Red Potato Salad

The beauty of potato salads is that you can change them easily to suit your taste.  Here is a good recipe, ready for your own variation, if needed. Just be sure you keep the potatoes and some sort of creamy whip. 

 INGREDIENTS

2 pounds clean, scrubbed new red potatoes
6 eggs
3/4 cub crumbled bacon
4 green onions, chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped

2 slices pickles, finely chopped
4 oz. cheese, cut into small cubes (you can also just use shredded, if you would like)

2 cups mayonnaise

good squeeze of mustard (your preference, I do about 1/4 cup)
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain and set in the refrigerator to cool.
2. Place eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring water to a boil and immediately remove from heat. Cover and let eggs stand in hot water for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from hot water, cool, peel and chop.
3. Chop the cooled potatoes, leaving skin on. Add to a large bowl, along with the eggs, bacon, onionm cheese and celery. Add mayonnaise and mustard, salt and pepper to taste. Chill for an hour before serving. 

VARIATIONS
Add aliced olives; add chopped up pepperchinis; substitute Miracle Whip for mayo, or 1/2 cup Miracle Whip and 1/2 cup sour cream;

Strawberry Fields Salad

Hard to call this "white trash" because the dressing is home made, but it is easy, and it is probably one of the best salads I have had in a long time, so totally worth it.

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon minced onion
10 ounces fresh spinach - rinsed, dried and torn into bite-size pieces
1 quart strawberries - cleaned, hulled and sliced
1/4 cup almonds, blanched and slivered

DIRECTIONS

1. In a blender, puree the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, olive oil, vinegar, paprika, Worcestershire sauce and onion. Cover, and chill for one hour.
2. In a large bowl, combine the spinach, strawberries and almonds. 
3. You can mix the dressing in with the salad and chill, but I prefer to serve it on the side.

VARIATIONS

Add chicken; add crumbled bacon; add feta or blue cheese; substitute almonds for walnuts or candied almonds; add chopped red onions

Dead Serious Salad

Seriously....

INGREDIENTS
1 (8 oz.) tub of Cool Whip
2 Snickers bars cut up into small pieces
(or 8-10 fun size cut up)
1-2 apples (your choice) cup up into small pieces

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix together

2. Eat.

3. Yum.  Serious. 

And I repeat....Cool Whip, Snickers and apples.  Done.

Gourmet-Look-a-like Pasta Salad

Easy enough, but super good! Makes a large bowl full

INGREDIENTS

1 bag/box spiral pasta
1 bottle italian dressing
1 can sliced olives
1 carton grape tomatoes
1 zucchini, chopped into pieces
1/2 bunch green onions chopped, or 1/2 purple onion chopped
1 cup chopped peppers (red, or green, or a mix of both)
Half bag of shredded carrots (saves you time)
1 cup feta cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Boil pasta according to package

2. Mix all ingredients together

3. Chill until serving

Creamy Puddin' Salad

What's a "White trash" meal without some Jell-O? This is one of my favorites from a ward cookbook I have. Change up flavors and fruit as you like.

INGREDIENTS
3 cups water
1 small box Jell-O tapioca pudding
1 small box orange Jell-O
1 small box vanilla pudding
1 tub Cool Whip
2 small cans mandarin oranges
1 can pineapple chunks or tidbits

DIRECTIONS

1. Bring water to boil

2. Stir in puddings and Jell-o until dissolved

3. Chill in a bowl for about 15 minutes, so that it thickens, but isn't set

4. Mix in Cool Whip and fruit

5. Chill

*You can mix up the recipe as you like, strawberry Jell-o with strawberries, lime with pineapple, etc, etc.

Cookie Monster Salad

Anything that involves Cool Whip and instant pudding is totally white trash, but I can't resist. This salad is a complete indulgence, and even good with the "sugar free" stuff. It almost tastes like fluffy cake batter, or (with the blueberries) muffin batter. Oooh, my mouth is watering. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:
2 small boxes instant vanilla pudding
2 cups buttermilk
1 (16 oz) tub of Cool Whip
2 cans mandarin oranges
1 large can pinapple tidbits
1/2 package of fudge striped cookies

DIRECTIONS:
1. Mix pudding and buttermilk until well blended. Add Cool Whip.

2. Dump fruit in and stir

3. Crumble cookies and stir in just before serving

Tips: I added some canned blueberries and it was YUMMY!! Also, you can make the night before, just wait to add the cookies until right before you serve.

Broccoli Salad

INGREDIENTS:
6 cups broccoli, chopped
1 lg. red onion, chopped (a sweet onion would work, too)
8-10 piecs bacon, cooked and crumbled (or, a handful of the bagged crumbled bacon)
1 cup grated cheese
1 cup cashews or slivered almonds (optional)
2/3 cup raisins or pineapple tidbits (optional)

Dressing:
1 1/2 cup mayonnaise or Miracle Whipe
2 tbls. vinegar
1/2 cup sugar

DIRECTIONS:
Combine dressing ingredients and let sit while you mix the rest of the salad (it gives it a few minutes to let the sugar to break down.) Mix all of the ingredients, except for the bacon and cashews. Pour dressing over salad, mix well and chill until serving. Add bacon and nuts just before serving.

Chicken Salad

This is a classic, and it's amazing! I'll give credit where credit is due, too. I got this from my neighbor's mom, Kathleen out of a church cookbook...you gotta' love Mormon cooking! :)

INGREDIENTS:
6 large chicken breast halves, cooked, cooled & diced (or, you can do the WT thing and use 2-3 cans of shredded chicken)
1 lg. can crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup diced celery
3/4 cup chopped green onion (just the white part)
3/4 cup slivered almonds (add just before serving)
salt & pepper to taste (or, for my family, Daddy Don's Secret Spice)
1 cup grapes, cut in half (optional)
30 mini croissants (Sam's Club has the best!)

Dressing:
1 cup Ranch dressing (The recipe calls for "Litehouse Ranch Dressing" but I'm sure any ranch will work)
1 cup mayonnaise

DIRECTIONS:
Mix well and fill criossants just before serving.

TA DA!

DIRECTIONS:

BLT Salad

I like finding some variations on the usual "green" salad. This doesn't go over well as a leftover, but it's great fresh! You can substitute balsamic vinegarette (sp?) for the mayo dressing for a little different taste (and a lower fat recipe.)

INGREDIENTS
1 pound bacon
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
salt to taste
1 head romaine lettuce - rinsed, dried and shredded (Iceberg lettuce doesn't work as well)
2 large tomatoes, chopped
2 cups seasoned croutons (or chopped up french bread toasted in the oven)

DIRECTIONS

1. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat, turning frequently, until evenly browned. Drain, crumble and set aside.

2. In a blender or food processor, combine mayonnaise, milk, garlic powder and black pepper. Blend until smooth. Season the dressing with salt.


3. Combine lettuce, tomatoes, bacon and croutons in a large salad bowl. Toss with dressing, and serve immediately.

OPTIONS: Add avocado, cheese, or whatever you please!