Raspberry Pretzel Cheesecake

This is just so good. Originally, it's supposed to be a salad. But it's totally not a salad. It's a dessert, like a cheesecake dessert.

 

Ingredients

Crust:
1 1/2 cups crushed pretzels
3/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup white sugar
Filling:
1 cup white sugar
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (6 ounce) package raspberry flavored gelatin
2 cups boiling water
1 (16 ounce) package frozen raspberries

Notes / Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Mix together the pretzels, 1/4 cup sugar and melted butter. Press into the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan. Bake for no more than 10 minutes. Set aside to cool completely. In a medium bowl, beat the sugar and cream cheese until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Spread evenly over the cooled crust. Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes. In a medium bowl, stir together the gelatin mix and boiling water. Mix in frozen raspberries, and stir until thawed. Pour over cream cheese mixture in pan. Refrigerate until completely chilled, at least 1 hour.

*If using thawed raspberries, cool jello until it sets a little before pouring it over the cream cheese layer. You want to avoid liquids spilling down into the pretzel layer so that it will stay crisp.

Cranberry Jello Salad

 

Adapted from allrecipes

Ingredients

2 cups fresh cranberries

1 (15 ounce) can mandarin oranges, drained

1 (15 ounce) can crushed pineapple

2 (3 ounce) packages cherry Jello

3/4 cup white sugar

1 cup boiling water

1 cup cold water

whipped topping or cool-whip

Notes / Directions

Place cranberries and mandarin oranges into a blender or food processor.  Blend until finely ground up.  In a separate bowl, mix gelatin, sugar, and boiling water til sugars are dissolved.  Add cold water and stir.  Mix in pineapple, mandarin oranges, and cranberries.  Chill for 8 hours or over night.  Top with whipped topping or cool-whip to serve.

Raspberry Cream Salad

I don't know where my mom found this recipe, but I just about died and went to heaven when I tried it.  It's an all around easy recipe and takes like 2 minutes to prepare.  This is also very delicious with some graham crackers or pie crust in it.

Ingredients
32-36 oz. raspberry yogurt (32 oz. is a large container, 36 oz. is 6 single servings)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 (8 oz.) tub cool whip
raspberries, fresh or frozen

Notes / Directions
Stir together yogurt, sweetened condensed milk, and cool whip.  Gently stir in raspberries and serve!

Salade de Maison

This recipe is thanks to a family friend, Celia, who served the LDS church in Italy for three years.

Ingredients
For the Salad:
2 heads romaine lettuce
1/2 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 lb bacon, cooked until crisp and crumbled
3/4 cup Swiss cheese, shredded
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted

For the Dressing:
2/3 cup salad oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3 garlic cloves, pressed (or chopped finely)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Notes / Directions
Put dressing ingredients in a jar and shake well to combine (or put into a blender). Combine salad ingredients. Just before serving, toss with dressing to taste.  

 

BBQ Chicken Salad

Adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe 

Ingredients 
For the Salad:
3 cups chicken, cooked and shredded
2 cups BBQ sauce
1/2 head iceberg lettuce, cored and chopped
2 romaine hearts, chopped
1/2 red onion, diced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
8 ounces mexican cheese blend
 
For the Dressing:
1 cup mayonnaise, light or regular
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 garlic clove, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

Notes / Directions
Cook chicken in a small crockpot with barbeque sauce on high for 2-3 hours until chicken is cooked through.  Shred and place in fridge to cool.

Place all dressing ingredients in a blender and blend till smooth.  Rerefrigerate to help thicken.

To serve, toss salad with 1/4-1/2 of the dressing and cilantro.  Gently toss in onion, beans, corn, and cheese, and barbeque chicken.  Or put everything on the table and let people build their own salad.

Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Salad

For the Pork:
pork loin roast
1 liter Dr. Pepper
1 can chipotle chilies in Adobo sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
 
Slow cook with Dr. Pepper, chipotle chilies (for less spicy meat use diced green chiles), brown sugar, and molasses in oven at 250 degrees or in crockpot for 7-8 hours, should shred beautifully. The trick is sealing the meat…. So use some tin foil and put it over the top of whatever you are cooking the meat in, then put your lid on. Don’t check it again until your time is up.
 
For the Rice:
1/4 cup onion, diced 
2 cups water
1 chicken bullion cube
1 tablespoon sugar
1 lime 
1 cup rice
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
 
Sauté onions in 2 Tbls oil.  Add water and chicken bullion cube and bring to a boil.  Add sugar, rice, and the juice of 1 lime.  Cover and cook on low for 20 minutes.  When done cooking, add cilantro and stir it in.

For the Beans:
2 cans Black Beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 Tbsp olive oil
2/3 cup diced onion
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon chicken bullion
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 lime
 
Saute onions in the olive oil until they are caramelized.  Add garlic and saute for another minutes.  Add remaining ingredients, reserving the lime, and bring to a boil.  Turn to a low simmer and cook for another 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Towards the end, gently press down on beans with a spatula.  Just enough that they barely erupt.  When done cooking squeeze lime juice on top of beans.
  
For the Dressing:
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
2 tomatillos, cut in half
ranch dressing dry packet (with buttermilk)  
sour cream (however much for dressing packet)
green tabasco sauce
 
Mix dressing per instructions on packet in blender. Add tomatillos, cilantro, and a couple good dashes of tabasco sauce. Blend well.

Serving:
tortilla strips
pico de gaillo
tortillas
shredded cheese, mexican blend
romaine lettuce
 
Lay a tortilla on a plate.  Top with rice, black beans, and meat.  Place lettuce on top and pour on dressing, cheese, pico de gaillo, and tortilla strips

What you need to buy:
Just to make things easier, this is a list of everything you're going to need to buy.  Minus rice, sugars,bullion, oil, cumin, oregano, salt, pepper

pork loin roast
1 liter Dr. Pepper
1 can chipotle chilies in Adobo sauce or 1 can diced green chiliesgreen tabasco sauce 
2 cans Black Beans
1 cup chicken broth (or 1 cup water and 1 bullion cube)
ranch dressing dry packet (with buttermilk)
molasses  
2 small onions
2 limes
1 bunch cilantro 
2-3 cloves garlic 
2 tomatillos 
romaine lettuce 
sour cream (however much for dressing packet)
tortilla strips
pico de gaillo
tortillas
shredded cheese, mexican blend

Chicken Waldorf Pasta Salad

Ingredients
2 12.5 oz. cans of cubed chicken breasts, drained and shredded 
3 tablespoons green onions, chopped
1 20 oz. can pineapple tidbits, drained (save juice to soak apples in)
1 apple (fuji), chopped and soaked in pineapple juice
2/3 cups celery, chopped
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 cups red and white grapes 
1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
1/2 cups craisins
crescent dinner rolls

Notes / Directions
In a large bowl combine all ingredients except for grapes, pecans, and craisins. Marinate mixture for several hours or overnight in refrigerator. Add grapes, pecans, and craisins just before serving. Serve in crescent dinner rolls.


Makes about 15 sandwiches.  (If you want to make it for a really large group like for a relief society activity,  3 times it.)



Other Options:
Serve over spinach
Add cooked and cooled bowtie noodles and have as pasta salad
Or add noodles and eat over spinach for a super pasta salad

Spinach Salad with Girard's White Balsamic Vinaigrette

 

This is my favorite salad dressing.  Ever.  It is amazing!  It has such an earthy and wholesome taste to it.  Try it!  I love to have it on my spinach salad with craisins, feta cheese, and some kind of candied nut.

Summer Chicken Salad

This is by far the best salad in the world.  It comes from a restaurant called Zupas in Utah.

Ingredients
spring mix salad
blush wine vinaigrette
strawberries, sliced
red grapes
oven roasted chicken strips
craisins
cashews, diced

Notes / Directions
Toss salad greens with salad dressing. Top with everything else in desired quantities.

Other salad dressing:

1 cup red wine vinegar

1 cup canola oil

4 strawberries

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sugar

Blend everything but the oil.  Slowly add oil until well mixed.