Thanksgiving Salad Recipe?

These are my 3 favorites that everyone gobbles up like crazy! They go well with everything and it's hard to decide which one to make! You've probably had at least one of these at a pot-luck before. They're very popular.

7 layer salad
1 head of washed, dried and torn lettuce
a can of drained, sliced water chestnuts
a box of frozen green peas
8 oz shredded cheddar
a bottle of bacon pieces -real ones or crumbled bacon you do yourself
1 chopped onion
small jar of Duke's mayo (If you don't have Duke's use your fave, but Duke's really does make a difference. I always use Duke's light).
2 tblspns of white sugar (I've also used Splenda)
Layer all ingredients on top of one another starting with lettuce, onion, chestnuts, peas, cheddar, mayo mix and bacon. Cover and let sit overnight in fridge. Toss well and really stir it up right before you serve it.

Broccoli Salad (this is just about my fave and I don't even like broccoli!)

2 heads of broccoli washed and chopped
16 oz of shredded sharp cheddar
1 chopped red onion
jar of Hormel bacon pieces or 7 or 8 strips of crumbled fried bacon
*Put all of this in the bowl together
In a different bowl whisk together:
2 tblspns white sugar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2/3 cup of mayo (again, Duke's light is the best)
2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1tsp lemon juice

Pour over the broccoli mix and chill. YUM! I just took it to a potluck on Saturday night and everyone there came up raving about how much they loved that salad!

Sunny Salad (I'm making this one on Thursday -it's DIVINE)
1 bag of slaw mix
1 cup of sunflower seeds
2 oz package of slivered almonds
2 packs of ramen noodles – crushed (uncooked) – discard the flavoring pack

Brown almonds in tbsp oil. It's really tasty to use sesame oil.
Mix all of the above in a bowl together.


Dressing:
4 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup salad oil - Note – If you can't fine salad oil, canola oil will work fine.
2 tsp accent
1 tsp pepper
4 tbsp rice vinegar

Mix all of the ingredients together. Shake until blended and creamy.

I'm making a jello salad because everything else I make for sides is hot and gooey so I wanted something cool and sweet and fruity. I'm using cranberry jello so it goes with the holiday. Here is the recipe:

Simple Jello Salad
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Total Time: 15 mins
• Servings: 12
Ingredients
o 1 (24 ounce) cartons whipped topping
o 1 (6 ounce) packages Jello gelatin, any flavor
o 1 (16 ounce) cartons cottage cheese
o 1 (16 ounce) cans crushed pineapple, drained
Directions
1. Empty whipped topping into a medium sized bowl.
2. Sprinkle Jell-O over the top and fold in so it is well blended.
3. Add cottage cheese and pineapple and fold into Jell-O mixture.
4. Chill for about 4 hours so that the jello softens and slightly sets up.

My favorite is this:

lettuce and spinach
carrots
cucumbers
goat cheese
mandarin oranges
cranberries
pine nuts
croutons

A light not too sweet vinegrette or oil and vinigar

PS _ actually reconsidering, I usually do blue cheese and pine nuts or goat cheese and almonds (toasted).

Here is one of my faves! And is always a hit (if you are looking to deviate from traditional lettuce salad!)

Grape Salad

4# grapes, washed and dried throughly (I use 2 colors)
8 oz cream cheese (I use Neufatchel or reduced fat)
8 oz sour cream (I used reduced fat)
1/2 c sugar (I use Splenda)
1 t vanilla
2 T brown sugar (I use Splenda br. sugar)
4oz honey roasted peanuts (I use glazed pecans)

Directions: Put drained grapes in a large bowl. In medium mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, sour cream, white sugar and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Stir creamy mixture into to grapes. Sprinkle w/ brown sugar and nuts. **I usually use extra brown sugar and extra nuts.

You could make a salad of baby spinach, dried cranberries, toasted almonds, and poppyseed dressing.

Or - one salad I've been making since college is the Mandarin Orange Salad from the Betty Crocker Cookbook http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/mandarin-salad/27719d...

~Sugared Almonds~
1/4 cup sliced almonds
4 teaspoons sugar

~Sweet-Sour Dressing~
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons white or cider vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash pepper
Dash red pepper sauce

~Salad~
1/2 small head lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces (3 cups)
1/2 bunch romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces (3 cups)
2 medium celery stalks, chopped (1 cup)
2 medium green onions, thinly sliced (2 tablespoons)
1 can (11 oz) mandarin orange segments, drained

1. In 1-quart saucepan, cook almonds and 4 teaspoons sugar over low heat about 10 minutes, stirring constantly, until sugar is melted and almonds are coated; cool and break apart.
2. In tightly covered container, shake all dressing ingredients. Refrigerate until serving time.
3. In large bowl, toss salad ingredients, dressing and almonds. Serve immediately.

I do a cut-fresh-fruit salad w/our homemade lemon honey dressing. It's kinda time-consuming if you have a lot of people and want to make a large salad, but it's not your everyday salad! If interested, let me know - think I posted the recipe before!

We have had the same salad for Thanksgiving as long as I can remember. Everybody loves it but nobody ever thinks to make it any other time of year. You use your favorite salad greens, add a can of mandarin oranges, chop up a can of artichoke hearts, toasted walnuts and a can of mushrooms and toss with poppy seed dressing. Sometimes we add dried cranberries or cherries too. It sounds weird but there is never any left!