MOJITO AMBROSIA SALAD

A fun twist on an old favorite!

The first time I had ever had Ambrosia salad was when we made it in a Home Ec. class in Jr. High and the teacher said Ambrosia was from Greek Mythology and it was the food of the "Gods".   It was a salad made out of most of the ingredients that I used in this salad except I omitted the bananas and added pineapple instead along with the flavorings - I have been on a mojito flavored kick lately and decided to try it in this salad.

I was very happy with the flavor; it was light but with lots of textures,  a bit of crunch and a hint of a mojito flavor and I plan to make it a few more times over the summer and may make it for our next carry-in at work.

I usually include my son feedback, but he won't touch anything with shredded coconut in it as he hates the texture and said it grosses him out so I was not able to get any feedback from him on this one.


Ingredients:

• 1 oz tub Whipped Topping
• 1 teaspoon Mint Extract/Flavoring
• 1 teaspoon Lime Juice
• 1 teaspoon Rum Extract/Flavoring
• 1 20 oz can of Crushed Pineapple
• 1 10-12 oz bag of Mini-Marshmallows
• 1 cup chopped Walnuts
• 10-14 oz bag of shredded Coconut

In a large bowl mix the whipped topping, mint extract, lime juice and rum extract together.

Add in marshmallows, pineapple and walnuts to the mixture.

Fold items together until well mixed.

Add the coconut and chill for at least 2 hours before serving.

DATE PUDDING

My Mom and Grandmother used to make date pudding for holiday meals and this was the first time I have ever made it myself. I never got the family receipe so I went in search of one on the internet and found this one at Receipezaar. I increased the ingredients as I made mine in a 9 x13 cake pan as that was what my Mom and Grandmother always used.

This receipe turned out wonderfully gooey and good and dare I say it, better than what our family receipe was.

If you have never had date pudding, the closest thing I can think of that is similar is pecan pie, except there is no crust, you use walnuts instead of pecans and it is more like a rich gooey cake than pudding and is wonderful served warm with whipped topping.

http://www.recipezaar.com/Date-Pudding-78429?scaleto=12

Ingredients 2 cups packed dark brown sugar, divided into 1 1/2 cups and 1/2 cup 1 1/3 cups water 4 tsp. margarine 1 1/3 cups flour 2 2/3 teaspoons baking powder 1 pinch of salt 2/3 cup milk 1 1/3 cups chopped dates 1 cup walnuts (I used walnut halves, receipe calls for chopped walnuts) whipped cream

Preheat oven to 350°.

This make 12 large pieces of pudding/cake In a saucepan combine 1 1/2 cup brown sugar, water, and bring to a boil, cook for 3 minutes.

Remove from heat and add the margarine - this will make a syrup mixture

In a bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt, 1/2 cup sugar. Stir in milk until smooth.

Add dates and walnuts

Thoroughly mix the dates and walnuts in

. Pour syrup mixture into the pan

Add batter and push the batter down into the syrup mixture until fully and evenly distributed across the bottom of the pan. Bake for 35 minutes.

Serve warm with whipped cream.