Salads for a Graduation Party and Summer

For Sophia's graduation party, I made three salads to go along with the fried and grilled chicken, fresh fruits, Chex Mix, chips, beverages, and desserts.

It was a hot day, so we used the "ice pools" that we found at Menards for a couple of dollars to keep the salads cold.

The inflatable pools, as seen above, were about five feet long and less than a half foot high; and were filled with ice. The bowls of salads, fruits, and beverages were nestled into the ice so everything would stay cold (which it did!) on the 94-degree day (with a heat index of over 100 degrees).

The salads I made were tabouli, coleslaw, and broccoli salad. Out of the three salads, the broccoli salad was the most popular. We had barely any leftovers. We got compliments on all three salads, though, and would make them all again.

I realized after the party that I forgot to take photos of the tabouli and coleslaw. I found images online of both salads that look very similar to what I made.

Tabouli

Source

Ingredients:

1 cup bulgar wheat or couscous
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups water
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup extra virgin oil
1 teaspoon crushed garlic (or more to taste)
Fresh chopped mint leaves (to taste)
1 green pepper, chopped
1 cucumber, chopped
2-3 tomatoes, chopped
1 cup parsley, chopped
6 scallions, chopped
1 package crumbled feta cheese
1 jar Kalmata olives (or plain black olives…whatever you prefer)

Directions:

Boil water. Add bulgar wheat or couscous and salt. Cover and soak for 15-20 minutes. Drain off any excess water.

Fluff with a fork and add lemon juice, extra virgin oil, garlic, and mint leaves. Stir. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Then add green pepper, cucumber, tomatoes, parsley, and scallions.

Garnish with feta cheese and olives. (However, you can add this when you add the fresh vegetables if you plan on eating the whole salad in one sitting.)
 
Coleslaw

Source

Ingredients:

2 packages pre-cut coleslaw mix
1 15-ounce jar Jimmy’s coleslaw dressing
1 15-ounce jar Litehouse coleslaw dressing

Directions:

Pour coleslaw mix in bowl. Add both jars of dressing and mix well. If you aren’t going to eat that much coleslaw, mix the two jars of dressing together and add some dressing to the amount of coleslaw you will eat. Start with a little dressing and add more as needed.


Broccoli Salad

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups chopped fresh broccoli
½ cup raisins
¼ cup sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons diced red onions (or more to your preference)
1/3 package of bacon (cooked and cut in small pieces)
1 cup Miracle Whip
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar

Directions:

Combine broccoli, raisins, sunflower seeds, onions, and bacon in a bowl. Toss until well-mixed. In another bowl, mix the Miracle Whip, vinegar, and sugar. Taste the dressing and adjust to your preference. Combine the two bowls of ingredients; and mix well.