My MIL called and told me that I am to bring a "sweet salad" for Christmas dinner. She said, "not lettuce, not pasta, but a sweet salad. It could be Jell-O based (I'm not a huge Jell-O fan) but it doesn't have to be. It has to be in a bowl or pan that can be passed around the table. We will be 22 people, but only 14 are adults. You can bring one large salad or two smaller ones." This was followed by, "we will be meeting at 3:00 so that your kids can have naps first. We will have one bloody mary and a few appetizers; I don't want people to fill up too much. Then we will open gifts and relax. We will have dinner after that. Does that work for you?" Ha! Yeah, I guess that will work fine! She's so funny! So, Mamas...any great recipes for me? Thanks!
Oh, fast and easy is good, or something that can be prepared in advance. We will go to my parents' Christmas Eve and spend the night there and then head to the in-laws the afternoon of the 25th. I will need to make it the morning of the 24th and bring it with me or else be able to throw it together at my parents' the 25th. Thank you!
Wow Ladies! Thanks for all your recipes! I made Shellie's Jell-O salad and it was delicious with all the fruit in it! I also made Bridgett's Cranberry Marshmallow fluff and my kids loved it. I can't wait to try many of the other recipes. First up: Shellie's frozen berries and Lee's grape salad. And yes, Margaret, MIL is a control freak! It would have been easier if she'd given me a recipe, but it was more fun to see her reaction when I told her they were new recipes that I'd never tried before!
"Carmel Apple Salad"
8 Apples, cored & cut in chunks
1 bag mini snickers
1 Tub Cool Whip.
Cut snickers in half. Mix apples, snickers & cool whip together and serve. More dessertish than salad but it goes fast!
1 LARGE container cottage cheese (or 2 smaller)
2 packages Jello (the smaller size, same flavor)
1-2 tubs of coolwhip (depending on how creamy you like it)
frozen or canned fruit to complement jello flavor (ie, mandarin oranges with orange jello, or raspberries with raspberry jello)
Thaw and drain fruit, thaw coolwhip. Put cottage cheese in large bowl, stir in the jello powder, fold in the fruit and the cool-whip. Really easy to put together, always a hit for us! Yes, it uses Jello, but it's not gelatin-ized, so I don't count it as jello :)
I second the grape salad someone posted before. It is awesome ! We have had it quite a bit and everyone loves it. Have a very Merry Christmas !
This isn't a dessert salad but it is a good appetizer.
Broccoli Salad Recipe
(normal amount...I usually double this)
4 cups broccoli
1/4 cup raisins
1 small red onion- chopped
1/2 cup salted sunflower seeds
Bacon bits (to taste)
Dressing:
1 cup Mayo
5 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
Make dressing, then mix broccoli, dressing and chopped onions, refrigerate about 4 hours. Add the rest of ingredients just before serving, (or before you have to leave to go where ever you're bringing this).
Have a great organized time.
I have an AWESOME sweet salad with minimal ingredients, and it's super-easy to make...
GRAPE SALAD
1 lb seedless red grapes
1 lb seedless green grapes
1 pkg (softened) cream cheese
1 small container of sour cream
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
brown sugar to taste
**Remove grapes from the vine (of course :) and wash and DRY all grapes. Important to dry them.
**Combine the softened cream cheese with the sour cream, sugar and vanilla.
**Add grapes and stir until grapes are coated with the cream cheese mixture.
**Sprinkle brown sugar over the top of the bowl of grapes to taste. (I like mine sugary, like I nearly cover the grapes with a layer of brown sugar. As you start scooping the grapes out, the brown sugar starts to mix through the grapes, and carmelizes a bit, and it's delightful! But use as much or as little as you like.)
This is a simple, minimal ingredient sweet salad that is DELICIOUS. I've taken it to lots of functions, and everyone RAVES about it. I can't tell you how many people I've had to give the recipe to...
(P.S. I'm so excited I get to share a recipe!!! I don't really know how to cook, so usually when people ask for recipe stuff, I don't get to share anything :( But I can throw together a salad with the best of them! LOL)
If it were me, I'd combine some beautiful fruits (chopped apples, sliced figs, dried cranberries, tangerine or clementine segments, green grapes, sliced strawberries - whichever fruits are available and reasonably priced), and make a simple dressing of mascarpone cheese, softened to room temperature, thinned and mixed with a little honey, a splash of Balsamic vinegar, and just a dash of nutmeg or cinnamon (add in some orange juice if it's not thin enough). Toss some toasted chopped pecans or walnuts on top. Don't put too much dressing on, let the fruits shine through.
Waldorf Salad.
Ambrosia Salad
I suppose it's technically a "pasta" salad... but my aunt always brings Frog Eye Salad to our holiday gatherings. Google it -- it's the teensy pasta (similar to tapioca) with pineapple, mandarin oranges, marshmallows, etc
I've never made it -- but it's a bizarre and tasty sweet salad! :) And the kids will love it just because of the name!
this is our family favorite for all holidays
1 bag cranberries
2 cups water (Just enough to cover the cranberries in pan)
2 cups sugar
3 small packages of red jello (strawberry, cherry, cranberry etc)
1 large can crushed pinapples
1 cup chopped nuts (optional we skip this but down south they put it in)
put cranberries in bottom of large sauce pan cover with water and turn on heat. cook till they have popped (it will sound like popcorn)
when done and mushy add in sugar and jello mix well add in pinapple and mix well pour mixture into dish (1 large cakepan type dish or 2 smaller dishes if your going to pass them around the table)
refrigerate until firm
topping
2 - 3oz bars of plain cream cheese cut into cubes
2 small containers of heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 small bag of mini marshmallows (I use the bag size from aldi's but about 3/4 bag of campfire mini's works as well)
put cream cheese into mixing bowl pour marshmallows over it then pour the whipping cream in. beat till it is turning into whipped cream add sugar and beat it till it is whipped cream
after the jello portion is set then frost the top with this topping. it is a huge hit at the holidays good luck
I love this Cranberry Marshmallow salad, and my 3 year-old son is wild about it too. I usually would double the recipe for B. gatherings.
2 c. raw cranberries
4 c. miniature marshmallows
1 c. whipped cream
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. chopped apples
1/2 c. nuts-pecans or walnuts
!/2 c. crushed pineapple
1. Pulse cranberries in food processor until ground, stir in marshmallows and sugar. Chill overnight.
2. Next day, add apples and nuts. Fold in whipped cream. Chill thoroughly.
That's it, simple and really good.
Oh, yum! Buy some frozen berries, add in some mandarins (at least 2 small tins, if not more), some cut-up apples and some kiwi or melon. You can put it together in the morning when the berries are frozen. For a dressing, you can just use lemon juice and honey, or try a yogurt/honey dressing. Just make sure to pull the salad out of the fridge about an hour before serving to check on the berries, because frozen berries aren't fun at all. At that point, you can make the dressing ( juice the lemon, add honey to taste and dress to taste or likewise with some vanilla yogurt.)
I didn't include amounts of anything, because bags of frozen fruit differ in sizes. Sorry about that, but I always wing this one anyway.
Our family just like a fresh fruit salad.. Apples, pineapple, grapes, strawberries, oranges, bananas and some chopped pecans or walnuts.. Stir all together and chill.. No added sugar..
To keep the bananas from turning brown.. Slice them and soak them in Pineapple juice..
Lol, well it sounds like MIL knows what she wants! Anyway, this recipe sounds kinda weird, but I swear it tastes great! It is an asian coleslaw and is sweet. Here is a link for a variation of the recipe:
http://www.ehow.com/how_###-###-####_make-chinese-cole-sl...
You can google and you will find some different recipes for the same thing with an ingredient or two changed. I just make sure to use some sesame oil and the rice vinegar which you can get cheap at any asian market. It's really good!
google ambrosia. it's got marshmallows, coconut, oranges, cherries, sour cream and some other stuff....and so yummy :)
How about the Hawaiian, marshmallow, fruit salad that is usually in the summer? Cans of fruit cocktails, little marshmallows, coconut, and some sour cream and mmmgood a little whipped cream all over. And you can find your favorite inexpensive items at any of your favorite stores so it won't cost an arm and a leg.Wow, I got nervous at first, I thought she was barking out orders and she sounds like a great mother in law. (just turned into one myself a month ago and am a little nervous about my new role. MERRY CHRISTMAS
i have a yummy, and easy recipe!
1 can of mandarin oranges
1 can pineapple tid bits
1 c. mini marshmallows
1 c. coconut
1 16 oz. container sour cream
drain fruit, but save a couple tablespoons to mix in so it won't be so dry. mix oranges, pineapple, saved fruit juice, coconut, and sour cream together. Add marshmallows before serving so they don't get all mushy.Refrigerate. May want to double or triple for large amount of people. Have a Merry Christmas!
Waldorf salad - yummy.
Waldorf Salad Recipe
Print Options
* Print (no photos)
* Print (with photos)
Ingredients
* 1/2 cup chopped, slightly toasted walnuts
* 1/2 cup celery, thinly sliced
* 1/2 cup red seedless grapes, sliced (or a 1/4 cup of raisins)
* 1 sweet apple, cored and chopped
* 3 Tbsp mayonnaise
* 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
* Salt
* Pepper
* Lettuce
Method
In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise (or yogurt) and the lemon juice. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of fresh ground pepper. Mix in the apple, celery, grapes, and walnuts. Serve on a bed of fresh lettuce.
Serves 2.
Holiday Apple Salad http://jcp.is/HolidayAppleSalad
Red and Graan Apple Salad http://jcp.is/RedAndGreenAppleSalad
Candy Apple Salad: http://bit.ly/CandyAppleSalad
Waldorf salad: http://bit.ly/WaldorfSalad
- Fresh fruit chopped, any kind you like
- Honey Greek Yogurt (like Greek Gods honey yogurt, or plain greek yogurt stirred with several tablespoons of honey)
Put it all in a bowl and give it a stir to coat.
Extras (pick one, none, or all): Coconut flakes, chocolate shavings (just take a bar of chocolate and use a cheese grater), granola, candied ginger, cinnamon, etc.
Lime jello with canned bartlett pear halves and crushed pineapple is really good. A few maraschino cherries thrown into the mix is really good, too. Adjust the quantities for the number of people you are serving.
Or, you can do two layers: green jello (or red) with pomegranate in it. Set up the first layer then add a red (or orange) layer with mandarin oranges in it. Again, adjust quantities to fit your group.
That Cranberry Marshmallow salad is awesome (from Bridgett) and it tastes exactly like Christmas!
We had this "salad" at a party once. It was really fast, easy, and yummy.
1 bag of frozen mixed berries,
1 tub of whipped cream (cool whip, etc.)
1 can of sweetened condensed milk.
Mix the whipped cream and sweetened condensed milk together, then fold in frozen berries. Let it stand 15-20 minutes, then serve. The berries start to thaw and flavor the cream mixture. It is divine. It also turns a beautiful purple color. It is more like dessert, but, it could pass for a salad.
Also, I know you said that you don't love Jell-o salads, but I have a very festive recipe for cranberry jell-o that is really good too.
1 large box Cran-raspberry Jell-o
1 can crushed pineapple
3 c. boiling water
1 can whole bery cranberry sauce
1 apple, peeled and grated
Dissolve Jell-o in boiling water. Add can of crushed pineapple with the juice. Mash up cranberry sauce. Add it to the jell-o. Add the grated apple. Mix together and chill 4+ hours. You can cover it with whipped cream after it is chilled (just before serving).
Good luck and enjoy the holidays!
-Shellie
Cookie Salad. It is more summery. It is sweet and not at all healthy, but very yummy. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cookie-Salad-I/Detail.aspx
Sour Cream Fruit Salad
I dont know all the exact amounts though I just put it all together and it turns out great.
1 Large Can Fruit Cocktail w/ cherries
Canned Mandarin Oranges
Mini Marshmallows
about 16 oz Sour Cream
about 1 cup Sugar
Optional: add shredded coconut and/or nuts.
mix it all together and thats it. You could probably double or triple it for that many people. Make sure to drain the fruit very well.
This is a simple, tasty salad. The ingredients are more summery, but its festive in that it is red and green!
1 English cucumber, thinly sliced
1 quart of strawberries, hulled and sliced
Arrange cucumber and strawberries on platter (I have mixed them up and spread them out, or you can do stripes or circles alternating cucumbers and strawberries)
For dressing- crush 2 tbsp chopped fresh mint with 1 tbsp powder sugar
Add:
2 tbsp white wine vinegar or unseasoned rice vinegar
2tbsp olive oil
Whisk dressing ingredients, then pour over salad and serve
yikes, sounds like MIL is a bit of a control freak - I'm surprised she didn't provide you with a recipie to follow in addition to all those instructions - LOL. I would definitely do an ambrosia salad, even though I don't personally like it, it definitely fits the bill of being sweet!. Good Luck :)
A good one I have made is orange jello mixed with orange creamsicle yogurt (I use Yoplait), and a can of mandarin oranges. Let it all set then mix in some cool whip. But since you're not into jello, just a simple fruit salad with cut up fruits mixed with a bit of lemon juice and powdered suger would be good too.
