom) 1 head of red leaf lettuce 1 head bibb lettuce (or whichever lettuces your family enjoys) 1 C watercress (optional) I never put this in, just use more lettuce 2 red delicious apples or ripe pears 3/4 C glazed pecans (recipe follows) 3/4 C crumbled blue cheese Glazed Pecans 1/4 C butter or margarine 1/4 C corn syrup (light variety) 2 T water 1 tsp. Salt 1 lb pecans Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line baking sheet with foil. In a medium saucepan, combine butter, corn syrup, water and salt, and bring to a boil. Add the pecans and stir to completely coat the nuts with the syrup. Spread evenly on the prepared baking sheet, and bake for 1 hour - stirring every 10 minutes (especially near the end of the baking period). Cool pecans and hide them until you make the salad. Makes about 1 1/2 to 2 cups. Salad Dressing 1/2 C walnut or mild vegetable oil (I use planters peanut oil as I am allergic to walnuts) 1/4 C cider vinegar 2 Tblsp. Minced shallots (optional) 2 Tblsp. Lemon juice (This is a bit tart for my family so I use part vinegar/part lemon juice) 1 Tblsp. Maple syrup 1/4 tsp. Salt 1/4 tsp. Pepper Combine in a jar and shake to combine. May be made ahead. Makes more than enough for one salad. To assemble salad: wash & dry lettuce and tear into bite sized pieces. Place into a pretty salad bowl. Crumble the blue cheese over top. Thinly slice the apple or pears and place on salad. Add 3/4 cup pecans to bowl. Just before serving pour salad dressing over all and toss gently. Serve on separate salad plates. For an elegant presentation, arrange a few fruit slices on top of each serving. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------