Broccoli Salad

Ingredients:

• 4 broccoli crowns; cut into bit size pieces
• 2 cups shredded cheese
• 1-2 cups mayonnaise
• 1 small onion; diced
• ½ - 1 cup bacon; diced

Dressing:

• 2 T sugar
• 2 T vinegar

Directions:
Wash and cut broccoli in bowl.  Mix in cheese, mayonnaise, onion and bacon. For the dressing, mix together sugar and vinegar; add more sugar to make it sweeter. You can pour the dressing over the salad just before serving, or on the side for each person to pour on for themselves.

Ice Cream Pie

Ingredients:

• Premade pie crust; graham cracker or chocolate
• ½ gallon of ice cream; preferably one that complements your crust. Moose Tracks, Mint Chocolate Chip, Cookie Dough, Chocolate Peanut butter all work well with chocolate; Strawberry, Chocolate, Vanilla, Any fruity flavors all work well on graham cracker.
• Mix-ins: Chocolate sauce, strawberry sauce, chopped candy bars, fresh fruit, cookies or cool whip (optional)

Directions:
Let ice cream sit out for a while to get soft. Layer mix-ins as desired on bottom of crust. Pour on the semi-melted ice cream. Smooth out and top more of the same toppings and cover and put in freezer. Slice and serve when frozen.

Blueberry Spinach Salad

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c vegetable oil
• 1/4 c raspberry vinegar
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 pkg (10 oz) fresh spinach torn (or baby spinach works well)
• 1 pkg (4 oz) feta cheese
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1/2 c chopped pecans, toasted

Directions:
In a jar with tight-fitting lid, combine the 1st five ingredients and shake well.  In a large salad bowl, toss the spinach, feta cheese, blueberries and pecans.  Add the dressing and toss gently; serve immediately.  Serves 6-8.

Potato Salad with Sour Cream and Scallions

Ingredients:

• 2 lb white new potatoes, quartered and cut into 3/4-inch chunks (or use red skinned and leave skins on)
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 3/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream (I’ve also used ½ cup greek yogurt and ¼ sour cream with great success)
• 1/4 cup light mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions, plus more for garnish (optional)
• 4 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled, for garnish (optional)

Directions:
In a large pot, cover potatoes with salted water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer until potatoes are tender when pierced with the tip of a sharp paring knife, 12 to 15 minutes. Drain well. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together sour cream and mayonnaise; add warm potatoes, and gently fold to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Cover; refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 1 day. To serve, season salad again with salt and pepper, if needed; fold in scallions. Garnish with bacon and more scallions, if desired.

Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 box rainbow pasta (cook and rinse in cold water)
• 1 can medium pitted olives (drained)
• 1 container cherry red tomatoes
• 1 bag of cubed cheddar cheese
• Approx. 1 cup of chopped carrots
• 2-3 heads of broccoli (chopped up)
• 1 med. bottle of Zesty Italian dressing
• Optional....a couple of tablespoons of Parmesan cheese

 Directions:
Cook pasta, rinse in cold water, put the pasta in large serving bowl and toss with entire bottle of dressing, add broccoli, olives, tomatoes, carrots, and cheese cubes (possibly Parmesan cheese as well, if desired),  After stirring well, cover and refrigerate overnight.

Cultured Salsa

Ingredients:

• 4 pounds of ripe tomatoes
• 4 small onions (I personally like the sweet onions, like walla walla, or the young ones you can buy at the farmers market. If you use strong onions, you may want to cut back on the amount)
• 2 bunches of cilantro, washed and stems cut off
• 2 jalapenos, washed, stemmed and seeded (if you want it hot, you can leave the seeds in)
• 4 tablespoon sea salt (The salt is important. It preserves the salsa until the beneficial bacteria can take over)
• 4 lemons, juiced

Dimensions:

1. Start by peeling the tomatoes. Bring a large pot of water to boil, and drop the tomatoes in, a few at a time, for about 15 seconds. Place either in a bowl of ice water, or run very cold water over in a colander in the sink to stop the cooking process. The skin should peel right off. Stem the tomatoes, cut in half, and then gently squeeze the seeds out into the trash, sink, or small bowl.
2. Fill the food processor about half full, and pulse until the tomatoes are just starting to get into small pieces. It’s important not to completely puree them, because, in my experience, that seems to make it ferment to fast (which you don’t want). Continue until you have done all of the tomatoes. You could also just chop them finely. Place the tomatoes in a large bowl.
3. Next peel your onions, and cut into quarters. Pulse them until finely chopped. (I have overdone the onions a few times, and it was just fine). Add to the bowl
4. Do the same to the cilantro and jalapeno separately, and add to the bowl.
5. Add the lemon juice and salt and mix thoroughly. Now is the time to taste test, and make adjustments if needed.
6. Place in canning jars..leaving about an inch at the top. Close tightly and leave on the counter for about two days, and then move to the fridge to slow down the fermenting process.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon minced onion
• 10 ounces fresh spinach - rinsed, dried and torn into bite-size pieces
• 1 quart strawberries - cleaned, hulled and sliced
• 1/4 cup almonds, blanched and slivered

Directions:
In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, olive oil, vinegar, paprika, Worcestershire sauce and onion. Cover, and chill for one hour. In a large bowl, combine the spinach, strawberries and almonds. Pour dressing over salad, and toss. Refrigerate 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Helio's Honey-Pecan Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

• 4 cups cooked, diced chicken
• 1 cup sliced celery
• 1 small can pineapple chunks, DO NOT DRAIN
• 1 cup red grapes, halved
• 1 cup white grapes, halved
• 1 small can mandarin oranges, drained
• 1/2 cup toasted pecans
• 1/2 cup Rothchild Raspberry Honey Mustard Pretzel Dip
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise

Directions:
Mix first group of ingredients. Mix dressing ingredients and toss with chicken mixture. Refrigerate until serving time.
Note: I like to serve on croissants and at recipe club I omitted the celery. Rothchild Raspberry Honey Mustard Pretzel dip can be found online, at some gourmet grocery stores or shops and sometimes I even find it at TJ Maxx.

Italian Muffaletta

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/3 cup olive oil 
• 10 large pitted green olives, chopped
• 1/3 cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped roasted red bell peppers 
• salt and pepper
• 1 (1-lb) round bread loaf (about 7 inches in diameter)
• 4 ounces (1/4 lb.) thinly sliced ham 
• 4 ounces thinly sliced mozzarella
• 4 ounces thinly sliced salami
• 4 ounces sliced provolone cheese
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 ounces arugula leaves

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, whisk the vinegar, garlic and oregano to blend.  Gradually whisk in the oil.  Stir in the green and kalamata olives and roasted peppers.  Season the vinaigrette with salt and pepper.
2. Using a serrated knife, slice off the top inch of the bread loaf.  Hollow out the bottom and top halves of the loaf.  Spread some of the vinaigrette in the bread bottom.  Layer the meats and cheese in the bottom half.  Top with the onion, then the arugula.  Spread the remaining vinaigrette on the cut side of the bread top, then replace the top.

This sandwich can be made a day ahead.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate.  Cut into wedges and serve. What makes this sandwich a muffaletta is the olive and red pepper spread, so don't skip it!

California Wraps

Ingredients:

• (4) 10 inch flour tortillas or (8) smaller tortillas
• baby spinach
• 1 avocado, sliced and tossed in lime juice
• vine ripe tomato, sliced
• 12 oz sliced turkey breast
• cheese of choice (I used havarti)
• 8 slices cooked bacon
• salt and pepper
• ranch dressing

Directions:

Warm tortillas. Layer ingredients:  fan the lettuce on the tortilla, lay turkey on top, followed by bacon, tomato and avocado. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Drizzle ranch dressing on top. Wrap and secure with a toothpick.