Today’s recipe is one of my favourite salads for a BBQ, potluck, or anytime you’ll be feeding a crowd. It can (should) be made well ahead and surprisingly, leftovers stay fresh and can still be eaten the next day, which is unusual for a salad. Many of the ingredients are on sale this week at No Frills; iceberg lettuce is $1, Mayonnaise is $2, bacon is $4, and the other ingredients are all fairly inexpensive. You can omit any of the ingredients you don’t like ( I don’t use green peas in mine) or you can add in other layers, such as cooked chicken to make it a complete meal. This recipe uses a homemade dressing, but feel free to use a bottled ranch if you’d like. Traditionally, 7 layer salads were made in trifle bowls, but this recipe uses a 9″x 13″ pan, which is far more practical and easier to serve. There are many variations of this recipe on the internet and unfortunately, I don’t remember what website I found it on, but in my opinion, it’s a keeper.

Here’s how you do it!

Ingredients:

Salad:

8 cups Iceberg lettuce (about 1.5 heads) torn into bite size pieces

1 bell pepper, diced

1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, diced

3 green onions, sliced (reserve 2 Tbsp for topping)

1 1/2 cups frozen peas, cooked and well drained

Dressing :

1 1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup sour cream

1/2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp sugar or granulated sweetener of choice

1/2 tsp onion powder

1 Tbsp parsley, chopped

1 Tbsp dill

salt & pepper to taste

Toppings:

6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

2 Tbsp reserved green onions

Method:

Place lettuce in the bottom of pan. Layer each vegetable on top of lettuce. Spread the dressing over the vegetables and top with cheese, bacon & sprinkle green onions last. Cover and chill at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.

Serves 8-12