The Covered Dish
By Debbie Dance Uhrig
I’d like to start this week’s column with a new twist on last week’s salad. I have been trying to make yummy things for my husband that are delicious, yet low in sugar. Last week I ran the old fashioned cottage cheese salad. Tonight we were going out to my friend, Jan’s acreage, where our garden is located. I decided to take this salad, with a bit more creativity. Below is the version I did tonight:
Cottage Cheese and Pear Salad
12 ounces small curd cottage cheese, drain, if necessary, used 4% fat
1 (3 oz.) pkg. sugar free lime jello
1 (.25oz) pkg. unflavored gelatin
1 flat (6- 8 ozs.) tidbit pineapple, drained well
1 can sliced pears, (around 12-15 ozs.) drained well and chopped small
8-10 ounces whipped cream.
1/2 cup chopped pecans or English walnuts, optional
If the cottage cheese of choice is not the 4% fat content, you will definitely need to drain the cottage cheese. Sprinkle the jello and gelatin over the cottage cheese, stirring to blend. Drain and prepare fruits to be added to the cottage cheese, stirring. Lastly gently fold in the whipped cream and sprinkle in nutmeats of choice. Stir until salad is well blended. Wipe sides of bowl and garnish for presentation. Serves 4 persons. Easily doubles.
Last week in my original Orange Cottage Cheese Salad I used a larger amount of cottage cheese and it was not high in fat. Therefore there was liquid to be drained, from the cottage cheese. With the 4% fat content there was basically no draining on the cottage cheese. The salad last week had a great ‘body’ hold, but this week with the lime/pear the bind was even nicer.
This week I was fortunate to find a sale, on cottage cheese, $1.00 for 24 ounces! Of course, I got 2, so I could make more of these salads. Keep in mind the fact that cottage cheese is very low in sugar and carbs. So is whipped cream, unless you ‘add’ a ton of sugar! Keep the fruits in natural juices and you can truly make a healthy salad.
For the fourth of July I’m planning on making black cherry cottage cheese salad. I have lots of Bing cherries that will work into it quite nicely.
As we were dining this evening, I started thinking about the frozen strawberry salad. It too can be kept low in sugar, with just a few little steps. I’m planning on making it into individual portions and freezing. It’s the perfect dessert. Consider using fresh strawberries and sweetening them yourselves, with your favorite sugar substitute. Keep additional fruits in natural juices.
With the heat of summer these simple salads can be implemented as ‘salads’ or they’re delicious as desserts. You know….I could play with the salad just a little bit more and turn the cottage cheese salad into a refrigerator pie! Oh dear, look out, the creative juices are on full-speed ahead.
It’s our Nations birthday this week. Present the colors with pride and take a few moments to talk about what this day represents. God Bless America.
Simply yours, The Covered Dish. www.thecovereddish.com
Frozen Strawberry Salad
8 ounces softened cream cheese
1 cup sugar or sugar substitute
10 ounces frozen sweetened strawberries, thawed
20 ounce can crushed pineapple, well drained
3 bananas, sliced
8 ounces cool whip
Chopped nuts, optional
Beat cream cheese and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Add strawberries and juice, drained pineapple, bananas and cool whip. Mix well and put in 9 x 13 pan. Place in the deep freeze until frozen solid. Set out a few minutes before you plan on serving this salad so that you can cut it into squares. Serves 12-16.
