I live in the midwest and collect old cookbooks. Every "salad" section is about half recipes comprised of mixed vegetables and the like, and half recipes that sound like someone took all the desserts in their house and mixed them in a big bowl with some whipped cream and jello.

Growing up in Oklahoma there were two dishes that confused me as a child.

Cranberry salad was a bowl of strawberry jello with cranberries and pecans with a layer of cool whip on top.

There was also always sweet potato casserole which was a tray of thick slices of sweet potato covered in maple syrup, sprinkled with brown sugar, and marshmallows placed on top before baking the entire thing.

And yes both were served with the savoury food, and yes there was always 10 different pies, ice cream, an assortment of cookies, and homemade caramels for dessert afterwards.

Looking back, it explains why every single male in the family was overweight.

I've lived my entire life in the South, but growing up we'd occasionally visit extended family in the Midwest for a holiday. Regarding holiday meals, what the fuck is wrong with you people

Can confirm. I'll be bringing Marshmallow Salad (a sacred family tradition) to Christmas dinner this year.

In case you're curious, here's the recipe:

• 1 big bag of mini marshmallows
• 1 large can of fruit cocktail
• 8oz tub of sour cream

Mix them together in your potluckiest bowl and let it sit overnight.

And yes, it's delicious.

An actual recipe I grew up having in Minnesota and still occasionally make for events.

Cookie Salad

Pot-Luck, Salads Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

• 2 (3.4 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 12 oz whipped topping, thawed
• 2 (11 ounce) cans mandarin oranges, drained
• 1/2 (11 1/2 ounce) package fudge stripe cookies

Directions:

• In a large bowl, mix together the pudding mix and the buttermilk.
• Fold in the whipped topping.
• Mix in the mandarin oranges and optional pineapple chunks.
• Crush cookies and mix in.
• Chill until ready to serve.
• Decorate with any remaining cookies.

Notes: French Vanilla pudding is especially good Some like to add 1 ( 20 ounce) can pineapple chunks, drained as well

I was laughing at all these weird dishes when it occurred to me that the fruit-based ones sound a lot like a dish here in Denmark with fresh fruit and 'råcreme' which is egg yolks and sugar whipped with vanilla, then gently mixed with whipped cream.

It's delicious.

This whole thread is just more evidence for why Americans aren't allowed to make fun of Brits for our food.

I live in the Midwest and it was a couple of different types of fruit salad. Fruit with a bunch of whipped cream.

Two non-vegetable "salads" at every holiday gathering in my childhood in southern Illinois in the '80s were Waldorf Salad and Watergate Salad.

this one is my gran's. i love frog eye salad

thing you got to remember is, before like the 70s, good fruit was canned

In my family it's more like key lime jello mixed with cool whip and mandarin oranges or some shit. And it always slaps

I've eaten many a dish with a combination of fruit, marshmallow and some kind of fluff.

Well, in the Christmas spirit, my family's version of these, courtesy of a century spent in Nebraska.

Line the bottom of a cake pan with pretzels, mix up mixed berry jello, with or without the true berries inside, and add whipped cream to the top. Let it set in the fridge before serving. Adds a nice bit of sweet and salty, and an appreciable crunch.

I'm not exactly sure who started it, but my family has a green salad for holiday dinners. it's sorta a mix of lime jello, cream cheese and pineapple tidbits. it's coms togeather in such a way that it looks like spme kind of bathroommat or moldy sponge.

Tastes great though, would always recommend. I do believe that exploring new things like a traditional dish is worth looking into. so don't let an unusual combination ingredients or a slightly off color look put you off of trying a food made with love in mind.

Three different colored layers of jello? Gran, that's fantastic! That must have taken hours to make!

And it will inexplicably have peas in it as well

Still better than hash (basically making a casserole of all the leftovers combined)

One of my favorite 'salads' is jello, mini marshmallows, cool whip, and canned mandarin oranges. I was told it has fruit, so it counts as a salad. A staple at any church potluck.

My favorite was a dish made of pudding, jello, and cool whip, with fruit mixed in. I think we called it "creamsicle fluff"

In Canada with Irish Canadian friends, my favourite was always ... JELLO SALAD ... basically a bowl of coloured jello with its of fruit in it. The bowl was usually set alongside all the turkey, potatoes, vegetables and stuffing.

Every other time of the year, it's called a children's dessert ... at Christmas time, it's known as an adult's gourmet salad.

Never understood it.