Mom's Best Macaroni Salad

Macaroni salad and I don't always get along. There are some amish macaroni salads that I like, but usually I skip this at a BBQ. Recently my mom tried this recipe and it is by far, the best macaroni salad to ever go into my mouth. I had seconds and was practically licking my plate. It probably has something to do with the sweetened condensed milk in the sauce, but everyone there agreed it was awesome. I'm sure this will be a frequent repeat in our house.

Ingredients

• 16 ounces uncooked elbow macaroni
• 4 carrots, shredded
• 1 large red onion, chopped
• 1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 2 cups mayonnaise
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add macaroni, and cook until tender, about 8 minutes. Rinse under cold water, and drain.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the carrots, red onion, green pepper, red pepper and celery. Mix in the mayonnaise, condensed milk, sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper. Add the macaroni, toss gently, cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours. I usually make this a day ahead of time, and stir it occasionally to blend the flavors. The macaroni will absorb some of the liquid.

Baked Lemon Pasta, and chicken and salad

My sister sent me a link to this recipe blog done by 5 sisters. She's made a bunch of recipes from this site and has loved them all. I was looking at it the other day and came across this dish. It was so different from anything I've had before and so delicious! Jeremy had three helpings and that says a lot! I think I've found a new foodie blog to stalk...
Baked Lemon Pasta
Submitted by Amy ~ www.sisterscafe.blogspot.com
Source: the one and only Pioneer woman

1 pound Thin Spaghetti
4 Tablespoons Salted Butter
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 cloves Garlic, Minced
1 whole Lemon, Juiced And Zested
2 cups Sour Cream
½ teaspoons Kosher Salt, Or More To Taste
Plenty Of Grated Parmesan Cheese
Flat-leaf Parsley, Chopped
Extra Lemon Juice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook spaghetti until al dente. In a skillet, melt butter with olive oil over LOW HEAT. When butter is melted, add minced garlic. Squeeze lemon juice into the pan. Turn off heat. Add sour cream and stir mixture together. Add lemon zest and salt. Taste, then add more salt if necessary. Pour mixture over drained spaghetti and stir together, then pour spaghetti into an oven safe dish. Bake, covered, for 15 minutes. Then remove foil and bake for an additional 7 to 10 minutes. (Don’t bake too long or the pasta will dry out.) When you remove it from the oven, squeeze a little more lemon juice over the top. Top generously with Parmesan cheese, then chopped parsley. Give it a final squeeze of lemon juice at the end or feel free to add as much as you like.

It was suggested in the recipe on the blog that you serve this with the following chicken.

Lemon Grilled Chicken:

Juice of one lemon (~3 Tb lemon juice)

3 Tb oil

1 tsp minced garlic (~2 large cloves)

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp oregano

1 lb chicken breasts

Marinate the chicken overnight. For salad, dice the raw chicken and marinate it that way so there is more surface area to marinate. You can get away with marinating for a shorter amount of time this way. Grilling is best, but cooking in a skillet is great, too.

I put the grilled chicken right in with the pasta, and also made this salad the chicken is supposed to go into, but we had it without the chicken:

Chicken Poppy Seed Salad

Resubmitted by Mindy (Originally submitted by Brittany)

www.sisterscafe.blogspot.com

Salad:
Spinach leaves

Romaine leaves

Grilled chicken, sliced (Best if marinated in Lemon Grilled Chicken Marinade*, but if you don't have time then grill with lots of lemon pepper seasoning)

Red onion, sliced thinly

Crispy bacon, crumbled

Shredded mozzarella cheese

Toasted almonds (or you can sugar the almonds. Put sliced almonds in a pan with lots of granulated sugar (about equal amounts). Cook on medium heat until sugar melts, coating the almonds as they brown.)

*Lemon Grilled Chicken:

Juice of one lemon (~3 Tb lemon juice)

3 Tb oil

1 tsp minced garlic (~2 large cloves)

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp oregano

1 lb chicken breasts

Marinate the chicken overnight. For salad, dice the raw chicken and marinate it that way so there is more surface area to marinate. You can get away with marinating for a shorter amount of time this way. Grilling is best, but cooking in a skillet is great, too.

The best part... The Dressing**:

1 1/3 cup sugar

2 tsp salt

2 tsp dry mustard

2/3 cup red wine vinegar

3 Tb Maui or Vidalia onion, chopped

2 cups canola oil

3 Tb poppy seeds

Mix the first 5 ingredients in a blender, then slowly add the oil, blending until thick. Stir in poppy seeds. Toss all ingredients together with generous amount of dressing before serving.

**This makes a lot of dressing! If you need a really big salad for a party then start with a large bunch of spinach, large head of romaine, 4 chicken breasts, 1 lb bacon, etc. I rarely make a salad that big so that is why there are no "amounts". So have fun with it - you're going to love it!

Roasted Vegetable Salad

1 lb small red potatoes, quartered

2 medium ears sweet corn

1/2 lb mushrooms, halved

1 zucchini, chopped

1/2 lb aspargus, cut into 2" lengths

1 med sweet red pepper, cut in strips

1 sweet yellow onion, cut into chunks

1/4 cup olive

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

*2 cups cubed french bread

10 cherry tomatoes, halved

1 cup crumbled feta

1 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves

Dressing

1/3 cup olive oil

2 cloves minced garlic

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

In a large bowl, combine first 7 ingredients. Drizzle with 1/4 cup olive oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Spread out on baking pan and bake at 425 for 20-25 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.

For dressing, heat olive oil in small sauce pan over med heat. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and let them infuse the oil. If the oil is too hot and anything turns dark brown or black, scoop them out! Let the oil cool a little and then whisk in the vinegar.

In same large bowl used for veggies, combine cubed bread, tomatoes, feta, and basil. Then the slightly cooled veggies. Pour dressing over and toss to coat. Serve immediately, but I liked it even more later that night when the kids had gone to bed!

*I didn't have any french bread, but I did have some left over texas toast bread. I cut it into chunks, sprayed them with Pam, sprinkled seasoned salt over them, and then baked them at 400 for about 10 minutes. I am surprised how yummy the bread was in the salad!!! Don't skip the bread!

Grape Salad

Here is the grape salad recipe that so many of you have asked about. Enjoy!

Grape Salad

Ingredients

2 lbs green seedless grapes
2 lbs red seedless grapes

8 ounces sour cream
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract, to taste
(A lot of the time I only make half of the cream cheese mixture)

Topping Ingredients
1 cup brown sugar, packed, to taste
1 cup crushed pecans, to taste
(I usually only make half of this as well)

Directions

1 Wash and stem grapes.
2 Set aside.
3 Mix sour cream, cream cheese, white sugar and vanilla by hand until blended.
4 Stir grapes into mixture, and pour in large serving bowl.
5 For topping: Combine brown sugar, and crushed pecans.
6 Sprinkle over top of grapes to cover completely.
7 Chill overnight.

Thai Peanut Noodle Salad

I came across this website the other day and I just love it! All the recipes look tried and true and so yummy! This one turned out delish in my opinion, the dressing is to die for! We are having it again tonight. Oh, and I made it without chicken to have as a side. I will be perusing that site again for more recipes and will be sure to post the good ones!

Ingredients:

8 oz Linguine Fini (or regular linguine) cooked
4 C shredded greens: any combo of napa cabbage, romaine lettuce or even spinach
2 C thinly sliced purple cabbage
1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 yellow pepper, thinly sliced
1 medium carrot, julienned
1/2 medium cucumber, halved and sliced
1/4 of a red onion, thinly sliced
3 C diced grilled chicken
honey roasted peanuts (about 1/2 cup)

Cook pasta and run under cold water. Toss with a bit of oil to keep it from sticking. Mix up all veggies. Place pasta down in bowl first, then cover with the vegetables. Pour on the salad dressing and then add the peanuts.

Thai Peanut Salad Dressing (save some time and make this part ahead!)

1/2 C peanut butter
1 lime, juiced and zested
2 1/2 t sesame oil
1 T seasoned rice wine vinegar
2 T soy sauce
3 T honey
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 T minced ginger
1/2 C roughly chopped cilantro (stems and all)
1/2 C vegetable oil
1/4 t kosher salt
2-3 t sriracha chili sauce (I didn't use this)
2-4 T water

Blend all in blender and then refrigerate.

Marinated Green Bean Salad

This dish is served at Michie Tavern, right near Monticello. I bought their cookbook because their food is sooo good and Peter and I really love this easy green bean salad. (great for Adkins diet too!)

1 lb can green beans
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 cup salad oil
2 T. sugar
2 tsp. garlic salt
1 1/2 tsp ground oregano
1 tsp. pepper

Drain beans and set aside. In a large bowl combine all other ingredients and whisk well. Add the beans, gently stir and chill for one hour. Before serving stir to distribute marinade.
(Note: I have actually used the big can of green beans from Costco, that costs less than $3, with this amount of marinade.)

Mandarin Orange Spinach Salad

Ingredients:
1 (8oz) bunch of spinach
1 head red leaf lettuce, torn
1 head iceberg lettuce, torn
1 red onion sliced
3/4 lb fresh mushrooms
3/4 lb swiss cheese, grated
1/2 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 8oz can mandarin oranges

Dressing:
3/4 Tbsp poppy seeds
1/4 cup grated onion
1/3 cup white vinegar3/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp prepared mustard
1/3 cup sugar(put in a jar and shake)

Topping:
8 oz slivered almonds
1/3 cup sugar

1. Cook almonds w/ sugar in a pan untill carmelized (over med heat)
2. Spread out over wax paper and cool.
3.Toss salad ingredients.
4. Add Dressing and almonds just before serving. Toss.

This makes a BIG salad.

Craisen Salad

Per everyone's request from the luncheon:

1 head of red leaf lettuce
1 head of green leaf lettuce
I head of ice berg lettuce
1 8 oz package of mozerella cheese
1 8 oz package of parmesean cheese
1 lb bacon (cooked and crumbled)
1 bag craisens
1 bag sliced almonds (browned in oven)

Dressing:

1/2 cup chopped red onion
1 cup sugar
11/2 tsp salt
2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 c red wine vinegar
1 cup oil

I make the dressing the night before...than shake it up before serving. I also added chicken to the recipe.

Fruity chicken salad

I've been making this recipe for years and it is my favorite chicken salad recipe! Perfect for all of those fall apples!

4 1/2 c. cooked diced chicken
1 1/2 c. diced apples
3/4 c. halved green grapes
6 T. sweet pickle relish
6 T. mayo
6 T. Ranch dressing
3/4 tsp onion salt
3/4 tsp garlic salt

In a bowl, combine chicken, apples and grapes. In another small bowl combine, relish, mayo, ranch, onion and garlic salt. Pour over chicken mixture and toss to coat. Serve in a lettuce lined bowl.

Corn, Avocado & Tomato Salad

Corn, Avocado & Tomato Salad

2 c. corn (cooked, I use fresh corn and cut it off the cob)
1 diced avocado
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1/2 c. diced red onion
2 T olive oil
1 T lime juice
1/2 tsp. lime zest
1/4 c. cilantro
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

Combine veggies in a bowl. Whisk together all other ingredients and toss. This is probably enough to serve 4 people, I always double or triple it for potlucks.

Roquefort Pear Salad

Roquefort Pear Salad

1 head leaf lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
3 pears- peeled, cored and chopped
5 ounces Roquefort Cheese, crumbled
1 avocado- peeled, pitted and diced
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup pecans
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 1/2 tsp white sugar
1 1/2 tsp prepared mustard
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp salt fresh ground black pepper to taste

Directions: 1. In a skillet over medium heat, stir 1/4 cup of sugar together with the pecans. Continue stirring gently until sugar has melted and caramelized the pecans. Carefully transfer nuts onto waxed paper. Allow to cool, and break into pieces. 2. For the dressing, blend oil, vinegar, 1/1/2 tsp sugar, mustard, chopped garlic, salt and pepper. 3. In a large serving bowl, layer lettuce, pears, blue cheese, avocado and green onions. Pour dressing over salad, sprinkle with pecans and serve.