Perfect for: Picnics, luncheons
Make and take: Assemble in a large plastic container for storage and serving.
Made famous by: Dorothy Ringsrud of Milledgeville, Ga., who said she has served it in Panama and Puerto Rico. “As an Army wife, I had some favorite recipes for entertaining, and this was one of them,” she said.
Tip: When coated with dressing, fresh mushrooms will wilt after a few hours, so if you want to prepare the salad in advance, store the dressing or the mushrooms separately – and then toss together before serving.
Floret Salad
12 servings
Hands on: 15 minutes
Total time: 15 minutes
If you buy presliced or prechopped vegetables, you can pull together this colorful medley in about 5 minutes. You can vary the salad by adding other crisp vegetables and a different dressing.
For instance, add snow peas and sliced water chestnuts and use a bottled ginger-sesame dressing.
4 cups broccoli florets
4 cups cauliflower florets
2 cups sliced carrots
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 (3.8-ounce) can sliced black olives
1 cup sliced sweet onion (optional)
1 packet zesty Italian dry dressing mix
1 cup bottled zesty Italian salad dressing
In a large bowl, toss together broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, mushrooms, black olives and onion, if desired. In a small bowl, mix dry and bottled dressings. Pour over vegetables, and toss to coat.
Add more bottled dressing, if desired.
Per serving: 132 calories (percent of calories from fat, 69), 2 grams protein, 9 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams fiber, 11 grams fat (2 grams saturated), no cholesterol, 345 milligrams sodium.
