Layered Salad

Jodies Kitchen Layered Salad

You could go right now to just about any Church cookbook you have and find many similar recipes for a layered salad.

 This recipe is a old classic for sure. 

The first time I remember having something like this myself was when Grandma Smith served it,and If my memory serves me correctly she called it Layered Pea Salad.We ate that salad so much because Mom started making it as well,that I became burned out on it.It wasn't until this past Christmas I had a similar one at my Mother N Laws which I enjoyed so much I had three servings.I guess that means sometimes old classics are hard to beat.

I chose not to give it that name simply because peas is a choice for this recipe.This pick does have peas as one of the layers.I had to use canned which is what Grandma used, but if I had a choice I would use the frozen variety instead.

Now when I started to research in my cookbooks I was overwhelmed at all the variations. Some have Broccoli,Cauliflower,Bell Peppers,Carrots,Eggs,the choices were many.That's the great thing about this old classic you can use what you have,or what your family likes.

The dressings varied as well. Some recipes had Parmesan cheese added, some just used bottled ranch dressing.

I also found different types of lettuces were used .

Some recipes had only Iceberg,some used bagged mixes and some used romaine.

 I decided to go with a mixture of Iceberg and Spinach.If you have seen some of my other post,you know we love fresh spinach.I did want the crunch however of the iceberg which is why I didn't do all spinach,but of course that's an option as well.

One thing about all of these recipes had in common were to let set for 24 hours.

Now in all reality this is just a salad,made with the things you love all put together in layers.Topped with a dressing and allowed to sit overnight .Well If you were to mix the dressing in all together then of course it could get soggy..No I didn't want soggy.The layering's were slightly different in some of the recipes so I just decided to try this way out. It's something that could be played with if this layering doesn't appeal to  you for some reason.

A tip for using raw red onion if that's an ingredient in your salad: You can soak them in Ice water and that will take a little of that raw onion bite out of it.

F.Y.I>   If you decide to add broccoli,or cauliflower,peppers,what ever,make sure you use them raw.There should be no cooking involved in this recipe.

I hope you will have fun with this old classic mixing up the ingredients and trying new variations. Maybe it will bring back a food memory for you.

Jodies Kitchen Layered Salad

Basic Recipe serves 6

1/4 head iceberg lettuce.torn

1/4 bunch fresh spinach. torn

1 can peas drained and rinsed 15 oz use same amount if using frozen peas..just thaw.

1small red onion sliced

1 small tomato diced

4 tablespoons crumbled cooked bacon..amounts optional 

3/4 cups shredded cheese

Dressing

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon white sugar

2 tsp ranch dressing powder mix or to taste.

1 tsp milk..to thin out dressing

In a separate bowl mix all ingredients together for dressing and sit aside.Make a layer of iceberg then a layer of spinach,then a layer of peas.Top with dressing and spread out evenly.Then add a layer of cheese then onion.Cover and place in the refrigerator for 24 hours.Add Bacon and Tomato just before serving.Good Luck