Layered salad

I first had this salad at my friend Jana's house, and it is fantastic. It's so fresh and yummy and has such a great mix of flavors. You have to make it a day ahead of when you plan to serve it, which is actually a good thing for days like Thanksgiving. Making it early means you have more time to wrestle with a turkey that never seems to be entirely thawed out by Thanksgiving morning!

About half-a-head of shredded lettuce
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/4 chopped onion (green or red)
1 small can sliced water chestnuts
4 boiled eggs, sliced
1 small package frozen peas
1 pint mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup bacon bits

At least 8 hours before serving, fill bowl 1/2 full of shredded lettuce, then layer with celery, green pepper, onion, water chestnuts, boiled eggs, and frozen peas. Make topping by mixing mayonnaise, sugar and cheese. Sprinkle top with bacon bits. Do not mix. Cover and refrigerate until time to serve. You can also wait until just before serving to sprinkle with bacon, and you can add shredded cheese to the top at the same time if you wish.

I have found the topping to be a little excessive, so I'll not make quite as much as it says. I also like to layer this in a glass see-through bowl so it will be all pretty :)

Melissa's World-famous Broccoli Salad

Every time I make this salad and take it to a function, it gets rave reviews. I once took it to a wedding reception, and the groom said that instead of congratulating them on their marriage, people were asking who made the broccoli salad!

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp vinegar
2-3 bunches broccoli, chopped into small florettes
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup raisins or craisins
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 Tbsp bacon bits, or 3 strips of cooked, crumbled bacon

Mix the first three ingredients together in a bowl and let sit while you prepare the rest of the salad. After adding the rest of the ingredients (I always just estimate the amount of craisins, onions, walnuts and bacon), mix everything together and refrigerate for at least an hour. This is very important. If you serve this salad immediately, the sugar in the dressing will still be grainy. It needs an hour to dissolve. The dressing starts out goopy-looking, but should turn milky in an hour. Stir before serving.