Category: Salads


Feb
2014

Joy’s Spinach Salad

categories: Salads, Sauces and Dressings, Vegetable Dishes
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You’ll love Joy’s Spinach Salad, with bacon, eggs, mushrooms, water chestnuts, and fresh baby spinach drizzled with a delicious, homemade salad dressing!You will love Joy's Spinach Salad, with bacon, eggs, mushrooms, water chestnuts, and fresh baby spinach drizzled with a delicious, homemade salad dressing!

The recipe I want to share today is called “Joy’s Spinach Salad”. The salad and the homemade dressing that tops it all of is outstanding and would be a delicious, welcome addition to any dinner table!

Scroll Down For A Printable Recipe Card At The Bottom Of The Page

How I Got The Recipe For Joy’s Spinach Salad

Years ago (almost 20), we lived in Central California, where my husband was a Music Pastor in a large church. We were privileged to get to know many wonderful and truly kind-hearted people during our five-year ministry there and always enjoyed getting to share a meal with some of these friends.

My husband and I were fortunate to have dinner one evening with a sweet couple from our church…Marv and Joy. We were served a wonderful dinner, which included an absolutely delicious spinach salad.

Well… I * totally * loved that salad and decided right then and there that I needed the recipe for all time forward! So I asked Joy for her recipe…and she graciously shared it with me. So here is how to make Joy’s Spinach Salad.

Simple Ingredients and Homemade Salad Dressing

The ingredients are simple for the salad and the homemade salad dressing!  Baby spinach leaves, hard-boiled egg crumbles, crispy bacon, etc. all pair wonderfully with the delicious homemade salad dressing.

Baby spinach used for Joy's spinach salad.

Hard boiled eggs are cut then crumbled for Joy's spinach salad.

Bacon is cooked until crispy, then crumbled for Joy's spinach salad

The Salad Dressing For The Spinach Salad

Joy’s Spinach Salad is the only traditional spinach salad recipe I have used ever since then.  Joy made her own salad dressing, too (like a French dressing), which is not heated as some spinach salad dressings are. It is delicious!

To this day, I think of them fondly when I prepare this and see her name on that stained 3×5 index card. I accidentally took the picture of the salad before I added the mushrooms and bean sprouts… my bad! (just use your imagination!)

Here’s the homemade Spinach Salad Dressing…ready to go! (I hope you like the bottle label…keepin’ it classy!)

Homemade salad dressing for Joy's spinach salad

This absolutely delicious spinach salad and salad dressing are very easy to prepare (my favorite kind of recipe!). Give my friend Joy’s recipe a try…I think you will love it!

If you enjoy spinach salads, be sure to check out my recipes for Spinach and Orzo Salad, Bacon Lover’s Spinach Salad and Spinach, Apple and Goat Cheese Salad. They are all delicious!

Thanks for stopping by, and I invite you to come back soon for more family-friendly recipes. Take care, may God bless you, and have a wonderful day. 

Looking For More SALAD Recipes?

You can find all my delicious salad recipes in the Recipe Index, located at the top of the page.  A few of our family favorites include:

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Recipe Source: Joy Scott

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Joy's Spinach Salad
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
10 mins
Total Time
25 mins
 
You will love Joy's Spinach Salad, with bacon, eggs, mushrooms, water chestnuts, and fresh baby spinach drizzled with a delicious, homemade salad dressing!
Category: Salad
Cuisine: American
Keyword: spinach salad
Servings: 4 servings
Calories Per Serving: 193 kcal
Author: JB @ The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Ingredients
For salad:
  • 2-3 bunches fresh spinach , leaves torn into small pieces (or use equal amount of baby spinach)
  • 1 can water chestnuts , drained and chopped
  • 3-4 green onions , chopped (both green and white parts)
  • 1/2 cup fresh bean sprouts
  • 6-8 slices bacon , cooked crisp, then crumbled
  • 2 hard boiled eggs , chopped
  • 8 white mushrooms , sliced thinly
For the salad dressing:
  • 1 cup oil (I use olive, but vegetable or canola work, as well)
  • 1/4 cup wine vinegar (red or white-both will work)
  • 1/3 cup ketchup
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 medium brown onion , finely chopped
  • salt (to taste)
US Customary - Metric
Instructions
  1. In a medium bowl, whisk all the salad dressing ingredients together till fully blended. Cover and refrigerate. Remove from refrigerator about 15 minutes before serving, and whisk again.
  2. Mix all the salad ingredients together (reserving some bacon, egg, and mushrooms for garnish on top so it looks nice).
  3. When ready to serve, pour the dressing on top (you will not need it all-just put on as much of the dressing as you prefer), and toss to coat. Serve. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes

The salad dressing is NOT part of the caloric calculation (recipe makes more than you will need for the salad). The calorie count is approximately 43 calories per Tablespoon of salad dressing.

*The leftover dressing is great on any mixed green salad. Store it in a closed bottle or mason jar in the refrigerator. It will keep for quite a while!

Nutrition Facts
Joy's Spinach Salad
Amount Per Serving (1 serving)
Calories 193 Calories from Fat 135
% Daily Value*
Fat 15g23%
Saturated Fat 5g31%
Cholesterol 115mg38%
Sodium 254mg11%
Potassium 268mg8%
Carbohydrates 3g1%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 9g18%
Vitamin A 265IU5%
Vitamin C 4.2mg5%
Calcium 19mg2%
Iron 0.9mg5%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!You will love Joy's Spinach Salad, with bacon, eggs, mushrooms, water chestnuts, and fresh baby spinach drizzled with a delicious, homemade salad dressing!

 

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Jan
2014

Rainbow Jello Salad

categories: Holidays!, Salads, Side Dishes
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A few boxes of jello, evaporated milk and water are all you need to make this colorful and delicious holiday rainbow jello salad for a crowd!A few boxes of jello, evaporated milk and water are all you need to make this colorful and delicious holiday rainbow jello salad for a crowd!

Whoa…that’s a LOT of jello! Yep, you got that right. This Rainbow Jello Salad has been taking it’s place at most of our Thanksgiving and/or holiday events for the past 30+ years.  This colorful, delicious salad could feed a small village, and it sure is pretty!

I was given this rainbow jello salad recipe by a sweet woman named Mary Alice Brannon about 35 years ago. I saw and tasted it for the first time when she brought it to a church potluck (don’t a large amount of unique recipes come from church potlucks?). This jello salad was so unique, I asked her for the recipe, and she gave it to me. Now I’ve been making this salad for over 30+ years! It’s practically become a tradition at our holiday gatherings!

Scroll Down For A Printable Recipe Card At The Bottom Of The Page

What Flavors Are In this Rainbow Jello Salad?

The recipe uses 7 different flavors of jello powder, one can of evaporated milk, and some water. That’s it! From top to bottom, the flavors of jello in the rainbow jello salad are: Black Cherry, Cherry, Lime, Lemon, Orange, Peach and Strawberry. Every other flavor has some of the evaporated milk in it, which slightly changes the color and texture of that layer!

Why I Make Rainbow Jello Salad The Day Before Serving It

It does takes a bit of time to make this salad, because each layer has to set up before adding the next layer, but don’t let that stop you! The sheer “jiggle power” and colorful rainbow this jello salad adds to any festive meal will be worth your time.

I usually make this rainbow jello salad the day before a big event or holiday meal. When I make it for Thanksgiving, I simply work on the layers throughout the day, as I scurry around my kitchen making other side dishes! It really isn’t hard at all to do this! The next day, when I am ready to serve it, all I need to do is unmold the salad, and add the whipped cream right before serving!

Rainbow jello salad has seven layers of alternating colors!

You Can Almost Feed A Small Village With Rainbow Jello Salad

This recipe makes a LOT of rainbow jello salad (16 servings), so here’s my public service warning (ha ha). This jello salad will feed a lot of people! Unless you want this quivering tower of rainbow jello salad looking at you for a week in your refrigerator, make sure a lot of people will be there to help eat it. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Rainbow jello salad with a whipped cream garnish is ready to eat!

This rainbow jello salad is not only colorful, it actually tastes good, too…who knew? I’m getting all jiggly just thinking about it. I hope you will give this rainbow jello salad a try at your next holiday or large family gathering! Have a great day.

Looking for More SALAD Recipes Kind Of Like This One?

You can find all my recipes in the Recipe Index, located at the top of the page. I have some salad recipes similar to this one you might enjoy, including:

Interested In More Recipes?

Thank you for visiting this website. I appreciate you using some of your valuable time to do so.  If you’re interested, I publish a newsletter 2 times per month (1st and 15th) with all the latest recipes, and other fun info. I would be honored to have you join our growing list of subscribers, so you never miss a great recipe! 

There is a Newsletter subscription box on the top right side (or bottom) of each blog post, depending on the device you use, where you can easily submit your e-mail address (only) to be included in my mailing list.

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Rainbow Jello Salad
Prep Time
3 hrs
Cook Time
0 mins
Total Time
3 hrs
 
A few boxes of jello, evaporated milk and water are all you need to make this colorful and delicious holiday rainbow jello salad for a crowd!
Category: Salad
Cuisine: American
Keyword: rainbow jello salad
Servings: 16 servings
Calories Per Serving: 172 kcal
Author: JB @ The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Ingredients
  • 1 can evaporated milk (13 oz.)
  • 7 boxes of jello (the small 3 oz. size)
  • (Flavors are---Black Cherry, Cherry, Lime, Lemon, Orange, Peach, and Strawberry)
  • Water
US Customary - Metric
Instructions
  1. Use a 9x13 cake pan or a bundt pan (I always use a bundt pan).
  2. Alternate method 1 and 2 in preparing layers. Be sure jello is "set" before adding the next layer (very important). I usually make one layer, pour it into pan and while that layer is cooling (I actually put it in the refrigerator), I make up the next layer. By the time the first layer is set, you can add the now warm next layer on top, and so on. Here are the two methods:
  3. Method 1: Dissolve jello into 1 cup of boiling water, then add 1/2 cup cold water
  4. Method 2: Dissolve jello into 1 cup boiling water, then add 1/2 cup evaporated milk.
Build The Jello Salad In This EXACT Order:
  1. Black Cherry (Method 1)
  2. Cherry (Method 2)
  3. Lime (Method 1)
  4. Lemon (Method 2)
  5. Orange (Method 1)
  6. Peach (Method 2)
  7. Strawberry (Method 1)

  8. Refrigerate completed jello for at least 4 hours. When ready to serve, hold the bundt pan with two hands and lower it gently into a sink full of warm water (being careful not to fully submerge it!) Only let the water come up 3/4 OF THE WAY UP THE SIDES OF THE PAN. Hold it in the warm water for approx. 30-45 seconds. BE CAREFUL NOT TO LET THE WATER RUN OVER THE EDGE OF THE PAN. You should see the edges of the jello begin to detach from the sides of the pan. Place a serving platter over the top of bundt pan-using two hands firmly holding jello pan and platter together, quickly invert them at the same time (turn it upside down). Jello should release from the pan and land on platter in all it's jiggly glory. If it does not release, flip the pan and platter back over and put jello pan back in the water for a few more seconds, then give it another shot. Once removed, place jello onto serving platter. Garnish with whipped cream. Enjoy.

Nutrition Facts
Rainbow Jello Salad
Amount Per Serving (1 serving)
Calories 172 Calories from Fat 9
% Daily Value*
Fat 1g2%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Cholesterol 6mg2%
Sodium 197mg9%
Potassium 72mg2%
Carbohydrates 35g12%
Sugar 34g38%
Protein 4g8%
Vitamin A 55IU1%
Vitamin C 0.4mg0%
Calcium 61mg6%
Iron 0.1mg1%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!A few boxes of jello, evaporated milk and water are all you need to make this colorful and delicious holiday rainbow jello salad for a crowd!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Save

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