@lookingforward I had a boss who’d make quac with cream cheese. It was divine. Do you make Madison’s recipe and then add how much cream cheese?
My not-a-secret turkey “recipe” is to cook the bird at 500 degrees.
For guacomole I buy the bag of 6 at Sam’s Club and Tostito’s brand Lime tortilla chips at the grocery store. I don’t measure the salt and fresh-squeezed lime juice but instead taste the guac until I have the right balance. People go bonkers over it. It’s nice to leave some rustic small chunks of avocado so it’s not so finely mashed.
We had a thread that was sort of along these lines back in 2011…that dealt with secret ingredients…
@Mom2collegekids, exactly as Norm shared it, decades ago: 2 large ripe avocados, 1 large (pk) cream cheese, garlic salt, lemon. Optional: chopped onions, tomatoes, green jalapenos. Add a little milk to make it creamy. Blend or mix.DH adored it. I do like a few “rustic” small chunks,as Madison says, but these can be reserved, if you mash the rest, and added back in.
About the box/can recipes, MIL had a fab Chicken Divan, with cream of celery soup and Ritz crackers. Served it at our rehearsal dinner.
I agree with @nottelling that the best guacamole requires grinding of the salt, chilies, and onion. I bought a molcajete a few years ago that does the job in a few minutes, and I serve the guacamole right in it, which looks great and saves on dishwashing.
I think guac, like salsa, has no true form and it’s however we like it. Including whatever ritual we prefer. Ritual is what keeps me making bread by hand, btw.
@lookingforward , I get that now. But if you’re using a cheat like Cool Whip, or in my case, Bisquik in my sausage balls, and a snob (like me!) says she likes your food, isn’t it just a teeny bit fun to announce, “Mwa ha ha! It has chemical laden COOL WHIP in it!” 
@oregon101 and @HotCanary : I got that same macaroni salad recipe from my mother years ago, but we used Miracle Whip instead of Hellman’s. Have to say that when you have MW from infancy on, it’s hard to acquire a taste for Hellman’s.
M2ck, like this: Chicken with broccoli and rice - 2 whole chicken breasts, split into 4 pcs, season with s&p, butter, bake 1 hour. Cut into small pcs.
2 cans Campbell’s cream of chicken soup, heat in pan with just enough water to keep from sticking. Add 1/2 tsp curry, s&p (to taste.). Cook on low, stir often. When flavor is right (?) add 1 sm container sour cream, 1/4 c sherry. Mix well, add chicken.
Put 1 c cooked Minute Rice in baking pan, 1 pkg cooked frozen broccoli, then the chicken mix. Crumble Ritz Crackers on top. Bake low heat 30 minutes.
You can see this is full of influences from her generation. This was her signature dish. And rice, to her was always Minute.
OMG. Being raised in a kosher home, now Kosher style, the idea of mixing the cream soups with chicken/meat makes me cringe. I’m happy to use short cuts, but I think I bypass most fast connections.
However, I use to spend hours making my own tomato sauce. Now I buy canned tomatoes or tomato sauce, and doctor it.
Does anyone else’s family make a broccoli salad that has red onions, bacon and raisins in it? It is always on the menu at gatherings on my H’s side of the family. Along with a potato dish made with hash browns. And beans, 3 kinds of beans with hamburger and bacon.
No pretzel jello salad but I’ve had it before. It’s dessert, not salad.
^^^I LOVE that salad! Sweet and savory. The dressing has a bit of sugar to make it sweet.
No. Mwhy did the I grow up with any of these recipes? The only ones I recall were the jello salads.
@deb922 is the hash brown thing like cheesy potatoes? Cause I’ll have to raise my hand and say that’s quite common at potlucks here (as you may know!)
@abasket definitely cheesy potatoes! There are at every holiday gathering and potluck I go to lol! Maybe it’s a Midwestern thing?
Whole Foods sells the broccoli, bacon, red onion, currant salad.
I make it from scratch–the pain is blanching the broccoli, although many places serve it with raw broccoli.
I make my go to slaw dressing. Always a huge hit. If you make it make a large amount–always gone quickly.
SO funny! Had Happy Hour with friends tonight and she commented on my amazing broccoli, brussel
sprout salad from the other night. I simply thanked her. Bagged from Trader Joe’s with a homemade
honey mustard vinaigrette with fresh tarragon. Smiled and nodded. H commented on this on the way home
and has finally learned to be quiet.
I had to look up the pretzel salad. OH MY. No, never had it. It reminds me of Cherry Delight.
A graham cracker layer with a sweet cream cheese layer and cans of cherry pie filling.
Yum.
What’s the dressing for the broccoli salad?