3 Salad Recipes We All Grew Up Eating
I think you may have eaten these 3 salad recipes when you were growing up. My mom made them a lot when I was young. My garden is flourishing and I’m so excited to share these recipes with you. I’m still waiting for my first tomato, but I have picked radishes, spinach, and Cilantro. Do you love it when the seeds you have planted start peeking through the dark rich soil you have planted them in?
I must confess that I had to ask a young man in the neighborhood to help haul 23 bags of new soil, earthworms, and other Organic nutrients to my backyard. I love it when I can give some gas money to someone who knows how to work. These were not small bags. Mark and I gave up our wheelbarrow, so it’s called haul them by hand.
Raised Garden Beds Are The Best
You may remember that I have raised garden beds and it’s so much easier for me to plant my seeds and plants without having to bend over so far. There are seven raised beds that are 4 feet by 4 feet and 18 inches tall. I wish I had a mini farm, but I don’t, so these work for me. That was always a dream for me when I was raising my daughters, to have a small farm, but it didn’t fit into our plan of life. We always had a super huge garden and raised enough fruits and veggies for much of the year. I truly believe this is why all four of my daughters are really hard workers, because we planted seeds, and plants, weeded and preserved our harvest. You gotta love it!
I hope you try one of my 3 salad recipes. Please tell me the version your family enjoyed. Any kind of salad is great with most meals. I must say I use more dressing than I probably should, but that’s how I roll.
3 Salad Recipes
1. Taco Salad
I can’t believe I don’t have any Mexican in my DNA, because I could eat Mexican food every night and lots of salsa.
- 1- pound cooked hamburger drained and crumbled
- 1 head lettuce chopped into bite-size pieces
- 2 tomatoes chopped
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1 can kidney beans (rinsed and drained)
- 1 can of sliced and drained black olives
- 2 cups grated cheese
- 1 bag of Doritos or Tostitos (slightly broken into pieces)
- One bottle of Catalina or Russian Dressing
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Combine all of the ingredients except the dressing in a large bowl and mix together. Pour the desired amount of dressing over the salad and serve immediately.
Garnish with sliced avocado if desired after serving.
2. 7-Layer Salad
This is one of my all-time favorite salads. You can make it a 10 layer salad if you want by adding even more vegetables.
- 3-4 cups Lettuce (chopped)
- 1 cup chopped purple onions
- 2 cups chopped fresh celery
- 1 cup finely chopped carrots
- 10- ounce package of frozen petite peas (thaw and drain)
- 2 cups grated cheese
- 2 cups cooked bacon (chopped into bite-size pieces)
- Mix the following ingredients together and set aside.
- 1-1/4 cups mayonnaise or Miracle Whip
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- Salt and Pepper to taste
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Grab a platter or 9-inch by 13-inch cake pan/lasagna pan or large glass bowl. Layer the lettuce, onions, celery, carrots, peas.
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Drizzle the dressing over the salad and sprinkle grated cheese and crumbled bacon (optional) right before serving.
Mine always has bacon, just giving you the heads up here.
3. Pea and Cheese Salad
When I was growing up my mom made this salad with ham, if we had leftover ham. Otherwise, it was peas, cheese, lettuce, celery, and onions. I remember my mom used canned peas and Velveeta cheese.
- 1 large package frozen petite peas (thawed and drained)
- 1/2 cup finely chopped purple onion
- 1 cup ham cut into cubes (optional)
- 8-10 slices of cooked bacon chopped into bite-size pieces
- 8- ounces of cubed cheese (cheddar is my favorite)
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise or Miracle Whip
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- salt and pepper
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Combine the salad ingredients in large bowl. Mix the dressing with a whisk and pour over the salad until thoroughly combined. Place in the refrigerator until cold. Stir again just before serving.
My friends, I hope you let me know if you grew up eating a variation of my 3 salad recipes. I love sharing recipes to hopefully get people to cook from scratch again. Please stay healthy and storing water and food. May God bless you and your family.
“Prepare Your Family For Survival”
My Favorite Things:
Copyright Pictures:
Pea Salad: AdobeStock_28810404 by Jivanshreela
Layered Salad: AdobeStock_98384092 by Peredniankina
Salad: AdobeStock_164408627 by Monticello
Taco Salad: AdobeStock_101936974 by Brent Hofacker
Yum. I love salads, and these sound so yummy. My mother used to make a wilted salad. A regular gree salad , with bacon crumbles and then the hot bacon drippings were poured over the salad, it was so good. Mother is gone now, but she was an excellent cook!
Hi Deborah, I have seen that hot bacon dressing at restaurants!!! I think bacon is yummy on most things, I need to try that salad. Love it! Linda
As Deborah mentioned, I love wilted salad, with either lettuce or spinach, depending on what I have on hand. I make taco salad frequently, pretty much the same as your recipe, but I usually use shredded chicken and freshly fried tortilla strips. I, also, make a sort of thousand island dressing for it, with salsa and mayo. I haven’t had pea salad since I was a kid. It used to be really popular for potlucks and picnics. Thanks for the reminder! I’ll have to make some.
How’s your daughter doing? I’ve been thinking about you all and hoping she is recovering well. Love and hugs, Mare
Hi, Mare, thank you for asking. She is improving each day. She has lost her memory for the last few weeks. She sounded better this morning, thank goodness. I never thought of making a dressing with salsa and mayo. I’m all over this one!!! Yay! Thank you for love and hugs you send through the universe. They mean so much to me. Lova and hugs, Linda
Linda, because of the recent lettuce recall (yet another one), I have decided to get serious about growing veggies, so I ordered raised beds! I would love to learn more about yours: specifically, do you start your own seeds, how do you keep them watered/shaded, and do you have any tips that help you garden with arthritis? Thanks for your encouragement.
Hi, Roxanne, I just threw out three small bags of salads based on the TV news report last night. I can’t risk getting sick, no one can. I hope your raised beds are at least 18 inches deep. The shorter ones are too hard to lean over for me. Yes, I do start some of my seeds. I buy them from Seeds Now (.com) because they are Non-Gmo and organic.I quote: “✓ Pure NON-Genetically Modified (NON-GMO) seeds ✓ 100% NON-Hybrid ✓ 100% Heirloom/Open-Pollinated ✓ 100% Raw & Un-treated” quote. I bought some reusable seed deals and seedling potting soil. I better write a post on what I used. They are the best thing I have tried so far. I washed them after the plants were large enough to plant (after all signs of frost). They have done really well. I bought some tomato plants and they are doing really well. I bought organic ones from Bonnie Plants at Home Depot. Early Girl and Phoenix because they tolerate heat.
I live in the Southern Arizona desert and am just getting used to growing in a very different climate. We recently purchased a 6′ x 6′ Keyhole garden box with an area for composting from Costco. As of today, they are out of them. They are made by New England Arbors. They are 22″ hight and made out of PVC material. If they last 10 years in this climate, I will be very happy because it gets me outside to have a garden. I have transplanted some seedlings that I started and have three different types of tomato plants in it as well as Contender Green Beans (my favorite garden plant. With the garden bed at 22″ I can pick green beans better than a shorter bed; there is something about that angle that my back doesn’t like. I compost most of my kitchen scraps.
Oh, Carol, I LOVE those raised beds!!! It looks like they are sold out everywhere. I would have bought those! Mine boxes are still holding up but they are only 18 inches tall. I would love the white PVC and the extra height!! I wish I could see them in person, is it the same fencing material at Hoem Depot or Lowe’s hardware stores? I used to use all seeds but the last few years I have purchased tomato plants. Next year I’m going to start earlier and plant all seeds. Hopefully, they will come back in stock. Linda
My favorite salad is cucumber and tomato. We have had so much rain that I haven’t been able to get my garden in. We plan to this week. So I have tomatoes and cucumbers from the store. I know y’all get very little rain in St George. I remember it well. Wish we could share some with y’all. We are 12 inches over normal this year. Thanks for the recipes.
Hi Morgan, we rarely have rain but when we have a hard rain, I’m always afraid my backyard will be flooded. I called my insurance agent and he said we don’t qualify for flood insurance. I get it. But we have had three homes on my side of the street flood where their houses and pools filled with that beautiful red dirt which turns into mud. It’s a mess. Crazy, the soil is hard as a rock and therefore floods. But not enough for flood insurance. I can’t remember how much rain we were pounded with when the two storms a few years apart ruined subdivisions. 12 inches, wow. Stay safe and enjoy your harvest once you can plant. Linda
We had very different upbringings, you and I. I guessed macaroni, potato and egg salads, which is what I had growing up. I don’t care for mayonnaise so I don’t make any of them. I found a potato salad without mayo that I like and make it occasionally. I am not familiar with any of your salads.
I am in a new house and want to plant a garden and have lots of seeds but I need to get an idea of what is already planted.
Hi MPaula, how exciting that you have moved into a new home. I know my sister makes her salads with yogurt, these are just three of the ones I grew up with. I will be sharing more salads. I love egg salad, macaroni, and potato salad. I hope you have a great harvest from your garden! Linda
I’ve eaten Taco salads at Taco Bell, a friend’s house, then made them at home and have eaten a few at Wendy’s. The main differences were that it was served done or self serve style at my friend’s house. You picked what you liked, but never have I eaten one with everything premixed and laid on top of the lettuce.
The second thing is the beans might be whole or they were served crushed into a chunky paste like refried beans. And some used Doritos and others used plain chips or none at all.
And third thing that surprised me was using the Catalina or the Russian dressing as I’ve always used salsa or taco sauce. Although I am intrigued. Ranch might work as well.
In any case, they were all scrumptious. I am partial to a bit of avocado and sour cream because like green peppers, the cool taste contrasts nicely against the taste of picante sauce, or chili powder in the ground beef and the onions if they’re particularly strong. My older brother dislikes beans, so if we make it at home, the beans (Whole or crushed, hot or cold) are made separately.
And chicken is good too although I have yet to try ground chicken or ground turkey, but I am sure they would work when you’re in a hurry and don’t have time to shred up whole chicken.
Hi Frank, I have never used ground chicken or turkey either. I will say this, I can eat salsa on just about everything. I think it’s fun to hear from each other all the different ways people eat. It makes us all want to try a different twist on the salad. I want to try Ranch dressing NOW! Love it! Linda