Friday Friend Recipe #31 -- Spinach Salad #1

Making my way thru my Friday Friend Cookbook, one recipe at a time.

Friday Friend cookbook:   I have about 50 of my closest friends and family on an e-mail forum which I called the Friday Friends (from all over the county).  At first, most of them didn't know each other, (they knew me) but over the past 15 years, we've answered and shared silly--and serious---questions,  exchanged Secret Santa Christmas gifts,  had a dieting contest in which we paid a $1 a week and that money went to a scholarship fund for a Friday Friends son's memorial scholarship, and we went on a great vacation for my 52 birthday.

AND,  we contributed recipes for a cookbook.

Which brings me to this... recipe #31

My

Spinach Salad

First of all, I can't believe I did two of my own recipes in a row, as that means finding decent pictures of myself  (sigh). 

AND second of all, I don't know why this doesn't have my mom's name under it in the FF cookbook.  This is the Spinach Salad she always made when I was growing up.

She changed tho---once I moved out of the house.  Many things changed.

She let my brother do things I was NEVER allowed to do, and she started using 'mandarin oranges' in a different spinach salad. (sigh again)

Evidence below,in the Friday Friend Cookbook.  Our 'old' family spinach salad ---which I submitted---on the left.  Her NEW fangled one on the right.  If you look closely you can see 2 cans mandarin oranges!

OH....I'm supposed to be talking about a recipe here?

Spinach Salad.

We made this for years in our family.  

My Aunt gave it to us years ago.  

She wrote down a copy of it  in a cookbook she gave me for a wedding gift.

It's funny---after all these years, that is the only wedding gift I can remember.

see original post here---about the cookbook for a wedding gift. Only if you want to, of course.

I love this spinach salad.

It has cottage cheese in the dressing.

Sound weird?

Okay it probably is weird---but it's also very good!

and for the record?  Salads suck to take pictures of.

Spinach Salad

submitted by me in the FF cookbook,  BUT it is really my mom's, who got it from my aunt.  

2 lbs fresh spinach

1 head each, iceberg &  romaine lettuce

1/2 lb bacon, fried and crumbled

sliced mushrooms

4 to 6 chopped hard boiled eggs

1/2 purple onion--finely diced

1 pt. cottage cheese

Dressing

1 cup salad oil

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp dry mustard

1/3 cup cider vinegar

1 T. poppy seed

1 tsp salt

Wash and cut greens.  Add bacon, mushrooms, eggs, and onion.  Mix and blend well, dressing ingredients.  Add half of dressing to cottage cheese in small bowl, then add to greens and mix together.  Add the rest of the dressing if needed/to your liking.

Also good to add:

raisins

blue cheese crumbles

walnuts

crispy fried chicken strips

The Friday Friend Cookbook Countdown isn't really about the recipes.

It's about all the people I love.

And since I have used this family Spinach Salad for years,  I will now give credit where credit is due:  (with one picture of me in there)

my mom (with 2 of my boys)--very recently.  

  She has Alzheimer's and is pretty much bed ridden. But the funny thing is, her funny personality still comes thru and it's so much fun to laugh with her.

She makes us laugh and seeing us laugh makes her laugh.

We took these pictures in September.

She thinks it is 1960, and she thinks she is in a motel in Hawaii,  BUT she still knows her grown up grandchildren and is always willing to do a selfie!

Still love to see her laugh.

Her eyes still light up.

and my aunt--circa 1980--with her granddaughter.

I am going to share this with Deb in Hawaii at Kahakai Kitchen

Every Sunday, she does a round-up of  Soups, Salads and Sammies!

I have never shared anything but soups with her, but today... we'll share this spinach salad. 

It really is good.