Strawberry Orange Salad

I love sweet salads especially when served with this poppy seed salad dressing!  This is one salad variation I've created to top with my homemade Poppy Seed Dressing.  It is a light refreshing salad that is great served as an appetizer or side.  It's more of a summer salad but I got strawberries on sale the other week. :)

INGREDIENTS
1 head red leaf lettuce
1 c sliced strawberries
1 c clemtine/tangerine wedges or oranges, cut in 1/2 inch pieces
1/4 c thinly sliced red onions
1 c mozzarella cheese
1/3 c sliced roasted almonds
poppy seed dressing

DIRECTIONS
Wash lettuce and dry in salad spinner.  Tear lettuce into bite size pieces and place in a large bowl.  Top with onion slices, strawberries, oranges, cheese, and almonds.  Top with desired amount of dressing just before serving or allow guests to dish up their own salad and dressing.*

*If you don't think you'll eat all of the salad don't toss with dressing.  The dressing makes the lettuce wilt and therefore the salad doesn't keep.
–Melanie

Poppy Seed Salad Dressing

This is probably my favorite salad dressing!  There are some in my family that love it so much they have cried.  It is super easy and fast to make, inexpensive, tastes amazing, and keeps well.  It will get your kids asking for seconds on salad!

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 c sugar
2 tsp dry mustard
2 tsp salt
2/3 c vinegar
3 Tbsp onion juice
2 c canola oil
3 Tbsp poppy seeds

DIRECTIONS
In a blender combine sugar, mustard, salt, vinegar, and onion juice.  While it is blending on the lowest setting slowly add in oil and beat until mixtures is thick and creamy.  Add poppy seeds and mix until combined.  Makes 2 pints.
–Melanie

Cranberry Salad

When most people hear the word salad they think of the dish as being healthy but this is really more like a dessert if you look at the nutrition and taste it.  Pie is the real dessert at the Thanksgiving so we fudge it in with the rest of the dinner by calling it a salad. haha!

My mom is about both taste and presentation but when I was little I thought it was so ridiculous that she would put a lettuce leaf under fruit/jello salads since you don't even eat the lettuce.  Really it was just that the lettuce was preventing me from getting every last bit of the fruit/jello salad.  Now that I'm older and wiser I wouldn't serve these types of salads (more like desserts) any other way! :)  Doesn't it look beautiful?!

INGREDIENTS
2 small (12 oz. bags/ 6 cups) fresh cranberries- chopped
3 cups sugar
1 (20 oz. can) crushed pineapple, drained
whipped cream
Green leaf lettuce for garnish

DIRECTIONS
Chop cranberries in blender or food processor (if using a blender chop only 1/2 to 3/4 cup at a time to chop evenly). Mix the cranberries in a bowl with the drained pineapple and sugar.  Place this mixture in a large colander over a bowl and refrigerate overnight.  In the morning add 2 cups whipped cream with 1/2 cups sugar and 1/2 cups broken pecans to the cranberry mixture and refrigerate until ready to serve.  I serve using an ice cream scoop and placing it onto a lettuce leaf.

Strawberry Pineapple Jello Pretzel Salad

We have all had jello pretzel salad, but I found a recipe from Paula Deen that I thought sounded great!
Rather than raspberries, she used strawberries and pineapple to give it a more refreshing flavor and great for summer time. I changed it up a bit from her recipe. It takes time for all the layers to set and cool so its always best to prepare ahead of the meal by at least a few hours.

Preheat oven to 400

Crust:
2 cups crushed pretzels
1/2 cup butter melted
3 tbsp. sugar

Cream cheese layer:
1 8oz. cream cheese ( I always use low fat)
1 8 oz. container of cool whip
3/4 cup sugar

Jello Layer:
20 oz. frozen strawberries
2  3-oz. pkgs strawberry gelatin
1 8 oz. can crushed pineapple
2 cups boiling water

Mix crust ingredients together and bake for 7 minutes. Allow to cool completely.
In a large mixing bowl, combine ingredients for cream cheese layer and pour over cooled crust. Chill for about an hour.
Mix gelatin mix into boiling water and stir until completely mixed. Add crushed pineapple and strawberries and pour over the cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate until serving time.

Heather

Chicken Salad

I love chicken salad! It tastes delicious in a pita! I could eat this everyday! Yes this is not the healthiest because of all the mayonnaise but I use light! :)

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 c. mayonnaise

1 c. sour cream

2 Tbsp. dried dill

1/8 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. seasoned salt

2 bunches green onions

8 chicken tenders (or 4 chicken breasts)

2 Granny Smith apples, cubed

1 1/2 c. red grapes (halved)

DIRECTIONS

Bake chicken, cool, and cube. Mix together first 6 ingredients to make sauce. Add apples,grapes, and chicken. Mix and chill. Stuff into pitas.

–Melanie

Easter Dinner

Nick and I celebrated Easter on our own this year and we decided to have something not traditionally eaten on easter...Beef Brisket. We also had Twice Baked Potatoes, zucchini and squash, and Raspberry Pretzel Jell-O.

Raspberry Pretzel Jell-O Salad

Bottom layer:

1 1/2 c. coarsely chopped pretzels

2 Tbsp. sugar

3/4 c. melted butter

Place in a 9x13" pan and bake 10 minutes at 350. Cool completely and put in refrigerator.

Middle layer:

1 (8oz.) pkg cream cheese, softened

1c sugar

1 (8oz.) container Cool Whip

Mix cheese, sugar, and Cool Whip together. Spread on cold pretzel layer and refrigerate 2 hours.

Top layer:

1 large (6oz.) pkg. raspberry Jell-O dissolved in 2 c. boiling water

2 (10oz.) pkg. frozen Birds Eye whole raspberries in light syrup

Stir together until cool and pour over middle layer. Refrigerate overnight.

–Melanie