Apple Salad

 Real heat has hit Minnesota. It is hot. It is humid. No one wants to cook in this heat.

We took our boat out to the St. Croix river which separates Minnesota and Wisconsin in the middle section of the state. The St. Croix is a nice river for water sports-tubing, skiing, jet ski(ing) and just taking a ride.

We brought our friend J along again, this time with both of her daughters and Dude and I. We boated for about an hour and a half, then beached our boat on one of the several islands that sit between Hudson WI and Lakeland MN.  Most of them were pretty full, but we motored around one larger one and found the one side empty. We got our bag of snacks, the cooler and the portable gas grill out and set up camp on the beach.

I had made hamburger patties and wanted something a little sweet, a little tangy for a side dish. Something without mayo that could sit out for a little while when we had our picnic.

Enter the apple salad. I first had this dish about 23 years ago when I was first dating Dude.  We had gone up to his parent's lake home for a weekend and my MIL (to be at this time)  put this dish out with our grilled burgers and brats.

I have stated (numerous times) that I'm not a big salad person, but have come to like several over the last 10 years or so. This one however, it was love at first bite. It included three ingredients-6 if you count the lemon, water and cornstarch-and I love all three.

It is sweet from the pineapple, tart from the Granny Smith's and just plain tasty.

Apple Salad

3 Granny Smith apple, washed, sliced and chunked into bite size pieces

1 small can of pineapple tidbitd  (6-8 oz), juice drained into small saucepan

1/3 to 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

2 TBSP cold water

1 to 1/2 tsp cornstarch

Half of a lemon

Drain pineapple juice into small saucepan. In small container, shake the water and cornstarch together until well mixed. Heat pineapple juice to slight boil. Shake the water-cornstarch mixture again, and slowly pour into hot juice, whisking constantly. Bring to a boil and stir until thickened-maybe a minute. Remove from heat, and pour into another container to help it cool faster.

Chop the apple slices into bite-sized pieces, place in a medium size bowl and squeeze lemon juice over apple pieces several times as you are chopping the apple so it does not brown.

Place drained pineapple in bowl with the apple chunks. Chop the walnuts into smaller pieces so they are easier to chew. Place them in bowl with the fruit.

Pour cooled dressing over the fruit and stir to distribute the dressing over all of the pieces.

Cover and chill in the fridge until serving time.

Sneak some into a small container and hide in the back of the fridge to take to work the next day.

Oh, and if a boat beaches next to you that has a dog.....make sure all the meat is off the grill and eaten or stored in the cooler. We had a guest help himself to our last burger while we were all chatting. It was the funniest thing ever! His owner came over with a $10 bill and offered to pay for whatever his dog had grabbed. We laughed and waved away his offer and told him it was just a burger and we hope he enjoyed it.

It's a Salad.....and I actually like it!

I am not a salad fan. I like lettuce in a bowl with some croutons, cheese, bacon bits, nuts and some dressing-that is a salad in my eyes. I don't like potato salad, fruit salad (unless it is naked fruit in a bowl and I can pick out the pieces I like) or most other salads, other than my popcorn salad. This however has won me over. I first had it at one of our 'girls nights' with my friends Casey and Megan. I recently had it two weeks ago at a baby shower and emailed Machelle when I got home asking for the recipe. I have made it twice in the last two weeks-and ate about 75 percent of it myself. The recipe makes A LOT. I cut it in half the first time, then as I read the recipe, the vinegar to sugar/mayo ratio was easy to divide out, so I made a smaller batch the second time so the cukes didn't get mushy after 3 days.

Summer Salad (from Machelle-and Megan too)

2-7 ounce boxes of ring pasta, cooked and rinsed in cool water
2 cups diced cucumbers
2 cups diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
1 bunch green top onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup vinegar
1-1/2 cup sugar
1-1/2 cup mayo (not Miracle Whip)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp nutmeg (I didn't use since Machelle didn't use)

Mix all together and refrigerate over night.

Or dig in after 2 hours with a huge fork, which is what I did!

I also cheated and used those shredded carrots-just chopped them all up-works great.

I feel the need for some more wine: Drama Queen is going to prom and Hermit Crab now has a boyfriend and wants to bring him home at semester break to meet us. I have already stated that statistically she will meet her future hubby in college, and I forbid her to move to his hometown. Since he lives in the Northwest Territories, like 5 million miles from Minnesota. She made circling motions next to her head while talking to me. At least I'm sure she did-we were texting-but I know she did.

Where is that corkscrew?

Popcorn Salad

I must confess. I don't like salads. Let me clarify. I like mixed lettuce in a bowl with cheese, croutons, bacon, nuts, chicken and some dressing. I do not like potato salad, fruit salad, pasta salad. To me, it is how I normally eat a type of food that it should be presented in. Potatoes should be warm, pasta should be warm, fruit shouldn't be covered in a creamy sauce. Have you noticed how odd I am? At our niece's graduation party 6 or 7 years ago, my Mother-in-law brought a salad that she learned during the winter when they go to Florida. They lived in an RV park and there was a community center on premise and they would have monthly dinners. Another woman had brought this salad and Joannie enjoyed it very much and asked for the recipe. She brought this to the grad party and asked me to try it. Hmmm. She asked nicely, so I did. Oh.My.Gosh. I could make this once a week and never get sick of it. This makes about 20 servings, but one day I brought it to work and 8 of us ate the whole bowl!

Popcorn Salad
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. vinegar
2 cups mayonnaise
2 cups finely chopped celery
2 small cans water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/2 jar Baco Bits
1 to 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
12 cups popped popcorn

Mix sugar, vinegar and mayonnaise in a large bowl. Add the celery, chestnuts, onions, bacon bits and 3/4 cup cheese. Refrigerate until time to serve. Right before serving, stir in the popcorn and top with rest of cheese.

Notes: I use Old Dutch Gourmet popcorn as I don't have to fish out old maids and it is very tender. Also, you could use real bacon; however, it won't have crunch like the Bacos and the crunch is key. The acids in the vinegar and the mayo will break down the popcorn, that is why you should stir it in right before serving. It still tastes good later, but the popcorn won't be in whole puffy pieces anymore. But then, I eat it all the first day, so there are rarely leftovers!

My favorite salad

I first had this salad-or a version of it-about 5 years ago when a friend from work was getting married. Funny, my love of the salad has lasted longer than their marriage. Sad, but she is sooooo much better off without him. Off my soapbox.


It is so simple, but it is so fantastic. I made it for work on Wednesday. Unfortunately I don't have a 'finished' product photo since I was at work and you combine it right before serving and I can't have a camera at work. But being that you are all foodies, I know you can picture it in your minds!



Mandarin Orange Salad
1 large can of mandarin oranges, drained (the recipe calls for small can-but I love them!)
1 bag of mixed greens lettuce in a bag (can use a head of lettuce of your choice if you want)
1 TBSP chopped parsley-I didn't have any
slivered almonds, toasted in sugar-amount is up to you (I used about 5 TBSP)
Add in-grilled chicken breast, cut in bite size pieces
Dressing: 2 TBSP sugar
2 TBSP white vinegar
1/4 cup oil (your choice)
1/2 tsp salt
dash fresh cracked pepper
2 to 4 dashes Tabasco sauce (depends on your preference of heat)



For sugared almonds, place the almonds in a small fry pan. Cover with 1 to 2 TBSP sugar. Over medium heat, stir until sugar melts and coats almonds. Watch carefully as they will burn quickly. Pour out onto a sheet of waxed paper.




In bowl, pour in salad greens, top with orange segments, chopped up chicken and almonds. Sprinkle on parsley.



In a container that has a tight fitting lid that you can shake, add the dressing ingredients. Shake well to combine all ingredients. Pour over salad and enjoy!


Been working in the garden and cleaning our downstairs all day. Here is a little progress in the garden.




I put in the lettuce, onions and peppers today. The metal structure is a gate the Dude is making to I don't have to try and hurdle the fence. I normally just step over it, but since we made it raised and found a new type of fencing, I would probably hurt myself. He is quite talented. He and the youngest put a new cement slab today and have been working on putting a small retaining wall next to the barn so we can gussy it up with some bushes. I'm eyeing some hydrangeas (sp).



breaking up concrete to make way for new stuff (picturing her sister I am sure!)


smoothing out the concrete





Working on the retaining wall

In two weeks I will put in the rest which includes tomatoes, cukes, zucchini, peas, beans and radishes. I can hardly wait until I can use all of it's gifts on my table~