Carrot Raisin Salad

So I'm in a vegetable co-op.  It's great, but what do you do with a ton of fresh carrots?  Make carrot raisin salad, of course.  This is an easy, delicious recipe.  My husband and I really love it!

Carrot Raisin Salad

2 - 3 cups shredded carrots
3/4 cup raisins
1/8 cup mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon sugar ( I use Stevia)
2 Tablespoons milk

Combine carrots and raisins in a small bowl.  In a separate bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, sugar and milk.  Whisk together until smooth (dressing consistency).  Pour over carrot mixture and toss to coat.  Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.  Tastes even better the next day if you have any left :-)

Easy Fruit Salad

This fruit salad is so-o-o-o easy and so-o-o-o good.  My sister-in-law shared this recipe with me and everyone loves it.  Hope you will love it too.

Easy Fruit Salad

2 (20 oz.) cans of pineapple chunks (I use the no sugar added)
1 -2 cans mandarin oranges, drained
1 jar cherries, drained and rinsed
3 bananas, sliced
1 small package vanilla instant pudding (regular or sugar-free)

Drain the pineapple chunks, reserving 1 cup of the juice.  Put the pineapple chunks in a large bowl.  Add the drained mandarin oranges and the drained, rinsed cherries.  Mix the vanilla pudding with the pineapple juice and add to fruit.   Add the bananas right before serving. 

**You can add chopped pecans if you'd like.

Weight Watcher's Cucumber Cooler

This is the same Cucumber Cooler recipe my family loves except I have taken out the sugar and replaced it with Stevia.  The best part is that it is 0 points per serving on Weight Watcher's.  This makes about 8 - 10 servings (about 12-14 cucumber slices per serving).

Weight Watcher's Cucumber Cooler

1/4 cup white vinegar
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
6 packets of Stevia (I use Pure Via)
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup chopped onion
3 - 4 medium cucumbers thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon celery seed

Mix together.  Chill in refrigerator for at least 1 hour before serving. I like to make this the night before. 

Asian Pasta Salad with Chicken

Okay!  Talk about a delicious pasta salad--This is it!!  My friend, Judy, shared this recipe with me and it has become one of our favorites.  It makes a huge bowl so this is a good salad to take to any covered dish activity. 

**You have to make this salad the day before, so you need to plan ahead when you make it.

Asian Pasta Salad with Chicken

16 oz. bow tie pasta, cooked and drained
3 small cans mandarin oranges, drained 
1 (18 oz) bunch of fresh spinach
1/2 cup chopped parsley
4-5 green onions, chopped
1/2 - 1 cup honey roasted peanuts
1 can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
1 (5 oz) bag crasins
6 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed (I used my George Forman Grill)

Dressing:
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup teriyaki sauce
6 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
dash of pepper

Marinate cooked chicken and pasta in 3/4 of the dressing  (about 1 1/2 cups) over night.  Add other ingredients and remaining dressing then serve.

Aunt Elaine's Broccoli Slaw

My sister-in-law, Elaine, is a great cook.  Every family reunion she makes this delicious Broccoli Salad that everyone loves.  It's easy and delicious and I know your family will love it, too.

Aunt Elaine's Broccoli Slaw

1 - 2 bags of broccoli slaw
1/2 cup oil (I use canola oil)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 packet of Ramen Noodles, chicken flavor (orange package)
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup sliced almonds

To make dressing, mix together the oil, balsamic vinegar, sugar and flavor packet from the Ramen Noodles.  Mix well and set aside.

Crunch the noodles from the Ramen Noodle package. (I put them in a Ziploc bag and bammed the noodles with the handle of a knife.)  Add sunflower seeds and sliced almonds, then mix with the 2 Tablespoons of melted butter.  Spread on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 5 - 10 minutes.  Set aside.

When ready to serve, put broccoli slaw in a bowl and put the noodle, sunflower, almond mixture on top.  Pour the dressing over the slaw and noodle mixture.  Mix well and serve.
Crunchy and delicious!

**This slaw is best if eaten right away.  It's not as good the 2nd day because it loses it's crunch.  But don't worry, there probably won't be any leftovers anyway!.

Cashew Chicken Pasta Salad

Now this is a delicious pasta salad.! It has chicken, cashews, grapes, apples . . . mmmmmm, my mouth is watering just thinking about it.  I got the recipe from Sister Turner who I served with at the Columbia South Carolina Temple.   Makes a lot, so great for a big crowd.

Cashew Chicken Pasta Salad

4 chicken breasts
2 packages bowtie pasta
2 cups celery, chopped
4 stalks green onion, chopped
1 (16 oz.) can crushed pineapple, undrained
1 cup mayonnaise
1 bottle cole slaw dressing (Kraft Cole Slaw Dressing or Marzetti Low Fat Cole Slaw Dressing)
2 cups red grapes
2 cups red apples, chopped
1 (10 oz.) can salted cashews

Cook pasta.  Drain, set aside, and let come to room temperature.
Cook chicken and cut into pieces.  (You can use already cooked chicken breasts from Sam's or any store.)

Combine celery, onion, pineapple, mayo, and cole slaw dressing.  Set aside

Chop apples with the skin.  Combine pasta, chicken, apples and dressing mixture.  Add whole or chopped grapes.  Mix until well blended.  Add cashews before serving.

5 Cup Salad

I love when my friends share their recipes with me.  Here is one my friend Kathi shared with me.  It is so light and fruity.  Plus, I love anything with marshmallows.

5 Cup Salad

1 cup miniature marshmallows
1 cup pineapple chunks (drained)
1 cup coconut
1 cup mandarin oranges (drained)
1 cup sour cream

Combine all ingredients, mix well and chill before serving. 

For variations, you can add a cup of whipped topping.  Of course, then it becomes a 6 cup salad :) 

Kathi has also added small amounts of food coloring to "jazz it up" for special occasions--like pink for her daughter's baby shower.

Brandi's Orzo Salad

Here's another one of our favorite "Brandi Recipes".

Brandi's Orzo Salad

8 oz. orzo , uncooked
1 1/2 Tablespoon olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts
small garlic clove
1/2 cup basil chopped (optional)
1/4 pound feta cheese
1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Salt and Pepper
Cherry tomatoes and sliced black olives (however many you would like)

Cook orzo according to package.  Rinse in colander to help cool pasta.  Saute pine nuts in 1/2 Tablespoon olive oil.  Drain on paper towel.  Press garlic, mix with basil.  Whisk vinegar and oil, salt and pepper.  Stir all remaining ingredients in with cooked orzo.

Jill's Summer Salad

Well, it's official--Summer is over!  Tomorrow is the first day of Fall.  I thought a great way to end summer would be with this delicious summer salad my friend Jill shared with me.  It's light and scrumptious, and I know you're going to love it.

Jill's Summer Salad

2 bags of spinach leaves or Spring Mix (I used the spring mix)
Small red onion, chopped
2 small cans of mandarin oranges, drained
Craisins

Put above ingredients into a large salad bowl.

Dressing
3/4  cup white vinegar
1 1/2 cups canola oil or olive oil (I used olive oil)
3/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup sugar

Blend dressing ingredients in a blender.  Stir in 1 1/2 teaspoons poppy seeds.  Pour dressing over salad ingredients.  We also added some sliced almonds to the salad---mmmm, so good!

**This makes a ton of dressing!  I only used half of it or less, so I had enough to make another salad (I'm not complaining).  If you want to half the recipe, here are the measurements:
1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons white vinegar

3/4 cup canola or olive oil

1/4 + 1/8 teaspoons dry mustard

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 + 2 Tablespoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon poppy seeds

When I made my 2nd salad (with the tons of dressing left over), I did not have spinach or spring mix.  So I used my romaine lettuce and it was just as delicious!

Lemon Feta Cucumber Salad

This year our garden has not done as well as in the past.  I think the weather has been too hot, even though my husband has been faithfully watering and trying to keep it going.  The one thing that is growing though is the cucumbers.  We're glad because we love to make my Cucumber Cooler recipe.  Last Sunday I was just too busy to make it, so I tried to make something quick.  My husband loves feta cheese and I have seen recipes with feta and cucumbers together.  I added some fresh lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper and had a delicious cucumber salad.  I call it "Lemon Feta Cucumber Salad".  My husband loved it!

Lemon Feta Cucumber Salad

1 large cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced

(When I peeled it, I left a little green skin on it.  Then I took a fork and ran the prongs up and down the cucumber to make it look pretty and have a little color to it before I sliced it.)

2 - 3 teaspoons olive oil

juice from 1/2 of a lemon (about 1 - 2 Tablespoons)

1/4 cup feta cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Put cucumber slices in a small bowl.  Add lemon juice and olive oil.  Mix together.  Sprinkle with feta cheese and mix again.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Cucumbers grow so fast and they will get too big if you don't check on them often.  Every day I remind my husband to pick the cucumbers and every day he tells me he picked them all.  I think he forgot this one!

McKinley thought Papa had planted some watermelons.

Cranberry Almond Coleslaw

We had a get together for a friend who was retiring.  Everyone brought a salad and each salad was so tasty.  I had wished I could have gotten all the recipes, but I did get one recipe for a delicious coleslaw.  It's a Paula Deen recipe so you know it's got to be good.  It's called Rene's Coleslaw. 

I brought it to a cookout at a friend's house.  Everyone loved it and you will too.

Cranberry Almond Coleslaw

5 cups shredded cabbage (I used a 1 pound bag)
1/2 cups almonds, toasted ( I used sliced almonds.  My friend used whole almonds.)
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
1/2 cup celery, diced
1/4 cup chopped green onions, white and green parts
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

Dressing:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon sweet pickle relish
1 Tablespoon honey mustard
1 Tablespoon honey
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine cabbage, almonds, cranberries, celery, green onions, and green pepper in a large plastic bowl with a snap-on lid.  Combine all dressing ingredients, adding salt and pepper to taste, and refrigerate until ready to serve.  Pour dressing over the slaw just before serving.  Stir well. 

**I mixed the dressing  with the cabbage mixture and then let it sit in fridge until ready to serve.  It was so good.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it.   

A Cini De Pepe Salad / "Frog-Eye Salad"

My son-in-law's mom gave me this recipe.  I made it when our whole family went to the beach.  It makes a lot of salad and we have a lot of family, so it was the perfect fruit salad to make.  Plus, it was delicious.  It takes time to make it, but it is worth it, especially if you have a lot of mouths to feed.  Be prepared--this salad needs to chill overnight, so plan to make this the day before you plan to serve it.

A Cini De Pepe Salad / Frog-Eye Salad

1 package A Cini De Pepe pasta (16 oz.)
1 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cup pineapple juice (use juice from pineapple)
3 cans (11 oz.) Mandarin oranges, drained
2 cups mini marshmallows
1 carton (9 oz.) Cool Whip
2 eggs, beaten
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
2 cans (20 oz.) pineapple tidbits, drained
1 can (20 oz.) crushed pineapple, drained

Cook acini in 3 quarts water with 1 teaspoon oil and 2 teaspoons salt.  When tender, rinse in colander and cool. (see package directions)

In a saucepan, combine sugar, flour and salt.  Add pineapple juice and beaten eggs.  Cook stirring until thickened and smooth.  Add lemon juice and cool.

Place cooked pasta in a large bowl.  Pour thickened mixture over macaroni and cool well.  Add other ingredients and blend well.  Chill over night.

If everything is chilled well before you mix it, you get a fluffier dessert and it tastes better.  It also must be allowed to chill over night to set.  If you're a coconut lover, you can add 1 cup coconut.

Macaroni Salad

I have the best macaroni salad recipe.  It makes a lot, so make sure when you make it you are having friends over to share it with.  But then again, it is so good, you may not want to share it with anyone.

Macaroni Salad

16 oz. macaroni (can use rotini or ziti)
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons instant beef boullion granules
2 Tablespoons hot water
1 1/2 cup mayonaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
Several dashes black pepper
3 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
3/4 cup finely chopped red onion
2 small green peppers, chopped
1/3 cup sweet pickle
2 teaspoons dry dill weed

Cook macaroni in salted water and drain.  Toss macaroni in 1/2 cup milk and cover and chill. 

In a medium bowl, dissolve boullion in hot water.  Add mayo, sour cream, salt, pepper.  Stir into macaroni.  Add tomato, onion, green pepper, pickle, and dill weed.  Makes about 16 servings.

Tuna Pasta Salad

Everyone loves my Tuna Pasta Salad.  The secret ingredient-------Apples.  Here is how I make it:

Boil 3 cups rotini pasta (or your favorite pasta) in salted water per package directions.  Drain, rinse and set aside.

Open 3 small cans of tuna (at least one can should be white tuna, but doesn't have to be).  Drain and then put some lemon juice in each can and let it sit for a couple of minutes.  Then drain again.  Put the tuna in a bowl and mix well.  Add 1 rib of celery, chopped.  Then add 1 tablespoon sweet chopped pickle and 1 tablespoon pickle juice.  Cut a large apple (I use Fuji or Pink Lady or both!)  into small pieces and add to mixture.  Sometimes I add more apple, because that's the best part!  Then add mayonaisse or vegenaise to desired consistency (about 3 tablespoons).  Finally add the pasta and a little more mayo if needed.  Add salt and pepper to taste and mix well.  Keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

**This is a great dish to make during the summer when it's too hot to turn on the oven.  We serve it as a main dish with fresh raw veggies and fresh fruit.  It's delicious!

Easy Cucumber Salad

When I was growing up, my mom used to always make a quick, easy cucumber salad that we loved.  She just sliced the cucumbers into a bowl.  Then she sliced an onion (sometimes I use red onion to give is more color) and added fresh chopped tomatoes.  Finally she poured Italian salad dressing on top, tossed and served.  I make this quite often, especially when I don't have enough time to make my Cucumber Cooler.  My family loves cucumbers no matter how they are served.

Strawberry Blueberry Poppy Seed Pasta Salad

Now that is a mouthful--Strawberry Blueberry Poppy Seed Pasta Salad.  And you're going to love every mouthful when you taste this delicious fruit and pasta salad.

Strawberry Blueberry Poppy Seed Pasta Salad

1 box (1 pound) bowtie pasta
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried mustard
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup vegetable oil (I use canola oil)
1 1/2 Tablespoon onion juice or grated onion
1 1/2 teaspoons poppy seeds
Strawberries
Blueberries

Cook bowtie pasta according to directions on box.  Rinse and set aside to let cool. 

Put sugar, salt, mustard and vinegar in a small pot.  Cook over medium heat until sugar dissolves.  (It does not need to come to a boil.)  Put this mixture in a blender.  Slowly add oil and blend.  Add onion and poppy seeds and blend.  (This is the same recipe I use in my Poppyseed Salad, except for the onion.)

Put pasta in a bowl and pour 1/2 the dressing mixture in it and mix well.  Let it marinate overnight.  Add the strawberries and blueberries.  Fold into pasta.  Add the rest of the dressing.  Toss and serve.

**Doesn't this salad look beautiful in my strawberry bowl?  This would be a great salad to serve on a red, white and blue day--Memorial Day or 4th of July.

Oh, and speaking of special days. . . . . . . . . . . .
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JONATHAN!  I love you!

Wild Rice Salad

Looking for something different. Here's a new salad I tried and it was very tasty. The recipe called for 3/4 of a cup of dressing, but I thought it was too much. So I changed it to 1/2 to 3/4 cup. My husband loved it and ate just about all of it. This would be great to bring to a covered dish dinner because everyone wants to try something new.

Wild Rice Salad

1 box Uncle Ben's Wild Rice

1/2 bell pepper, chopped

1/2 purple onion, chopped

2 Roma tomatoes, chopped

1/2 - 3/4 cup vinegarette dressing (I used Paul Newman's Olive Oil and Vinegar Dressing)

Cook wild rice according to directions on box and cool completely. Add all ingredients and refrigerate overnight.

**For a complete one-dish meal, add cooked chicken or shrimp.

Mexican Salad

Thinking about all the good things I use to make for my kids when they were young, I remembered making Mexican Salad (remember it, kids?). It was one of our favorites when they were growing up. Back then, I wasn't much of a Mexican food eater (I'm a Southern girl), but I loved this. And now that I think about it, it's not really a Mexican food--guess that's why I loved it so much. I got this recipe when we lived in California. Man, that was about 35 years ago. But it tastes just as good today as it did then.

Mexican Salad

1 pound of ground beef

1 onion, chopped

1 can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

Brown ground beef, adding salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste. Add onions and cook until they are clear and soft. Drain any juices and add the kidney beans. Mix together and set aside.

In a large salad bowl, place the following ingredients:

Lettuce

Tomato

Avocado

Grated Cheese

Doritoes Nacho Cheese Corn Chips, crumbled up into medium pieces

Catalina Dressing (to your desired consistency)

Add the meat mixture and mix all together. Serve immediately.

Speaking of serving--my good friend, Lynn, gave me this beautiful strawberry bowl for my birthday. I just love it and couldn't wait to serve something in it. Now I know Mexican Salad doesn't go with a strawberry bowl, but I couldn't help myself. Isn't the bowl beautiful. Can't wait to make my strawberry, blueberry, poppy seed, bowtie pasta salad in it. Oh, that recipe will be posted later. So, keep visiting my blog. I've got lots of great recipes to share.

Creamy Cole Slaw

We had a fish fry at church and I was asked to bring some cole slaw. I was excited to make it because I have a delicious recipe for cole slaw. Everyone loved it and I hope you will too.

Cole Slaw

1 large head of cabbage, sliced and chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

salt and pepper

Put cabbage and onion in a large bowl. Set aside.

In a small bowl mix together the mayonnaise, sour cream, vinegar, and sugar. Add mixture to the cabbage and onion. Blend together. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let it sit in refrigerator a couple of hours before serving.

**Since my husband doesn't like all the fat in mayonnaise, I will use Vegenaise instead.

Poppy Seed Salad and Dressing

Panera has the best Strawberry Poppy Seed Salad. I went a few weeks ago and couldn't wait to order one. Well, it has been taken off the menu--they only offer it during the summer. Man, what a bummer! I really wanted a salad with poppy seed dressing. Then I remembered I had a great recipe for Poppy Seed Salad and Dressing. I hate when I have those "senior moments", duh! Don't you forget to try this recipe!

Poppy Seed Salad and Dressing

Dressing:

3/4 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dried mustard

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 teaspoons poppy seeds

Put sugar, salt, mustard and vinegar in a small pot. Cook over medium heat until sugar dissolves. (It does not need to come to a boil.) Put this mixture in a blender. Add the oil slowly and blend. Add poppy seeds and blend.

Salad:

Green leaf lettuce (I use Romain because it's my favorite lettuce)

Bacon bits (I cook my bacon and crumble it up)

Marinated broiled chicken (I marinate in soy sauce and broil0

Toasted sliced almonds (I coat pan with spray or butter and broil)

Shredded mozzarella cheese (I use packaged cheese not fresh)

Chopped green onion

I always set out all the salad ingredients (buffet style) and let everyone make their own salad. The dressing gets thicker as it cools. I like it warm or cold. You can store leftover dressing in the refrigerator. As a matter of fact, I enjoyed the poppy seed dressing all week on my salads.