Christmas Dinner: Sweetheart Salad

This is the perfect holiday salad. It's especially perfect for Christmas because it has so much red and green in it. It's beautiful, but also very tasty.

I got the original recipe from Taste of Home, but I also made a several changes.


Taste Of Home's Recipe:

Ingredients
3 cups spring mix salad greens
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup balsamic vinaigrette
2 tablespoons honey-roasted sliced almonds


Directions
Divide salad greens and cranberries between two salad plates. Drizzle with vinaigrette and sprinkle with almonds.

Serves: 2.
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Here is the recipe with the changes we made to it:

Ingredients:
Two bags of spring mix salad greens
Half of a 6 oz. bag of dried cranberries
Balsamic vinaigrette, to taste
1/2 cup of sliced almonds, candied

Directions
To candy almonds, put about 1/4 cup of sugar in skillet and heat over medium to medium high heat. Stir the sugar constantly until it begins to melt. Do NOT try to rush this! The sugar will start to form hard rocks first, then it will slowly begin to melt into a caramel-colored liquid.
When sugar is melted, add the almonds. Stir until all of the nuts are coated with caramelized sugar. Pour almonds onto a cookie sheet, aluminum foil, or waxed paper. Cool 10 minutes and break into small pieces.



Pour both bags of salad greens into a large bowl. Add dried cranberries and candied almonds. Add balsamic vinaigrette to taste. Toss and serve.

Serves: 6





Do share your favorite Christmas dinner dish!

Chinese Coleslaw

Thanks for the recipe, Erin! From Erin at C'est La Vie.

1 bag coleslaw mix
scallions to taste
1 cup almond slices
1 cup sunflower seeds (shelled)
2 packages beef Ramen noodles
3/4 cup oil
1/2 cup vinegar (I use apple cider vinegar)
1/2 cup sugar

Mix oil, vinegar, sugar and noodle seasoning packets in small bowl until sugar and seasoning are disolved.

In separate bowl, mix remaining ingredients (crunching up the Ramen noodles to desired size).

Toss dressing mixture with dry ingredients and refrigerate until noodles have softened some.

Chicken Salad

5-6 chicken breasts
3 stalks of celery
1 1/2 cups of best foods mayonnaise (not miracle whip)
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup of green grapes, cut into bite-size pieces

Cook chicken breasts in salted water, after they are cooked cut into small bite size pieces. Mix chicken breasts with rest of the ingredients and mix well. And done!
Best served with croissants!

Chinese Salad

1 head of iceberg lettuce, torn into bite-sized pieces
3 stalks of celery, chopped
1 bunch of green onions, sliced
1/2 cup almonds and sesame seeds, roasted
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup vinegar
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp ginger
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt, pepper

In large bowl, combine lettuce, green onions, and celery.

Roast sliced almonds and sesame seeds until browned; add to salad.

Combine oil, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, ginger, salt, and pepper in bowl. Mix well.

Pour over salad. Toss and serve.

Layered Bacon Salad

**Make this salad the night before.**

In a large bowl, layer the following:

1 head of lettuce, torn in bite-size pieces
1 small head of cauliflower, cut in bite-size pieces
1 small red onion, chopped
1 lb bacon, crisply fried and crumbled
1/2 cup parmesean cheese - sprinkle over bacon

Cover with Best Foods mayonnaise (2 cups or small bottle), spread over bacon and cheese.

Sprinkle 1/2 cup sugar over mayonnaise.

Keep in layers in bowl and cover with saran wrap. Refrigerate overnight.

Right before serving, pour 1 lb can of cashews over the top. Toss and serve.

Grammie's Bacon Salad

One of our family's favorite salads. Mom always has to double the recipe to prevent fights at the dinner table. I know that this salad saw me through severe pregnancy cravings.

1-2 heads of green leaf lettuce
1/2 red onion, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pound bacon
Vinegar to taste

Wash lettuce and tear into bite-size pieces into bowl. Add chopped onion, salt, and pepper.

Slice bacon and brown in saucepan; save grease. Add vinegar to saucepan and warm bacon.

Pour over salad while bacon is still warm. Toss and serve.