Orange Fluff

1 small cook and serve vanilla pudding

1 small cook and serve tapioca pudding

1 large orange jello

3 cups water

Bring to boil and then cool completely. Mixture will be set.

Mix in 8 oz cool whip and 2 cans mandarin oranges.

{Syd's Notes}- yummy goodness. If you're a jello fan, this is addicting and very easy to make.

Awesome Spinach Salad

Layer and refrigerate:

10 oz bag spinach leaves

1 granny smith apple

1lb bacon, cooked and crumbled

3/4 cup almonds sliced

3/4 cup parmesan cheese

1/4 cup sugar

1/8 cup chopped purple onion

sliced strawberries or craisins

Just before serving, toss dressing in

dressing:

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup oil

3 TB apple cider vinegar

{Syd's Notes} This salad is amazing. Purely it is. I've had people scrape the bowl to get all the goodness out of it. I've yet to make it where it wasn't a huge hit!

Tuna Surprise

Chopped chicken (make it easy, buy it at the store)

apples

grapes

cashews

mayo

celery salt (lots of it)

Mix together and serve in pita's. Good with a little lettuce and mustard.

{syd's notes} Did you catch that the surprise in the name is that there's no tuna in the recipe!!! We made a giant amount of this at a family reunion we had and we had no leftovers. So delicious! This is a recipe they use on the river when doing river trips. Easy to put together and delicious to the taste. I'd like to try it on croissants or even in a lettuce wrap.

{source}Jason and Jen. T.

Spinach Salad

1 lb Spinach

1 pkg dried cranberries 

3/4 cup almonds or pine nuts (I toast mine and add a little sugar to them)

2T toasted sesame seeds

Dressing:

1T poppy seeds

1/2 cup white sugar

2T minced onion

1/4 t paprika

1/4 c white wine vinegar

1/4 c cider vinegar

1/2 c veg. oil

Blend in blender until thick and creamy.

Pour over salad and serve immediately.

{syd's notes} This is such a simple salad but the results are amazing! I had a request to make it twice in one week! 

{source} allrecipes.com

Oriental Chicken Pasta Salad

4 chicken breasts
12 oz bow tie pasta
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 bunch spinach, torn
1 green, red and yellow pepper, diced
1/4 c. sesame seeds.

Boil chicken and shred. Cook pasta according to directions to al dente. Drain and rinse well with cold water. Combine all ingredients except sesame seeds in a large bowl.

Dressing:
1/3 c. red wine vinegar
1/3 c. canola oil
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 c. fresh parsley
1/3 c. reduced sodium soy sauce
2 T. sugar

Blend dressing ingredients in a food processor or blender.

Sugared Almonds:
1 c. slivered almonds
1/2 c. sugar
2 T. butter
In small saucepan, combine almonds, butter and sugar and cook over low heat until sugar dissolves and coats almonds (about 15 minutes). Cool on wax paper.

Toss salad with dressing mixture right before serving and sprinkle with almonds and sesame seeds.

{syd's notes} I had this salad many years ago and have been looking for the recipe ever since! I ran across it the other day in a recipe book I've had for years! It's such a good salad. Since I knew I'd have leftovers since I was only making it for our family, I tossed individual bowls with the dressing instead of the whole thing. That way, I could eat it for several other meals.

Black Bean & Couscous Salad

1 c. uncooked couscous
1 1/4 c. chicken broth
3 T. olive oil
2 T. fresh lime juice
1 t. red wine vinegar
1/2 t. ground cumin
1 red bell pepper
1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
1 c. frozen corn kernels
2 cans black beans (15 oz.)
salt and pepper to taste
8 green onions

Bring chicken broth to a boil in a saucepan and stir in the couscous. Cover the pot and remove from heat. Let stand for 5 min. Seed and chop bell pepper. Thaw corn kernels. Drain and rinse black beans. In a large bowl, whisk together olive oil, lime juice, vinegar and cumin. Add green onions, red pepper, cilantro, corn and beans. Toss to coat. Fluff the couscous well. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve at once or refrigerate until ready to serve.
Recipe from Rebecca Boyce

{syd's notes} very light and refreshing. Great with chips!

Cafe Rio

Café rio pork
6 lbs. pork
1 16 oz. bottle of salsa
1 can coke
2 c. brown sugar

Place pork in crock pot and fill it ½ way up the pork with water. Cook on High for 5 hours. Drain off water. Cut pork in thirds. Mix together sauce ingredients and put on top of pork. Cook an additional 3 hours on high. Shred pork with forks. Leave it on low until ready to serve.


Café Rio Dressing (the best ever)
1 buttermilk ranch dressing packet (make as per recipe)
2 tomatillos (tomato like vegetable with a husk around them)
½ bunch of cilantro
1 clove garlic
Juice of 1 lime
1 jalapeño (Use the seeds too if you like it spicy. You could substitute a few drops of green tobasco for the jalapeno.)

Use a food processor to blend all the ingredients well. Refrigerate.


Cilantro-Lime Rice

1 cup uncooked rice {not instant}
1 teaspoon butter or margarine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon lime zest
1 can (15 oz) chicken broth
1 1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, lime peel, chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender. Remove from heat. In a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice.

Black Beans
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/3 cup tomato juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

In a nonstick skillet, cook garlic and cumin in olive oil over medium heat until you can smell it. Add beans, tomato juice, and salt. Continually stir until heated through. Just before serving stir in the cilantro.

To get the full affect, you must make them all and layer like the picture.... shell (Costco uncooked are awesome), meat, rice, beans, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, guacamole, and dressing.

{syd's notes} Awesome, yummy, delicious. Makes a ton.

{picture} Sarah B.

Zesty Summer Salad

ZESTY SUMMER SALAD

4-6 chicken breasts teriyaki style: 1 cup honey, 1 cup soy sauce, dash of garlic; marinade overnight. Right before you make the salad, bake chicken @ 350 for 25 minutes. Cut into cubes.

{ Mix the following in a large bowl }

3 cans black beans
3 cans white corn, drained
2 cucumbers, chopped
2 avaocados, ch0pped
3 tomatoes, chopped
1 of each, red, green and yellow pepper, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
4-5 fresh limes squeezed over the top of ingredients
3 TB. rice vinegar

{ set aside }

1-2 heads of lettuce
1 bag lime tortilla chips
1 pkg HOMEMADE ranch dressing {follow directions on package}

{ how to serve }

Place chips on the bottom of plate follow with lettuce, veggies/chicken mixture, and top with ranch dressing.

{Syd's notes} This seriously makes a ton. Great recipe for a large crowd. If there's still leftovers, cook some linguine, toss with a little olive oil and ranch dressing and mix in veggie mixture. Delicious!

{Source} Karolyn D.
{Picture} Step. P.

Summer in a Salad

Ingredients:
1 package Spring Mix or Continental MIx, mixed with Romaine lettuce.
Strawberries, halved
Blueberries
Avocado, sliced
Pear, sliced–but not until right before serving
Grapefruit, peeled and sliced like a pinwheel
Oranges, peeled and sliced like a pinwheel
Crumbled blue cheese
Sugared pecans, whole or halved

Dressing:
1 package Good Seasons Italian dressing
1 T. sugar (or just a little less)
1 T. poppy seeds (or just a little less)
3 T. Water
1/4 C. Vinegar
1/2 C. Oil

Directions:
Mix all dressing ingredients before adding the oil. It’s best to first toss the lettuce with dressing, then add the fruit and toss with dressing, and put the cheese in at the very end. Don’t overmix.