Category: Salads

Valentine’s Day is this Saturday…. Do you know what you’re cooking for your special someone?  Well I have an idea of what I am cooking.  I am going to create an Olive Garden experience right in the comforts of my own home.  My sister made up this recipe a few years back when I wanted to serve an Olive Garden style dinner menu for my daughter’s birthday party.  She went to the Olive Garden and counted the ingredients in the salad bowl.  That effort was a great start, but we needed more information to get it very close.  Fortunately my sister-in-law (who used to work at the Olive Garden) gave us some suggestions to perfect the recipe.  When I served this salad for the first time, it was paired with lasagna.  However, I have an amazing Chicken Alfredo recipe here on the blog that would be a wonderful addition to your Valentine’s Day menu.  

Here are the ingredients you will need:  1 (9oz.) bag of Italian Blend salad mix, 1/2 of a purple onion sliced, 3 Roma tomatoes sliced, 10 black olives, 5 Pepperoncini peppers, croutons, shredded Parmesan cheese, and your favorite Italian dressing. 

 Start by slicing the onion and tomatoes.

 Then pour your salad mix into a large bowl.  If you didn’t want to use a salad mix, you could chop up romaine lettuce to fill the bowl.

Then add the onions and tomatoes.

 

Next drain and rinse the olives.

Add ten olives to the salad and then add five Pepperoncini peppers.

Mix the salad together.  

Serve with shredded Parmesan cheese, croutons, and Italian dressing on the side .

 Now you are ready to bring the Olive Garden experience into your home this Valentine’s Day.

 

 

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:23]

Do you have a favorite salad recipe? Maybe it’s apple salad, maybe coleslaw, maybe some green fluff salad you don’t know the name of.  As I look back on my childhood, I remember having an amazing potato salad that was one of my favorites.  It has that yummy, tangy flavor that I love!  Last week I decided to use my mom’s Old-Fashioned Potato Salad recipe for my garden party.  It was a hit!  This recipe makes a large batch, which served 22 people.  By the end of the party it was all gone; everybody loved it!  So it’s time to make an incredible side dish for your next BBQ and to do away with the idea of just buying that small container of potato salad at the store that nobody’s really going to eat.   

 You will need 5 pounds of potatoes, 1 dozen eggs, 1 (30 oz.) jar of Miracle Whip, mustard, 1 small onion, sugar, salt, and pepper.

Start by peeling your potatoes and cutting them in half so they are ready to boil.

Then put your potatoes in a pot filled with water.  Add a sprinkling of salt to the water.  Then once the water starts to boil, let them cook for 15 minutes.  After boiling the potatoes, drain them and set them to the side to cool.

Now you can hard boil your eggs.  Put the 12 eggs in a pot and cover them with water. Bring the eggs to a boil on the stovetop.  Once they have started to boil, pull the pan off of the stove and put a lid on the pan. Then let the eggs sit on the counter covered for 20 minutes. When the 20 minutes is up, you can run them under cold water and peel off the egg shells. 

 After the potatoes and eggs have cooled down, chill them in the refrigerator. While the potatoes and eggs are cooling down in the refrigerator, you can dice your onion in small pieces.

Next you can take your potatoes and eggs out of the refrigerator and you can chop them up into bite sized pieces.  Start with the potatoes.

Then chop the eggs into bite sized pieces.

Now mix the potatoes, eggs, and onions in a large bowl.

Finally you can mix your dressing in a bowl. Take your (30 oz.) jar of Miracle Whip and scoop it into the bowl.  Yes this recipe calls for Miracle Whip, not mayonnaise. Do not substitute mayonnaise because it will have a different taste.

Now add your 1/4 cup mustard, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Now pour the dressing over your chopped potatoes, eggs, and onions.

Mix together. Now you can chill it in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve. Bring it to your next BBQ or serve it with supper.  Get ready to have people ask you for the recipe!

[yumprint-recipe id=’53’]