Our annual church choir picnic was approaching and for some strange reason I knew exactly what I wanted to make……Cornbread Salad !!  My mom had made it recently and it sounded so good I wanted to try it myself.  I just needed a good recipe.  I began scouring cookbooks here at the library as well as the internet and came upon a Paula Deen recipe that sounded so good. I decided to add some additional ingredients of my own.  Our choir is rather large and spouses/significant others were invited so I knew I needed to make a big salad.  I also wanted to bowl to be clear because the salad is a layered salad and I wanted it to look pretty.  I used a punch bowl!  The salad was a huge hit and I ended up only bringing back enough for a lunch serving the next day.  Enjoy !

See you next month, Meet me in the kitchen!!

Lisa Breithaupt, The Gourmet Librarian

Ingredients:

1 batch of cornbread, cut into 1 inch cubes

1 (14.5 ounce) can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 (15 ounce) can niblet corn, drained

1 medium cucumber, chopped

1 medium Vidalia onion, finely chopped

1 or 2 green or red peppers chopped

3 large tomatoes, chopped

1 large bottle of ranch dressing

2 cups of grated cheddar cheese

1 (8 ounce) bottle of ranch dressing

1 small can of sliced black olives, drained

Directions:

In the bottom of the bowl placed half of the cubed cornbread.  Begin layering ingredients in order given: beans, corn, cucumber.  At this point add the remaining cornbread and continue layering the ingredients: onion, pepper, tomatoes, dressing, cheese, sliced olives. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.  This allows the veggies to marinate a bit without the risk of making the corn bread soggy.

Enjoy putting your own spin on this recipe.  Add other delicious veggies that your own family enjoys !  What a great way to put all of those delicious garden vegetables to good use!!