Summer salad series

My mom always encouraged nutrition by setting out two fruits/vegetables at each meal.  I despised this at the time and in fact, in my usual tactless way, once told my a friend's mom in high school that I loved eating at their house because she let them eat whatever they wanted without worrying about nutrition.  But as a grown up, I am thankful for my mom's insistence at two fruit or vegetable servings at lunch and supper.  It's just a great habit to have.  I do find myself getting tired of the same old fruit and vegetable offerings.  (Usually frozen, canned, or fresh fruits and veggies.)  Salads are a nice departure from that. 

My friend, Cari, recently did a post on summer salads.  So I thought I'd share the recipes she shared.  You know, a few new recipes for the end of summer.  I also thought I'd share a couple of tricks I use to jazz up fresh fruit.  If you've got a killer salad recipe or trick for jazzing up fruit/veggies, don't hesitate to share. 

First, a few tricks:
You can easily give fresh fruit a face lift by adding a "dressing" to the fruit.  It's a great way to add another layer of flavor to your fruit.  The best and easiest kinds of dressings are those that require little work and actually 'make themselves.'  One trick is to use jelly or jam as a fruit glaze over fruit.   Nuke the jelly or jam for a bit until it liquifies and then toss to coat your fruit.  It works great with mixed salads like strawberry over grapes, bananas, and strawberries.  Or it's good alone like tossing bananas in strawberry jelly.  Another trick is to use a smidge of sugar and a bit of citrus zest over fruit.  Oranges, strawberries, and apple chunks taste great with a bit of sugar and orange zest.  What about strawberries with kiwi, sprinkled with lime zest?  You can also squeeze a little of the citrus juice over the salad for more citrus flavor.  Of course, if you're really feeling daring, adding some fresh herbs can also be a great mix into a zest based dressing.  Mint and cilantro are two of my favorites.  But if you're like me, you rarely have anything like that when you need it.

And some new recipes to try, straight out of someone else's recipe file:

Snickers Salad
6 Snickers candy bars
2 pkgs instant vanilla pudding mix
8 0z Cool Whip
5-6 Granny Smith apples
3 C milk


Peel & cut apples into bite-size pieces (I don’t always peel; sometimes I use my apple wedger & then cut the wedges into chunks). Cut candy bars into bite-size pieces. Mix milk & pudding together; fold in Cool Whip. Add apples & candy bar pieces.

Asian Slaw
16 oz. broccoli slaw mix
2 pkgs. beef ramen noodles
¼ C sliced almonds
½ C sunflower nuts
2 T vinegar
¾ C oil
1/3 C sugar


Mix together ramen noodle seasoning packets, vinegar, oil & sugar. Crumble raw noodles. Add remaining ingredients; pour dressing over and toss well. Serve immediately. (If making ahead, add crumbled noodles only right before serving.)

Acini de pepi Salad (old family favorite from my Grandma Peterson)

16 oz. pkg of acini de pepi (small pasta, similar to tapioca in shape)
Cook in salted water for 8 min; rinse & drain well. Cool.

Dressing:
1 C sugar
3 eggs
½ tsp salt
2 T flour
1 ¾ C pineapple juice (use from drained pineapple to add in later)
Mix & cook til thick. Pour over pasta & refrigerate overnight.


Add next day:Small can crushed pineapple, drained, regular size can pineapple tidbits, drained, 2 small cans mandarin oranges, drained, 10 oz. pkg mini-marshmallows (optional) and 8 0z. Cool Whip

Refrigerate; best if stands awhile. Makes a very large batch. Freezes well.

Broccoli Orange Salad
4 C fresh broccoli florets, bite-size
½ C cashews
Small red onion, chopped
½ C buttermilk ranch dressing
2 T orange juice
1 T horseradish sauce
Small can mandarin oranges, drained

Mix ranch dressing, orange juice & horseradish sauce together. Poor over other ingredients, adding mandarin oranges gently at end. Mix well & chill for 2 hours.

Grape Salad
2 C fruit (can use mixed berries, but I prefer just grapes)
2 individual containers vanilla yogurt
8 oz. Cool Whip
1 pkg instant vanilla pudding mix

Mix pudding mix & yogurt together (will be very thick); fold in Cool Whip. Add in fruit gently.

Berry Peach Bellini Salad
¼ C orange juice
3 T sugar
4 medium peaches, peeled, pitted & cut into bite-size chunks
1 C raspberries or diced strawberries (I prefer strawberries)
2 C sparkling wine or lemon-lime soda (I’ve only ever used Sprite or 7-Up; can use diet)


Mix orange juice & sugar together. Add peaches & berries. Divide fruit evenly into 4 individual serving cups. Cover & freeze at least one hr. About ½ hr before serving, remove cups from freezer. Let stand until slightly thawed. Poor sparkling wine or soda over fruit evenly. Serve immediately. Serves 4.

Buttermilk Salad (aka Striped Cookie & Mandarin Orange Salad)
1 pkg instant vanilla pudding mix
1 ½ C buttermilk (will make mix a bit thicker & tangier, but can use reg. milk)
8 oz Cool Whip½ pkg fudge-striped shortbread cookies, crumbled (can use caramel-striped as well)
Small can mandarin oranges, drained

Mix pudding with buttermilk; fold in Cool Whip. Add crumbled cookies & oranges; mix gently. Serve immediately. (If making ahead, add crumbled cookies only right before serving.)