I am a salad fan. I love the crunch, the freshness, and the infinite possibilities of lettuce, vegetables and anything and everything. We put lettuce in a taco shell and call it a salad. Cook pasta and combine it with tuna and call it a salad. Mix three different beans and oil & vinegar and call it salad…now I give you salad in a trifle bowl: the seven-layer salad.

The seven-layer stands right up there in my top five go-to salad recipes because it’s both pretty and delicious, if even a bit healthy. Oh, and it’s incredibly easy to make, can be made a day ahead of time and is great in both the summer and winter- cooling at a barbeque and a perfect addition to a Holiday table. There is one downside. It doesn’t last in the fridge as leftovers (meaning once its been mixed) for more than a day but in my house that is because it has been plotted against since the click of the Tupperware (and hence eaten).

Seven-Layer Salad

Ingredients:

• 6 cups lettuce
• 1-10 ounce package frozen peas (thawed)
• 2  cups (8 ounces) shredded natural swiss or cheddar cheese
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste
• sugar, to taste
• 16 ounces bacon, crisp cooked – drained and crumbled (1 1/2 cups)
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup sliced green onions with tops or small rings (I leave these out)
• 2 pints cherry tomatoes – halved, a blend of colors looks awesome
• 1 can sliced water chestnuts

I guess it should be called the eight layer salad…there are eight main ingredients. The lettuce must not count?