SALADS

IN THIS SECTION:
Apple Salad on the Wild Side
Corn Bread Salad
Cranberry Spinach Salad (and apple cider vinaigrette)
Fruited Spinach Salad
Golden Apple Fruit Salad
Italian Salad
Layered Fruit Salad
Minnesota Wild Rice and Fruit Salad
Orange Pudding Salad
Seven Fruit Salad
Snicker Salad
Strawberry Spinach Salad
Sweet and Sour Tomato Salad
Wild Rice Fruit Salad

Cranberry-Spinach Salad
1 bag of ready to eat baby spinach leaves
dried cranberries (Craisins)
1 large can mandarin orange sections (drained)
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
1/4 cup sliced red onion (more or less depending on taste)
About1/2 cup Crumbled Feta Cheese (or more)

Apple cider Vinaigrette
3/4 cup vegetable oil ( I have used olive oil)
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tsp celery salt ( I use celery seed)
3/4 tsp. dry mustard
1 tbl. grated onion

Process all ingredients in a blender for food processor until smooth. Cover and chill if desired. Stir dressing well before drizzling desired amount over salad.

WILD RICE FRUIT SALAD
This was yummy and a bit different because of the black flecks (wild rice) created in the salad. Several people asked for the recipe.

3 c. of cooked wild rice (or I used a combination of brown and wild rice -- make sure the rice is unflavored -- that is you did not cook it in a chicken broth)

1 pkg. (small size) orange Jell-O

1 - 12 oz. Cool Whip

1 can Mandarin oranges (drained)

1 can (16 oz.) pineapple chunks (drained)

1 c. miniature marshmallows

Mix rice, drained fruits, Cool Whip, marshmallows and dry Jell-O all together and let set up. Serve. How simple is that? And good too!

Corn Bread Salad
I like to made this corn bread salad for a potluck dinners. It is a different assortment of ingredients, but it comes together well in this salad. This recipe makes a lot and works great for a large family gatherings, picnics or reunion events. This would have been one of those recipes that I would have read and passed over. I am very glad that my sister tried it out and told me about it. The only thing I added was the addition of one can of green chilis to the corn bread before it was baked.

1 (6 oz) pkg. corn bread mix (or use the recipe off of the corn meal box/bag)
1 envelope dry ranch dressing mix
1 C. mayonnaise
1 16 oz container sour cream (or you can use plain yogurt as well to cut down on fat, tastes just the same)
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1/2 C chopped green pepper
1/2 C chopped green onions (top included)
1 to 2 cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1/4 lb bacon, crisp cooked, crumbled
2 C shredded cheddar cheese

Prepare and bake the corn bread. Combine the ranch dressing mix, mayonnaise and sour cream; set aside. Combine the tomatoes, green pepper and green onions; set aside. Crumble l/2 pan of corn bread into a large salad bowl. Alternate layers of beans, corn, tomato mixture, bacon, cheese and dressing mixture until all ingredients are used, ending with the dressing. Decorate the top with bits of tomato, pepper, and chili pepper. Chill for at least two hours or overnight. Yield: 15 or more servings

Italian Salad
1 pkg. spiral noodles (tri colored)
2 to 3 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and cubed
2 tomatoes, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 can pitted, ripe olives, cut in half
1/2 C vinegar (you can used about 1/2 flavored vinegar as well)
1/4 C oil
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C water
2 t salt
1 t pepper
1 t garlic powder
2 t onion powder
1 T Italian seasoning

Cook noodles according to pkg. directions. Rinse, put into a large bowl. Add all chopped vegetables. In a quart jar with twist on lid mix remaining ingredients. Shake well to mix, pour over vegetables and noodles. Stir well and refrigerate several house. (I have added cauliflower, broccoli, radishes, red onion, and whatever else I had around the house to the salad.)

MINNESOTA WILD RICE AND FRUIT SALAD
1/2 c. milk
1 (3 1/2 oz.) pkg. instant vanilla pudding
1 c. sour cream
1 c. strawberries, quartered
1 c. grapes, quartered
1 c. blueberries or mandarin oranges
1 c. cooked and cooled wild rice
1 c. pineapple tidbits, drained

Blend milk and sour cream together. Beat instant pudding into milk and sour cream mixture for 45 seconds. Fold in fresh fruit and cooled wild rice into the pudding mixture. Chill. Make 12 1/2 c. servings. This salad has a unique texture, color and taste. Enjoy.

Snicker Salad
This candy bar salad is good to make for a child's party or school function.
This recipe has been scaled to make: 10 servings

Directions
In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, olive oil, vinegar, paprika, Worcestershire sauce and onion. Cover, and chill for 1 hour.

In a large bowl, combine the spinach, strawberries and almonds. Pour dressing over salad, and toss. Refrigerate 10 to 15 minutes before serving to let the flavors mingle. Makes 4 to 6 serving. (If you wished, you could also add some grilled, cold chicken slices to this and have a complete meal.)

Sweet and Sour Tomato Salad
7 tomatoes cut into wedges
1 large onion cut in half and then cut into thin slices
1/2 C white vinegar
l/4 C oil
l/4 C water
1/2 C white sugar (or less depending on your taste)
salt and pepper to taste

Mix and serve at room temperature. Really good and very pretty especially if you use red and yellow tomatoes and maybe even a red onion. It was a hit at my house tonight and I used red tomatoes and some small yellow pear tomatoes. The guys even suggested that I put some cucumbers in it also. Might have to try that next time as well, if I do use cucumbers I would cut them into cubes to give the salad a different look.

Golden Apple Layered Salad
2 golden delicious apples, cored, and cut into chunks
1 can (l lb 4 oz) pineapple chunks
l large banana, peeled and sliced
1 C red grapes,
l large orange, peeled, sliced and quartered

Drain pineapple, reserve syrup. Pour syrup over banana...let stand 5 minutes. Drain bananas, reserve 3 T syrup for dressing. In a 2 l/2 qt glass bowl layer pineapple, grapes, banana, apple chunks and orange. garnish with apple slices. Refrigerate, covered for 1 hr. Serve with creamy dressing. Makes 4-6 servings.

Layered Fruit Salad
l/2 C orange juice
l/4 C lemon juice
l/4 C packed brown sugar
l/2 t grated orange peel
l/2 t grated lemon peel
l cinnamon stick
2 C fresh or drained canned pineapple chunks
l C seedless red grapes
2 medium bananas, sliced
2 medium oranges, sectioned (I used mandarin oranges)
l medium grapefruit, sectioned
l pint strawberries, sliced
2 kiwifruit, peeled and sliced

In a medium saucepan combine the first 6 ingredients, bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for 5 minutes. Removed from heat, cool completely. Meanwhile, layer fruit in a glass serving bowl. Remove cinnamon stick from sauce, pour sauce over fruit. Cover and child for several hours. Yield 6-8 servings. I was able to substitute apple juice for the orange juice and I omitted the orange peel and it was great.

Fruited Spinach Salad
1 can (ll oz) mandarin oranges
l/4 C olive or vegetable oil (you can use less oil)
3 T raspberry jam or spreadable fruit (can use sugar free spreadable fruit)
l T red wine vinegar
l pkg. (10 oz) fresh spinach that has been torn
l red apple, chopped
l C chopped pecans, toasted

Drain oranges, reserve l/2 C juice in a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine oil, jam, vinegar and reserved juice; shake well. In a large salad bowl toss oranges, spinach, apple and pecans. Serve with the dressing. Yields 6-8 servings. Very petty, colorful, tasty and good for you as well; what more could you ask for?

Seven-fruit salad
1/2 C lime juice
l/2 C water
l/2 C sugar
2 medium nectarines, sliced
l large banana, sliced
l pint blueberries (I used our own fresh raspberries)
l pint strawberries, sliced (I used about l/2 a pint)
l to l/2 C watermelon balls (use cantaloupe instead)
l C green grapes (used l/l2 C)
l kiwifruit, peeled and chopped

In bowl, combine lime juice, water and sugar, stir until sugar is dissolved. Add nectarines and banana; toss to coat (so they don't turn brown). In a large 2 l/2 qt glass bowl combine rest of the fruit. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hr. Serve with slotted spoon. Yield 8-10.

I used other fresh fruit that I had on had and I would also cut back on the sugar since the fruit has natural sugar (if it is a the peak of the season) adding the full amount of sugar (l/2 C) can be a bit overpowering. It is very good and that little bit of lime gives it a good kick.

APPLE SALAD ON THE WILD SIDE
2 cups of cooked wild rice (about 1/2 c. uncooked)
4 Tbl. lemon juice
4 Tbl. brown sugar (or the fake sugar substitute)
2 stalks of celery, chopped (or leave them out as I did because I was out of celery)
5-6 apples, cored and chopped (or amount of apples to your taste. I used a mix of both red and green apples for color.)
1/3 c. of mayo or salad dressing
1/2 c. of sour cream
1/2 c. of chopped pecans
1/2 can of drained cubed pineapple chunks (more if you like them, or leave them out if you don't)
green or red seedless grapes, cut in half OR raisons to taste

In bowl dissolve brown sugar with lemon juice. Toss and coat apples with lemon mixture to help the apples not turn brown. Add remaining ingredients and mix to combine. Let rest in refrigerator for about an hour. I added additional pecans to the top of the salad before serving. If you feel you need more dressing for the amount of fruit, just go ahead and mix a bit more. I served it right out of the bowl. Serves about 8-12.