Roger's Sunday Sunshine Salad

This is a great cool fruit salad to accompany a crock pot supper. Both can be prepared ahead of time.

Ingredients

1 Small Box Lemon Gelatin
1 Small Box Orange Gelatin

1 Can Grapefruit Sections, Drained, and Reserve Liquid

1 Can Crushed or Tidbits Pineapple, Drained, and Reserve Liquid

1 3/4 cup Boiling Water

1+ Cups Ice

Reserved Liquid with water added to make 1 cup

Directions

Drain cans of fruit, reserving the liquid.  Bring water to a boil. Dissolve gelatin completely in water. Mix reserved liquid with water to make one cup. Stir liquid into ice in a large bowl. Pour gelatin over ice mixture.  Stir with slotted spoon to thicken. If desired, use more ice to thicken quickly. Stir in fruits.  Pour in 9 x 13 glass dish and chill at least 1 hour.

Optional

Donna's Sunday Sunshine Salad~ Add one can drained mandarin oranges.

Donna's Country Chicken Salad Sandwiches

This is a savory simple chicken salad sandwich.

Ingredients
4 Steamed Chicken Breasts or Boiled (with onions and celery), Cubed
1/3 Cup Celery, Diced
1/8 Cup Yellow Onion, Diced
Mayonnaise to consistency
1 Dash Garlic Salt

Directions
Steam or boil chicken breast until tender.  If boiling, add sliced onion and celery to add flavor, but discard the steamed vegetables when making the chicken salad (vegetables can be saved and added to a soup stock).  Cut chicken into small cubes. Add freshly diced raw celery and onion, sprinkle with garlic salt and mix well.  Add mayonnaise until desired spreading consistency. Spread on dinner rolls, cream puffs or sliced bread. Can also be used as an appetizer served in a baked wonton shell, on a Triscuit cracker, or rolled in a tortilla with lettuce and sliced on an angle.

Donna's Ranch Chicken Salad Sandwiches

This is Donna's Ranch Chicken Salad recipe and we have used variations of this at Princess Circle meetings and as finger food at special events.

Ingredients
2 cans chicken breast (drained)
1 tablespoon Real Bacon bits
1/8 cup chopped celery
1+ tablespoon mild cheddar cheese finely grated
Ranch dressing (made from Hidden Valley Ranch packet)

Optional-
1 scallion finely chopped
1/2 cup finely shredded lettuce

Directions
Drain chicken and shred chunks. Add bacon, cheese, celery, optional ingredients) and mix well. Add ranch dressing to desired consistency. Serve on crackers, rolls, white or wheat bread (or both), pita bread, or tortillas.

Note: This can be mixed with grapes (red or green, cut in half), nuts (almonds, cashews, walnuts, or pecans) and tossed with salad greens, or pasta (rotini, rigatoni, farfelle, macaroni, mostaccioli, etc.).

Donna's Tuna Salad

Ingredients:
1 lb small shell macaroni (or substitute any other macaroni)
1- 6 oz. can tuna, drained (or 2 cans depending on your preference)
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup frozen peas, rinsed
1/8 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup grated cheese (cheddar, Colby, or Colby/Jack)
Kraft Mayonnaise (or half and half with plain yogurt, or ranch dressing)
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Cook macaroni to package instructions, rinse, and drain. Drain fluid from tuna. Chop celery. Rinse peas in cold water to thaw. Finely chop onion. Grate cheese. Mix ingredients in large bowl. Gently stir in mayo/dressing to desired consistency. Season to taste, chill for one hour or longer, serve.

Donna's Turkey Pasta Salad

I was going to head to the store to "buy" something to make for the Relief Society potluck dinner tonight. I stopped short and went to the storage room, and to the refrigerator, to see what I could create. This is what I made.

Ingredients:

1 lb package rotini
12.5 ounce can turkey
1 lb package frozen green peas ( rinsed in warm water)
1 cup diced celery
1 cup ranch dressing
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/3 cup diced yellow onion
1/8 cup real bacon bits

Mix all ingredients and chill. Serve.

Options:
You can add red pepper, cooked carrots, or sliced radishes for color and zip.

Meridy's Broccoli Salad

Meridy is our Relief Society President and makes this delicious salad.

Ingredients:

6+ cups of broccoli cut into small pieces
1/2 red onion chopped
12 package of bacon (cooked crisp and cut small)
1 package craisins (cherry flavored)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
4-6 oz sunflower seeds

Directions:

Combine ingredients and toss with Meridy's Broccoli Salad Dressing. Chill and Serve.

Mandarin Salad

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sliced almonds
3 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 head ice berg lettuce
1/2 head romaine
1 chopped celery
2 whole green onion chopped
1 11 oz. can of mandarin margarine

Caramelized Almond Directions:

Combine ½ cup almonds with 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar in a hot skillet. Cook and stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves and coats the almonds. Store in an air tight jar, in the refrigerator.

Salad Directions:

Mix vegetables and fruit together. Toss in caramelized almonds, and Donna's Raspberry Poppyseed dressing Serve chilled.

Donna's Italian Chicken Pasta Salad

Serves 6 one cup servings

Ingredients:
1 cup Chicken Chunks (fresh or canned)
1 cup Cheddar or Swiss Cheese chunks
4 cups of Italian Four Bean Salad

Directions

Mix all in a large bowl. Place in fridge to chill. 

Italian Four Bean Salad

This makes a huge salad for company. The salad, minus the dressing, can be frozen. Then serving sized portions can be thawed under hot tap water, in a colander, then tossed with Italian dressing.
Ingredients:
1 lb. rotini pasta (cooked, rinsed in cold water, and drained)

1 cup broccoli flowerets (frozen and thawed under hot water, or freshly steamed to bright green and still crunchy).

1 cup steamed diagonally sliced carrots, cooled (steamed carrots should be very firm and bright when done)
1 can of red kidney beans, drained (or boil 1/3 cup dry beans to yield one cup cooked)
1 can small white beans (or boil 1/3 cup dry beans to yield one cup cooked)
1 can garbonzo beans
1 cup Italian green beans (or snap beans)
1 red pepper diced

Zesty Italian Salad Dressing (I mix the Zesty Italian packets with Star Raspberry Vinegar)

Directions

Mix all precooked ingredients (not including salad dressing) in a large bowl. Rinse and drain well. Place in fridge to chill. Rinse chilled salad in cool water, drain and add salad dressing. Serve and enjoy!

Salad to freeze for future quick lunches--Freeze salad on a wax paper lined cookie sheet. Store in large ziploc bags. To serve: Rinse frozen salad under hot water, then cool, before adding salad dressing. Serve and enjoy

Donna's Shrimp Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

1 lb bag of shell or Rotini pasta, cooked, rinsed, and cooled
2 cups salad shrimp. de-veined and rinsed
1 cup diced celery
1/4 diced yellow onion
1 cup rinsed frozen peas (or fresh garden peas cooked to brighten color, do not over cook)
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup cubed swiss cheese
1/3 cup Good Season's Zesty Italian made with red wine vinegar or raspberry vinegar.

Directions:

Put all ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Chill one hour.

Donna's Catalina Potato Salad

I had never eaten potato salad before I was 22 years old. I was visiting my brother and his wife. We had a picnic and my sister-in-law served potato salad. I asked for the recipe and she said it was in the Better Homes and Garden Cookbook. When I pulled out my cookbook, the next time I wanted potato salad, it called for "Clear French." I had no idea what that was. So, I substituted Catalina and it made a nice pink potato salad with a really good flavor blend. It was a hit. I usually double the recipe. This is a great recipe to use with Easter eggs at Easter time. When I saw her later, she said clear French was Italian.  Well, I had made it with Catalina and it was a family favorite, so I am changing nothing. 

Ingredients:

4-5 medium potatoes
4-5 boiled eggs
1 cup diced celery
1/4 cup diced yellow onion
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup Catalina dressing
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon celery seed

Directions:

Rinse potatoes. Boil potatoes in their skins, until a knife can poke it. The potato will be firm, not too soft. While potatoes are boiling , boil eggs. When potatoes are done, peel under cold water. Cut into cubes. Poor Catalina over potatoes, cover with a lid, foil, or wrap. Chill 2 hours. Add eggs, mayonnaise, onion, celery, salt, and celery seed. Mix well. Chill for 4 hours. This is even better the second day.

To Boil Eggs:

During the winter I have to let eggs sit on the counter for and hour before cooking, or they do not seem to cook fully otherwise. Cover eggs with cold water, about 1 inch over the top of the eggs. Add 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil. Cover with lid and remove from heat. Let sit for 23 minutes. Remove eggs immediately, and place in cold water, to stop the cooking. If eggs over cook, the surface of the yolk turns green. Harmless, but not appealing to look at. Peel under cold running water. Cut in an egg slicer one way, then rotate the egg and cross cut. I have been known to cut horizontal, vertical , then roll egg over and cross cut again, but this can be tricky.

Donna’s Quick Mandarin Salad

Serves a crowd

Ingredients:

3 pound bag of prepared garden salad (mostly iceberg or mix garden salad and romaine hearts– available in 3 lb bags from Cosco and Sam’s Club) or 3 lbs of Romaine Hearts/mixed Lettuces. Tear lettuce into bite sized pieces
2 whole green onions, chopped
3 small cans mandarin oranges, drained
8 ounces Caramelized Almonds (see instructions below)
Donna’s Raspberry Poppy-seed Dressing (recipe posted in this recipe blog)

Directions:

Chill ingredients. Toss salad, onions, mandarin oranges, almonds, and dressing, just before serving.

Optional:

I have put– 1/2 head romaine, 2 cups chicken chunks, 1/2 cup celery, 1 can pineapple, 1 small bag fresh sugar snap peas, handful of alfalfa sprouts, and 1/4 red bell pepper chopped, into this salad for a more tasty and festive flair.

Caramelized Almonds:

Combine ½ cup almonds with 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar in a hot skillet. Cook and stir over medium heat until sugar melts and coats the almonds. Store in an air tight jar, in the refrigerator.

Chunky Garden Salad and Dressing

I got this delicious recipe from my friend Linda Maddox. I have changed her recipe slightly by changing the dressing I use.
Ingredients:

2 cucumbers diced
4 medium tomatoes diced
2 stalks of celery diced
2 stalks of green onion diced
1 green bell pepper diced
1 red, yellow, purple, or orange bell pepper diced
2 sweet ears of corn raw (slice kernels from cob) or cans of drained Niblet corn
1/2 cup Pomegranate Italian Dressing (Good Season Zesty Italian dressing packet, made with Pomegranate vinegar).

Directions:

Mix and serve in a glass bowl to display the colors.

Notes:

I lake to make this with or without the dressing and serve it on a bed of greens.  The second day, this makes a flavorful chunkie salad dressing.