Tossed Spinach Salad

This is a wonderful recipe I got from my mother-in-law. It is one of our family's favorite salads, it is easy to make and always a crowd pleaser.

Salad Ingredients

1 package of baby spinach (10 oz.), torn

1 pound of mushrooms, sliced (I bought mushrooms already sliced ... I don't like them, but the slices were big enough that I could pick them out)

1/2 pound of sliced bacon, cooked & crumbled (I used about 1/2 cup of Hormel Real Crumbled Bacon ... I got a big bag of this at Sam's and love it! So easy to use!)

3 ribs of celery sliced (I "stripped" my celery before I sliced it ... I took a veggie peeler and peeled all the strings off of it and get it down to the tender white part ... it is much tastier and easier to slice this way)

1 c. of shredded cheddar (I used about a cup and 1/2 of Kraft Sharp Cheddar Crumbles)

3 hard boiled eggs, chopped (I love egg in my salad)

3 to 4 green onions, chopped


Dressing Ingredients

1 Cup of Ketchup

3/4 c. of white vinegar

3/4 c. of vegetable oil

1/2 c. of sugar

1 tsp. of salt

1 tsp. of Worcestershire Sauce

In a LARGE salad bowl, combine the salad ingredients and toss. You'll need a large bowl to start out, but once you add the dressing you could transfer it to a smaller bowl.

Whisk all of the dressing ingredients together or put them in a jar with a tight lid and shake. Wait to toss the salad with the dressing on until you are ready to serve the salad. And, when you do, only put about 1 and 1/2 cups to 2 cups of dressing on it at the MOST. The recipe makes about three cups, but that is WAY too much dressing!

Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad

This is one of my favorite salads. When my mom's family used to get together for a Thanksgiving and Christmas meal (before all of her siblings ... all 6 of them ... started having grand babies), one of my aunts would make this every year. My mother is working on a family recipe book and got this recipe from my aunt. We were thrilled to get it. It makes a large batch so make it when you know you are going to have a big group or you are going to your next potluck.



Ingredients for Salad

1 head of raw cauliflower, diced
3 to 4 crowns of raw broccoli, diced
1 onion chopped or one bunch of green onions chopped (I prefer green onions ... in the picture, my mom used red onions and green onions)
1 large stalk of celery, cut up
2 cups of shredded cheese (Longhorn or Cheddar is the best because of the stronger taste ... you can also buy crumbles at the grocery store that works well, too)

Toss the above ingredients together in a large bowl.

Dressing for salad:

1 cup of mayonnaise (not salad dressing like Miracle Whip ... you could probably use low fat mayo if you wanted)
1 Tbsp of Salt
1 Tbsp of sugar

Toss the dressing with the salad ingredients. Let is set overnight before serving for the best taste ... but when my mom made a batch the other night, we just had to eat some right away and it was still yummy ... though it was better the next day. :o)

Fajita Taco Salad

Sorry for not posting in a while. I've been busy painting and getting ready for a festival.

This recipe is one of our family favorites. It is super easy and quick, because I use mainly store bought prepared food. It is also really low fat. Depending what you put on it, it is usually only 6 points for Weight Watchers.

Ingredients for 1 Serving

15 baked tortilla chips (I usually put a handful of regular chips in my husband's)

Handful of Shredded Lettuce (I buy this in the produce section)

1/2 C. of Fat Free Refried Beans (Taco Bell's brand tastes the best to me but any fat free refried beans would do - here's a tip: I add a little bit of water to thin it up a bit otherwise I find it too thick)

3 oz of Pilgrim's Pride Frozen Fajita Breast Strips Fully Cooked (you could brown some hamburger meat and add taco seasoning to do beef taco salads)

1/4 C. of 2% cheese

2 T. of lite sour cream

1/4 to 1/2 cup of salsa (I use homemade salsa and will post that recipe ... that's one I'm always asked for)

Heat the fajita strips in the microwave according to directions (I usually add some fajita seasoning to it ... I like Fiesta brand). Add a little water to the beans and heat those. To me, it is very important the way you put something together ... the order. So, this is the order I ALWAYS put my taco salads together (which does no good for my husband because he then proceeds to mix it all together ... but I like the separate tastes.)

1. Put chips in bowl or on plate
2. put lettuce on chips
3. pour beans over lettuce
4. put meat on top of lettuce
5. add cheese
6. put a couple of dollops of sour cream on top of that
7. drizzle the salsa around the sour cream (but not on top)

If I have pico de gallo in the fridge, I put some of that on for zero points. You could add a couple of dollops of guacamole, too ... I can't remember the point value for that. Anyway, that's our super easy fajita taco salads that I make when I'm in a pinch for time. I like it, also, because it doesn't heat up the kitchen.