Pasta Salad

12 oz. cooked tri-color pasta

1 small can black olives (optional)

1 cup chopped broccoli

small amount onion, chopped fine

16 oz. Italian dressing

8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

cherry tomatoes

red, yellow, green peppers - chopped (whatever amount you prefer)

Mix all together, and enjoy! This is my new favorite pasta salad, so good!

Caramel Apple Salad

6 apples, cored and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 8 oz. can crushed pineapple (do not drain)
1/2 pkg. butterscotch instant pudding mix, unprepared
1 and 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 8 oz. container whipped topping

In large bowl, mix first 4 ingredients together and stir well. Gently fold in the whipped topping, then transfer to another bowl and chill.

Oriental Salad

The following 4 recipes are what I made for Isabella's birthday party.
The main dish was this.

3/4 bag of lettuce

1/2 to 3/4 bag of fresh, raw spinach

2 Tblsp. toasted sesame seeds (I omitted these)

2 oz. toasted slivered almonds (put on baking pan, bake at 350 for about 8 minutes to toast)

2 green onions, chopped

1 pkg. Oriental Ramen noodles

Dressing:

seasoning packet from Ramen

3 Tblsp. sugar

1/2 cup oil (canola, vegetable, or olive)

3 Tblsp. rice vinegar

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. salt

Mix salad ingredients except for noodles and almonds. Mix dressing items separately. Mix dressing and lettuce mixture together. Right before serving, stir in broken up Ramen noodles and slivered almonds.

This was the first time I have made this, and it was amazing! Will definitely make again. I had some leftover parmesan cheese mixture from the breadsticks posted below, and I also topped the salad with that. Yum! Monte said our house smelled just like The Olive Garden.

Cookie Salad

2 cups buttermilk
2 pkgs. instant vanilla pudding
12 oz. Cool Whip
1 large can fruit cocktail, drained
1 pkg. striped shortbread cookies (like Keeblers Fudge Stripes), broken up

Mix all ingredients. I made the salad ahead of time, then put the broken up cookies in right before serving.

Italian Pasta Salad

8 oz. uncooked spiral pasta (I use the multi-colored)
2 cups cauliflower pieces
1 cup fresh broccoli florets
1/2 cup carrots, chopped
1/3 cup chopped onion
1 cup creamy Italian salad dressing
1 and 1/2 tsp. dillweed
1/4 tsp. salt

Cook pasta; drain. Combine onion, pasta, and vegetables. In another bowl, combine the salad dressing, dill weed, and salt. Pour over pasta mixture and toss to coat.

I could live off of pasta salads in the summer, this is one of my new favorites.

Vegetable Salad

1 head cauliflower, chopped

1 cup celery, chopped

1 cup onion or green onion, chopped

1-2 bunches of broccoli, chopped

carrots, chopped

tomatoes, chopped

cheese cubes (optional, actually everything is optional - just put in whatever vegetables you like)

Dressing:

1/2 cup olive oil

3 Tblsp. red wine vinegar

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. sugar

3 Tblsp. lemon juice

2 tsp. salt

Mix dressing together and stir into salad. I've also put red and green peppers and black olives in this before. It's a great, healthy summer salad.

Spinich Penne Toss

2 cups uncooked penne pasta
1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 Tblsp. plus 1/4 cup olive oil, divided
1 pkg. (6 oz.) fresh baby spinich
3/4 cup crumbled, cooked bacon (I used real bacon bits instead)
1/2 cup shredded cheese
tomatoes, chopped
2 Tblsp. cider vinegar
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp. salt

Cook pasta according to package. Saute red pepper and onion in 1 Tblsp. oil for 3 to 4 minutes or until tender. Drain pasta and place in a serving bowl. Add the red pepper mixture, spinich, bacon, cheese, and tomatoes. In a jar with tight fitting lid, combine vinegar, pepper, salt, and remaining oil; shake well. Drizzle over pasta mixture and toss to coat. 10 servings.

I made this last week at my parents, we all loved it. It was honestly the only thing I wanted to eat for days! It's very good for you too, I used some omega 3, multigrain pasta and made it even healthier. And I didn't get sick of it because I'm thinking about making it again soon. I wish I would've taken a picture, it even looks pretty! :)

Edit: I couldn't resist making it again! So I added a picture.

Tang Fruit Salad

1 can pineapple chunks, drained but reserve this juice
1 can mandarin oranges, drained (but don't save this juice)
1 3.4 oz package of instant vanilla pudding
1 banana, sliced
4 Tablespoons Tang

Directions:
Mix Tang, package of pudding, and pineapple juice until dissolved. Stir in pineapple chunks, oranges, and banana. Refrigerate at least 20 minutes before serving.

Dave really enjoys this fruit salad. I think this salad gives you a little taste of spring all year round. You can add other fruit to this salad but I find the above ingredients work best. I really like the banana in the salad so sometimes I will add more. You can't go wrong when you make this salad! Yummy.