One of my favorite salads!… you can use whatever cheese you prefer, blue cheese, feta, cubed provolone, Swiss whatever you like…cooked chicken or turkey will work great,  the amounts I have stated are only a guideline feel free to adjust to you liking, this makes a lovely salad to serve at a summer luncheon, barbecue or a baby shower!

This salad may be assembled hours in advance covered tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerated, since the avocado tends to darken add it on just before serving

My Thousand Island salad dressing pairs wonderful with this salad or use a dressing of choice,  ranch or peppercorn ranch dressing also work well, see my dressing posted HERE

Servings 8

Ingredients:

1 head of iceberg  lettuce, torn into pieces

2 medium firm ripe tomatoes, chopped

1 large ripe avocado, peeled and chopped

1-1/2 cups cooked cubed ham

3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and sliced or quartered

1-1/2 cups cooked chopped turkey (can use cooked chicken)

1-1/2 cups fresh sliced button mushrooms (make certain to choose firm extra white mushrooms)

1-1/2 cup crumbled or cubed cheese (use cheese of choice, I prefer blue cheese)

1/2 cup sliced black olives

1 red onion, sliced into rings

lemon wedges

Thousand Island salad dressing (see my recipe posted on the site or use dressing of choice)

Instructions:————————————-

To assemble the salad; place the lettuce into a large glass bowl.

Place/line the chopped tomatoes  in the center dividing the bowl in half.

On one half of the bowl arrange the avocado, chopped ham and eggs into sections.

On the other half arrange the turkey, sliced mushrooms and crumbled or cubed cheese.

Garnish with onion slices, lemon wedges and olives.

Serve the dressing on the side.

You will also find this recipe on Recipezazz.com

A simple one-bowl recipe that may be fully assembled the night before and refrigerated to pop in the oven when you get home from work

Servings 6-8

Ingredients:

2-3 tablespoons melted butter

5 large red potatoes, thinly sliced

1-1/2 cups heavy cream (33-35%)

1/2 cup light cream (can use milk)

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder (garlic lovers increased to 1-1/2 teaspoons)

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1-1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt or white salt (seasoned salt is better to use)

1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, or to taste

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (can use a little more)

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions:————————————-

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Set oven rack to bottom position)

Grease a 13 x 9-inch baking dish.

Spray the sides of the baking dish with cooking spray then coat the bottom of the pan with melted butter.

Spread the sliced potatoes into the baking dish (does not have to be in one layer they may be placed on top of each other)

In a bowl whisk heavy cream with light cream, onion powder, garlic powder, flour, seasoned salt and black pepper until smooth and well combined.

Pour/drizzle the cream mixture over the potatoes (does not have to cover the potatoes completely).

Using a spatula or clean hands lift up some of the potatoes slices to allow the cream to flow underneath.

Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over.

Bake uncovered for about 1 hour or until potatoes are just fork-tender (baking time will vary depending on how thick you sliced the potatoes)

Immediately sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese on top and allow to melt.

You will also find this recipe on Recipezazz.com

A family favorite side dish,  these are delicious!

Notes from our test kitchen; do not add in any milk of cream to the mashed potato mixture and 2-3 tablespoons finely chopped yellow onion may be replaced for the onion powder

also see my recipe for potato patties made with instant potato flakes posted HERE

Servings 4

Ingredients:

4 large russet potatoes, peeled

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup sour cream

2 teaspoons dried parsley

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper (can use more)

pinch cayenne pepper

all purpose flour for coating (start with 1/2 cup you may need more)

oil for frying ( for flavor I add in 2 tablespoons bacon fat in with the oil when frying)

Instructions:————————————

Boil potatoes in water until fork tender; drain and place into a bowl.

Add in the next 7 spices then mash with a potato masher or for a smoother texture an electric mixer; cool the mixture slightly.

Place the flour on a plate.

Shape in small patties then dust lightly in flour.

Fry in hot oil until browned on both sides.

Make this as spicy as you like by adjusting the cayenne pepper, the shrimp is double dipped for an extra crispy thick coating…. serve the shrimp with blue cheese dressing/dip

Yield 1 pound shrimp/4  servings

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons Creole seasoning

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or adjust to suit heat level)

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1 pound uncooked large shrimp, deveined with tails attached

oil for deep frying

blue cheese dip

Instructions:————————————–

Rinse all the shrimp under cold water.

In a large resealable bag combine the flour with next 5 ingredients.

Place the shrimp in the bag and toss to coat thoroughly with the flour mixture.

Place the coated shrimp on a tray or plates and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Remove from fridge and coat a second time in the flour mixture.

Heat oil in a heavy skillet or a deep-fryer to 375 degrees F/190 degrees C.

Place the shrimp in hot oil and fry for 2-3 minutes.

Serve with blue cheese dip.

One of my favorite corn recipes!… no cayenne you say??? okay go ahead add some in or add in a chopped jalapeno pepper

Servings 8

Ingredients:

1/2 cup melted butter

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup sour cream

1 (8.5 ounce) package dry cornbread mix

1 (12 ounce) bag frozen corn kernels, semi-thawed (can use drained canned corn kernels)

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 green onions, chopped, optional

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, or to taste

Instructions:————————————

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease a 9 x 9-inch baking dish.

In a medium or large bowl combine all ingredients until well blended; transfer to baking pan.

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour

You will also find this recipe on Recipezazz.com

Don’t let the small list of ingredients fool you this is a delicious deli-worthy salad!

Notes from our test kitchen; you may want to blanch the florets for 1-2 minutes then thoroughly drain before using for the salad, it is advised to paper dry all the florets, plan ahead the salad has a 2 hours chilling time before using

Servings 10-12

Ingredients:

5 cups broccoli florets

5 cups cauliflower florets

2 cups finely diced cheddar cheese or 1 cup coarsely grated cheddar cheese (or use cheese of choice)

1 small red onion, chopped

1/2 cup Craisins or raisins

fresh ground black pepper, optional

5-6 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

1/3 cup sunflower seeds

DRESSING:

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cider vinegar or red wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (garlic lovers can use more)

Instructions:——————-

In a large bowl toss together the broccoli and cauliflower florets with cubed cheese, onion and Craisins or raisins.

In another bowl whisk the mayonnaise with sugar, vinegar and garlic powder; pour over salad and toss to coat.

Season with black pepper if desired.

Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Before serving sprinkle with chopped bacon and sunflower seeds.

You will only use about half of the dressing for this unless you double the broccoli slaw, cover and refrigerate the remainder of the dressing to use for another time, you will need to use two packages of ramen noodles/seasoning packets to make this salad and the dressing.

Although this salad is best if served right away it may be made up to a day in advance adding in the crushed ramen noodles before serving

Servings 6

INGREDIENTS:

1 (12-ounce) bag broccoli coleslaw mix

6 green onions, chopped (use only the green part)

2 (3-ounce) packages chicken-flavored ramen noodles

3/4 cup toasted slivered almonds

3/4 cup sunflower seeds

salt and fresh ground black pepper

DRESSING:

1 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup rice wine vinegar (no substitutes)

1/2 cup white sugar

INSTRUCTIONS:———————————————————

Remove the two seasoning packets from the ramen noodles.

Over  a large bowl crush the two packages of ramen noodles using you hands; add in broccoli slaw, green onions and both nuts.

In another bowl whisk the oil, rice vinegar, sugar and 2 packets from the ramen noodles;  pour about half of the dressing over the slaw, then toss to combine (refrigerate the remainder for another time).

Season with salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste.