Asian Pasta Salad by Amanda Cracroft

Dressing:

1/4 cup sesame seeds

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup canola oil

3 T sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper

Combine all the ingredients in the blender. Make the night before.

Salad:

1/2 cup chopped green onions (about 1 bunch)

1 12 oz. bag of bow tie pasta - cook until al dente

1/4 cup slivered almonds - sugar in a skillet pan and cool

4-6 chicken breasts - cook however you want and then cut into chunks or slices

3-4 peppers: red, green, yellow, orange - chopped (the little peppers from Costco are fabulous and can be cut into rings, discard the seeds; use 6-8 of these.)

Fresh spinach

Combine the chicken, pasta, green onions, and peppers the night before or early the morning of the party...add 3/4 of the dressing and keep in the fridge in a sealed container. Add the remaining dressing, almonds and fresh torn spinach right before serving and toss all together *this is important because otherwise the spinach will be ruined. And depending on how many people you are feeding, you may want to double the entire recipe.

Devilish Deviled Eggs by Heather Goodman

A dozen eggs

½ cup mayo

1 tsp yellow mustard

1 ½ tsp Frank’s Red Hot (or favorite hot sauce)

½ tsp sweet relish juice

Salt and pepper

Boil eggs for 10 minutes, rinse to cool, and peel shells. Cut eggs in half lengthwise and scoop out yolks into a bowl. Add mayo, mustard, hot sauce, and relish juice, and mash together with a fork until most egg lumps are gone, or until desired consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste. Re-fill eggs with yolk mixture.

You may want more or less mayo depending on whether you like your deviled eggs “dry” or “moist”. You may also want more or less hot sauce, but the recommended amount of Frank’s gives more flavor than heat in this recipe, since there is so much mayo involved. For fun, and if your guests like hot stuff, garnish some eggs with a very thinly sliced jalapeno (seeded).

Broccoli Salad from Suzie Romans

This is a broccoli salad with raisins and bacon and a sweet and tangy mayonnaise and balsamic vinegar dressing.

Ingredients:

• 2 bunches broccoli, florets only (5 to 6 cups florets)
• 1 medium red onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup red grapes, halved
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 10 to 12 slices bacon, fried and crumbled
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• .
• Dressing:
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise and 1/2 miracle whip
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sugar

Preparation:

Separate florets from broccoli stalks. Save the remainder of the broccoli for another use or freeze for later. Or you can chop it fine and use it in the salad. Combine salad ingredients; top with dressing mixture. Toss. Chill and serve.

Mint Lemonade/Limeade by Suzie Romans

Mint and lemons/limes make for a very refreshing summer-time drink. Mint lemonade is a must for picnics. This recipe uses lemonade concentrate, so it can be made up in a jiffy.

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup of mint leaves, fresh and chopped
• 6 cups water
• 1 can frozen lemonade or limeade concentrate

Preparation:

Heat the mint leaves in 2 cups of water until boiling. Reduce heat to a simmer and leave for 5 minutes. Let cool, then strain out mint leaves. Combine mint liquid with lemonade concentrate and the rest of the water (4 cups). Refrigerate and serve over ice.

I also blend the mint leaves with crushed ice in with the lemonade.