Macaroni Salad

Ingredients

• 4 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 2 1/2 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1/4 cup grated carrot (optional)
• 2 tablespoons chopped pimento peppers (optional)

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the macaroni, and cook until tender, about 8 minutes. Rinse under cold water and drain.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, mustard, salt and pepper. Stir in the onion, celery, green pepper, carrot, pimentos and macaroni. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving, but preferably overnight.

Chilie Verde Shredded Pork

K, Got this one from Sister Cafe. It was so good!


3 pounds pork roast, fat removed as much as possible (*If using a roast any larger than 3 lbs, I always double the remaining ingredients)
1 onion chopped
3 cloves garlic crushed
1 10oz can green enchilada sauce
1 4oz can diced green chilis
1 14oz can diced tomatoes with chilis
2 chicken bouillon cubes
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp oregano
¼ tsp pepper

In a large heavy pot, over medium heat, brown meat, then add onion and garlic and saute a few minutes. Place in crockpot. Stir in the rest of the ingredients, cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours.
1 hour before serving, remove roast and set aside. Strain out the onions and tomatoes as much as possible and put with the roast. Pour remaining liquid into a large saucepan. (I place the roast and strained solids back into the crockpot, TURNED OFF, with the lid on to keep warm.) Bring the liquids to a boil on the stove, and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour, stirring every now and then, until considerably reduced. The point is to concentrate all the liquids to make a thicker sauce. This is a very important step, because all the flavor is in this liquid, and you want to preserve all that flavor for the meat. Plus, I don't like meat too liquid-y or else it runs out the back of the burritos. Mix the thickened sauce into the shredded meat and serve.

Serve with warm tortillas, Monterey Jack cheese (monterey pepper jack is good too), cilantro, diced tomatoes, and lettuce. You can also served it with sour cream and chopped red onion.


Here are my (Cheri's) notes:
I didn't have to simmer for 45 min. only about 20-30. I also didn't add all of the strained tomatoes and onions to the pork...only about 1/3 cup. Also, since Cory and I are trying to do less carbs...I served ours over a large bed of romain lettuce, then the cheese and some mashed avacodo....I don't know how the burritoes were (Brady ate all of his) but the salad was super yummy. Elle also like the meat, with avacodo, cheese and sour cream.

Grilled Chicken and pasta shells salad‏

1/2 (1 lb) package medium shells, cooked (I also like bowtie)
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
4 oz feta cheese, crumbled
1 (8 oz) bottle italian salad dressing (Wishbone)
2 cups torn leaf lettuce
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast halves, grilled or broiled sliced
parmesan cheese, grated (optional)

In a large bowl, combine cooked shells with tomatoes, feta cheese and salad dressing; mix well. Cover and chilll thoroughly. Just before sercin, stir in lettuce, arrange chicken on top. Serve with paremsan cheese if desired.

Greek Salad

Dressing:
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
3/4 C. vegetable oil
4 Tbs. lemon juice
3 cloves garlic, diced
Mix dressing and let stand for 3 hours. Toss with salad just before serving.
Salad:
2 head Romaine (I prefer hearts)
croutons (if desired)
1/4 lb. bacon, crumbled
1/4 lb. swiss cheese, grated
1/3 C. parmesan cheese
2/3 C. slivered almonds (toasted, if desired)
sliced mushrooms
avocados
cherry tomatoes, halved (or grape tomatoes)
* measurements for salad toppings are estimates ... I just toss in whatever I have or whatever looks good! I didn't use mushrooms and I also halfed mine.

7 layer salad

head of lettuce
frozen peas
water chesnuts
green onions
combine
2 T romano cheese
2 T sugar
3/4 cup mayo
mix with salad, peas, water chestnuts, and onions right before ready to serve
you can serve this layered or my mother-in-law (who I got this from) just puts it all in a bowl
I think Patti also has a recipe like this and she used bacon too, someone get that and add it too.