Strawberry Buttermilk Salad!

This "Strawberry Buttermilk Salad" is so simple, but so yummy!  It's not overly sweet like some salads like this can be and it has a nice little tanginess that makes it good as a side with your meal or as a dessert. 

 If you don't think you care for buttermilk, don't worry, it won't be evident in the taste.  This is a great congealed salad for the holidays.  

 Here is what you will need:

1 (20 oz.) can of crushed pineapple

1 (6 oz.) box of strawberry jello

2 cups of buttermilk

1 (8 oz.) container of frozen whipped topping, thawed

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Place the crush pineapple in a sauce pan and bring it to a boil.  Do not drain the pineapple.  Add the jello and stir until dissolved.  Pour mixture into a mixing bowl and add the buttermilk.  

Allow to cool on the counter for about 15 to 20 minutes. 

Stir in the whipped topping and the chopped nuts until blended.  Pour into a pretty salad bowl or casserole dish.  Refrigerate for 3-4 hours or overnight until it is set up.

You can decorate the top with some fresh strawberries before serving and it makes it pretty!

You can also change the flavor of the jello to suit your taste or the occasion!





Spinach Salad with Hot Bacon Honey Mustard Dressing!

This is one of my mother's favorite salads, so I make it for her when I cook for special occasions like her birthday or holidays.  She used to always say she did not like spinach, which was odd for a woman who ate just about everything, but I made this salad years ago and once she ate it she changed her mind about spinach.  

I think spinach got a bad name from the days  when it was just creamed or cooked like other greens, but not seasoned well.  Personally, it's one of my favorite greens to cook with, because it's so flexible and can be used in so many ways.   I grow my own spinach for the limited window we have here in Kentucky that it can survive.  I love having it available when I want it. 

 

I will admit that the star of the show in this salad is the dressing though.   When I cook for holidays or for family, I am usually asked,  "Did you make the hot bacon dressing and the stuffed mushrooms?"  not what is the dessert or what is the main course, but the hot bacon dressing and the mushrooms...lol.  It's a family favorite and it's not hard to make at all.  

Here is what you will need for the salad and dressing:

   

1 bag baby spinach (10 oz.)

1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

1/2 cup sliced green onions (including some of the green blades)

4 hard boiled eggs, peeled and sliced or rough chopped

1 cup shredded Parmesan or Swiss cheese

1/2 cup toasted pine nuts (optional)

7-8 slices of bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled (divided)

 

Dressing

bacon drippings from frying the bacon

1 Tbs. minced garlic

2 Tbs. vinegar (white or apple cider, doesn't matter)

2 Tbs. sugar

2 Tbs. Dijon or spicy brown mustard

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 tsp. celery seed (optional)

dash of black pepper

dash of seasoned salt

1 Tbs. cornstarch dissolved in 1/2 cup cold water

3 strips of the bacon crumbled into the dressing after it is thickened

 

 

Fry the bacon in a skillet and leave the drippings in the pan for the dressing.  If it's more than 2 Tbs. pour the extra off.

 

Layer the salad ingredients in the order given in a pretty glass salad bowl, finishing with 4-5 strips of the bacon, crumbled.

 

Saute the garlic in the bacon drippings just slightly, don't burn it or it will be bitter. Stir in the vinegar, sugar, mustard and the cornstarch dissolved in water.  Bring it up just to a bubble and add the honey, mayonnaise, celery seed, black pepper, and seasoned salt.  Whisk until smooth and don't boil, but just cook until it's thickened slightly. It thickens more once you take it off the heat and serve it.   Go light on the salt and pepper because it's already seasoned with the bacon drippings. Crumble the three reserved strips of bacon into the dressing.

 

Pour the dressing into a serving bowl just right before serving so that it remains warm and I let guests put their own on the salad to their taste.

 

 

 

 

 

 



Mama's Pecan Chicken Salad!

 My mother makes the best "Pecan Chicken Salad"!  She and one of her sisters used to own a restaurant and this was always one of their biggest sellers at lunch.  They usually sold this as a salad plated with fresh fruit around it.  I love it like that, but it's also really good on a fresh croissant as a sandwich.  This is so much better than any you can buy already prepared, unless you do get it at a deli or restaurant where they make it fresh daily and it's so easy, why not make it yourself for half the cost!  Here is what you will need:

4 cups cooked chicken breast meat, chopped or 2 (15oz). cans all white chicken  (SAM's sells some that is really good)

1 1/2 cups sliced seedless grapes (red or white)

3/4 cup chopped celery

1 Tbs. sugar

1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbs. lemon juice

3/4 cup pecans

1 cup mayonnaise

Mix all ingredients and stir together. This chicken salad is so good with fresh fruit or on croissants as a sandwich.

Creamy Macaroni Salad!

 

 

It's getting to be that time of year for cookouts, family reunions and picnics and some of us love a good macaroni salad!   Now, there are good macaroni salads and there are mediocre macaroni salads and there are more in the latter category from my experience.  

The main reason most of them are not all that dazzling is that they don't have a good dressing on them.  The second reason is usually that they have weird stuff in them.   

 I don't really want weird stuff in my regular old macaroni salad.  I just want the basics.  I do want a good dressing on it though and not just a big glob of mayonnaise.

 

This one meets all of those criteria, but to be honest when I first saw the basic recipe I was skeptical.  It sounded a little weird.  I have adapted this recipe...a lot, to get this end result and if I do say so myself, it's a delicious macaroni salad. 

 It's flavorful and it stays really creamy even after it sits and marinades in the dressing, which is essential to the flavor and consistency.   Here is what you will need for this and no, I am not crazy...lol.  Try it, you will be amazed at how good it is.

 

 

1lb.  (16 oz.) box of elbow macaroni (or whatever you like, rotini or shells work good also)

salt

black pepper

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. seasoned salt

1 (14oz.) can of sweetened condensed milk (like Eagle Brand)

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar (can use white if that's what you have)

1 Tbs. spicy brown or Dijon mustard

1 medium sweet onion, diced (Vidalia is great for this)

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 tsp. celery seed

 

Cook the macaroni in salted boiling water until just al dente or about 1 minute less than the directions give you.  Rinse and drain under cold water to stop the cooking process.

 

In a large bowl combine the macaroni, onion, and bell peppers.

 

In another bowl whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, mayonnaise, sour cream, honey, vinegar, mustard, garlic powder, seasoned salt, celery seeds and a pinch of black pepper (freshly ground is good).  

Whisk until smooth and pour over the macaroni and fold together.  This will seem sort of soupy and that is ok.  This needs to be refrigerated over night and served the next day for best results.  The pasta will absorb some of the dressing as it chills.  Stir well before serving.

 

Creamy Macaroni Salad!

 



Watergate Salad!

This is definitely one of those "oldie but goody" recipes.  Watergate Salad was all the rage back in the late 1970's and on into the eighties.    It seemed any church potluck, family reunion, or after funeral spread would always have a Watergate Salad.  

 I have researched and looked all over to find out where this salad got it's name.  One can surmise it had something to do with the political scandal, but there is actually no proof that it does.   From all accounts I have read, no one really knows where the salad, and  there was also a cake, got the name. 

What is known is that the pistachio pudding was marketed by the Kraft company in 1975 and the Watergate Salad and the Watergate Cake followed shortly thereafter.   

Wherever it evolved from, it is always a hit with those who enjoy these creamy, fruity concoctions.  My husband loves this salad, which is really a light dessert.  To be honest, I haven't made this in years, so he was happy to see it re-emerge.  

 It is just the perfect salad for Easter or in this case St. Patrick's Day with it's pretty pastel green color.  This is the original Watergate Salad recipe also.  I wasn't really sure, but Mama looked hers up in an old cookbook from the seventies time period.   Here is what you will need:

1 (20 oz.) can crushed pineapple, with the juice (don't drain)

1 (3.5 oz.) box instant pistachio pudding

8 oz. frozen whipped topping

1 cup nuts, chopped

1 cup miniature marshmallows

Mix the pineapple with it's juice with the dry pudding until well blended.  Mix in the whipped topping.  Fold in the nuts and marshmallows. 



                            Pour into a pretty glass bowl, cover and chill for at least 2 hours.

Watergate Salad!







BLT Pasta Salad!

This is one of my favorite pasta salad recipes and it's always a hit whenever I take it to something.  Pasta salad is one of those things that can be really good or really blah.  This one is never blah.  I sort of just made this recipe up one day so I can't credit it to anyone really. 

Here is what you will need:

Penne pasta or you can use bow tie, ranch salad dressing mix, butter milk, mayonnaise, sour cream, roasted red peppers, green onions, bacon, tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, Nature's Seasoning, Tabasco, taco seasoning (like El Paso), cheddar cheese. Notice that I used Barilla pasta.  I prefer Barilla pasta most of the time.  On many things, I just buy whatever is on sale or the store brands because I can't tell much difference, but I do think Barilla is the best dry pasta and it costs only pennies more and at times it's the same price as the store brands.

Chop the green onions including some of the green blades, the red pepper and the tomatoes.  Fry the bacon until crisp and drain on a paper towel.

Boil the pasta until it is al dente and then drain well.  Do not rinse it with cold water like so many recipes call for.  It mixes better if it's a little warm.  I just put it back in pot I boiled it in after I made sure it was dry, to mix all of the salad ingredients together.  Add the chopped vegetables, Parmesan cheese, Nature's Seasoning and the dressing which we will make next.

Mix the ranch dressing mix with mayonnaise, buttermilk and sour cream.  Add 1 Tbs. taco seasoning and a dash of Tabasco sauce to taste.  I usually add about 5 drops or so.   Pour over salad ingredients and mix lightly.

Chop the bacon and add it at the end.  Mix lightly again and put in a glass salad bowl.  You can chill it before serving or serve just as it is.  It's equally good either way. 

This is great to take to potlucks or to serve at cookouts! 

Ingredients:

1 lb. penne pasta

6 slices bacon

1/2 cup sliced green onions or you can use Vidalia onion

1/4 cup chopped roasted red peppers

1 cup chopped tomatoes  Roma or cherry tomatoes halved works best)

1 cup Parmesan cheese

1 pkg Ranch salad dressing mix*

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup sour cream

1 Tbs. Taco seasoning mix

dash of Tabasco sauce

1 tsp Nature's Seasoning or 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese sprinkles on top (optional)

*You can use a good bottled Ranch dressing instead of making your own.  Just add 1/2 cup sour cream, the taco seasoning and Tabasco to about 2 cups of it and mix.

Mama's Pimento Cheese!

My mother makes the best pimento cheese ever.  Now, I know we all think our mothers or grandmothers or whatever made the best this or that and to us they did or still do.  Sometimes we think this because they introduced us to these certain foods or because of the love that went into making these foods.  However, sometimes, it's really because they make it better than everyone else.  I think that is the case with this pimento cheese recipe. I just never like any better than this. 

 Here is what you will need for this:

Ingredients:

5 cups grated American Cheese

1 cup Miracle Whip (can use mayonnaise if you prefer)

2 tsp. sugar

2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup chopped pimento

Mix the first 4 ingredients well and stir the pimento in last. This is one of two recipes Mama uses Miracle Whip in instead of mayonnaise and according to her, it's part of the secret to the taste.  I have tried making it with mayonnaise and she is right, it's not as good for some reason.   If you are one of the mayonnaise only types, who gets a little crazy about it, use mayonnaise.   Chill before serving.





Strawberry Pretzel Salad!

Pretzel Salad is an old southern favorite that you used to find at a lot of holiday meals or church potlucks.  I think we have forgotten about this yummy recipe a little in recent years though.  Maybe it's just in my family that we don't make it as much anymore.  I am not really sure why though, because most everyone loves it.

 It's actually not a salad, but more like a dessert that goes really well with the other holiday selections.  This recipe can also be lightened up quite a bit without sacrificing much of the flavor at all by using light cream cheese, light whipped topping and sugar free Jello..

Here is what you will need for this Pretzel Salad:

1 stick butter, melted
2 cups crushed pretzels
1 cup chopped pecans
3 Tbs. sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
1  8oz. pkg cream cheese, softened
1  8oz. frozen whipped cream
1 16 oz. box frozen strawberries
1 large strawberry flavored jello
2 cups boiling water
1 1/2 cups cold water

Spray a 9"x13" baking dish with nonstick spray.   Mix together butter, crushed pretzels, 3 Tbs. sugar and chopped pecans.  Press into the bottom of the baking dish and bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.   Let cool.

Beat cream cheese and powdered sugar together and then beat in frozen whipped topping. 
Spread over the cooled crust.   Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Dissolve Jello in 2 cups bowling water,  add 1 1/2 cups of cold water and the strawberries.  Stir until it starts to slightly thicken.   Pour over the  cream cheese layer, cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight until Jello sets completely. 

Serve cut in squares with a dollop of whipped cream on each piece. 







Lemon Fluff Salad!

 

 

This "Lemon Fluff Salad" is a really light and pretty gelatin salad that is perfect for Spring and a holiday like Easter.  Like so many things we call a 'salad' in the South, this can be served as a light dessert on the dessert buffet or along with a meal.   

For those who are watching their diets, this is lighter than a most desserts and will still make you  feel like you had something sweet! 

  

Here is what you need for this "salad":

 

1 (3 oz.) lemon gelatin

1 (8 oz.) can crushed pineapple

2 bananas sliced

3/4 cup sugar

1 Tbs. flour

1 egg beaten

1 tsp. vanilla

1 (8 oz.) container frozen whipped topping

1 cup pecans, chopped

 

Prepare the gelatin as the package directs.   Drain the pineapple and reserve the juice.  Add the drained pineapple and sliced bananas to the gelatin. 

 

Pour into a 11"x7" dish or a 9"x9" dish.  Place in the refrigerator and chill until set.

 

Combine sugar and flour in a saucepan.   Add in egg and reserved pineapple juice. Cook, stirring constantly until thickened.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.  Set aside to cool.  Once cooled fold the cooled mixture into the frozen whipped topping.  Spread over the gelatin layer. 

 

Sprinkle with the chopped pecans.

 

Chill until ready to serve.  Cut in squares to serve!

 

 

 





Layered Pea Salad...a Southern Favorite!

This is a salad that has been around a long time.  I am not sure when people began making it, but it was probably in the 1970's or earlier?   Some call it 7 layer salad, some layered pea salad and some just call it pea salad, which is what we have always called it. 

It's an interesting mixture of ingredients that you layer in a pretty bowl or trifle dish and then 'ice' with mayonnaise and sugar.  Yeah, I know, only in the south.  But if you are not from the south or haven't ever had this pea salad, don't be so quick to judge.   It's delicious, it can be made ahead and it will feed a crowd. 

My mother wouldn't think of not having a pea salad in the fridge when my sister and her family are coming to visit.  It's one of their favorites. There must be something that folks like about it, because it's still around and people are still asking about how to make it. You will always find it at a church potluck or many times at holiday meals.   

Here is what you will need to make it:

4 cups of chopped salad greens (usually iceberg lettuce)
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
3 stalks of celery, chopped
4 hard boiled eggs, sliced or grated
1 bag frozen peas, thawed or 1  15 oz. can baby peas, drained (like LeSeur)
2 cups mayonnaise mixed with 2 tsp. sugar
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
7-8 slices crisp cooked bacon or 1 pkg. real bacon bits (the bacon bits hold up better if you are making it the night before or to travel)

Place chopped salad greens in a pretty salad bowl or trifle dish. Next layer chopped onion and sliced celery over that.  Next layer the peas over that.

Layer the egg over the peas.  Some just sliced the eggs, I usually grate them.

Mix the mayonnaise and sugar and spread over all, sealing to the edges. Sprinkle with cheese and bacon or bacon bits.  Refrigerate until time to serve.  This can be made the night before.  Sometimes to change it up a bit I add 2 tsp. Ranch dressing and 3 Tbs. Parmesan cheese to the mayonnaise mixture and add a layer of water chestnuts after the egg layer.  You can add or leave out whatever your family likes.



Cornbread Salad!!!

Only in the south would we take something like cornbread and turn it into a salad and since my blog name is Sweet Tea and Cornbread, I thought this was a very appropriate recipe.  And in addition to all of that, it is delicious.  When I first heard of this salad, I thought it sounded sort of weird, but I gave it try anyway and it was huge hit.   It's also very pretty and it's  perfect for a cookout or summer party. 

Here is what you will need:

1 pan of your favorite cornbread or you can use a box of Jiffy cornbread mix prepared, 1/2 cup vidalia or sweet onion, 1/2 cup green pepper, 1 can ranch or chili beans (drained) or kidney beans will also work, 1 can niblets corn (drained),  5-6 slices crisp bacon, 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese,  1 pkg ranch dressing mix blended with 1 cup mayonnaise and 1 cup sour cream to make the dressing.  Be sure you blend these together well. 

Take 1/2 cornbread and cut in cubes.  Place in the bottom of a tall trifle dish or a big glass salad bowl.  A clear bowl just looks prettier because the layers show. 

 Drain the beans well and put over the cornbread layer.  Next put half the onion and half the green pepper. Pour half the dressing over this layer.  Cut the rest of the cornbread in cubes and do another layer of cornbread.  Drain corn well and put it over this layer. Sprinkle the rest of the onion and green pepper over this. 

Finish the top with the rest of the ranch dressing mix, the grated cheese and the bacon crumbled. 

I have added tomato as an optional ingredient to this recipe.  It does look pretty. I add it around the edges right at the end. 

 Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours before serving.  This is best made early in the day and refrigerated for several hours to blend the flavors.  I wouldn't make it the day before though because it could get soggy.   This will be  big hit! 

Ingredients:

1 recipe cornbread

1 can niblets corn

1 can ranch beans, chili beans or kidney beans

1/2 cup sweet onion diced

1/2 cup green pepper diced

2 cups cheddar cheese grated

5-6 slices bacon fried crisp

1 pkg ranch dressing mix

1 cup sour cream

1 cup mayonnaise

1 large tomato diced (optional)

Pina Colada Ambrosia!

Remember ambrosia, the creamy fruit salad mixture with the mini marshmallows usually served at Thanksgiving or Christmas, sometimes at church potlucks or picnics?  Nothing wrong with a good ambrosia fruit salad.  My husband can eat it by the bucket full. 

This is a twist on that ambrosia. This is decidedly more tropical in nature and to me is more of a springtime, summer sort of ambrosia, but would be good anytime actually. 

Here is what you will need:

3 bananas

1 can pineapple tidbits with juice (you can use fresh pineapple but will need to add 1/2 cup pineapple juice)

2 (15 oz.)  cans tropical fruit salad drained

1 (15 oz.) can mandarin oranges drained

1 (10 oz.) small jar maraschino cherries

1 3 oz instant vanilla pudding mix

juice of 1 lemon

2 cups shredded coconut

1/2 cup orange juice

1 cup cream of coconut

8 oz. whipped topping

2 cups miniature marshmallows

1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans for topping (optional)

Slice bananas into mixing bowl and pour the juice of 1 lemon over them.

Drain all of the fruit except the pineapple and add to the bananas.  Add the pineapple tidbits with the juice to it.

Juice 2-3 oranges to make 1/2 cup orange juice and mix with 1 cup cream of coconut.  You can use 1/2 cup of refrigerated orange juice, but the fresh orange juice is so much better.  Pour this mixture over the fruit and mix gently.

Add pudding mix to the fruit and mix together.

Add all of the cherries but a few for garnishing the top!  Fold in whipped cream and marshmallows.  Chill for several hours so it thickens.

Toast the coconut in a 450 degree oven.  This usually takes about 10 minutes, but watch it carefully, because it will burn quickly.  Mix 1 cup into the fruit salad and sprinkle the other cup on top right before serving.  I also like to top it with chopped walnuts or pecans and a few whole maraschino cherries for garnish!

Pina Colada Ambrosia!