Crunchy Pea Salad

Sweet peas never tasted so good! This simple Crunchy Pea Salad is a delightful change from the leafy green salad variety and it’s perfect to eat on a hot summer day! It’s easy to make and great served with just about any main course. And to me, cold peas are much better than hot!

Truth be told, I didn’t like peas when I was growing up. As a matter of fact, I didn’t much like any type of vegetable as a kid. It was a struggle for me to get through a dinner without my dad repeating over and over again, “eat your vegetables” and “you cannot leave the table until you eat your vegetables”.

My family was part of the “clean your plate” club. Not something I was a willing participant. Yes I was stubborn. Back in the day, I spent many hours staring at my plate filled with the vegetables I despised until my dad finally gave up and excused me from my duties of guarding the uneaten veggies.

I dreaded dinner on a nightly basis. What I really wanted was dessert! What about you?

I guess it’s true with most kids — they don’t like veggies and they will refuse to eat them. It then becomes the parents struggle to get their kids to eat these nutritious things grown from the ground. When my son was little I did not force him to eat anything, rather I would offer him a bite of this or that, just a little bite to try.

I discovered that by doing this daily ritual, it made our mealtime a pleasant experience. And eventually my kid found the veggies he enjoyed. However still to this day, my  teen will not eat anything green! Give him a raw, uncooked, cold carrot and he is a happy camper!  Now I am not complaining. I would rather him eat some raw carrots every day than no veggie at all! I still offer him other veggies with hopes that he will one day find something green that puts a smile on his face!

And thank goodness that I evolved as well. I am a huge veggie lover. I probably love veggies more than fruit – I know that’s kind of weird since I love to cook sweet things! However, I still really don’t like cooked peas – but served cold and mixed with some of my favorite things well now that’s a different story!

So, even if you are not a green veggie or “pea” fan, you have got to try this salad. You start with a bag of thawed frozen peas, add some green onions, water chestnuts and cashews for the crunch. Then you toss it with some delicious buttermilk ranch dressing and voila — you’ve got a great salad to serve to your family, friends and guests alike. And it passed the taste test from my ever so picky hubby — he had two servings! So get ready to pass the peas!

Crunchy Pea Salad

1 (10.8 oz.) bag petite frozen peas, thawed
1 (8 oz.) can sliced water chestnuts, thinly sliced
4 green onions, sliced
1/2 cup cashews, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup Homemade Buttermilk Ranch dressing (or your favorite store-brought brand)
salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl combine peas, water chestnuts, green onions and cashews. Add the Ranch dressing a bit at a time until and mix lightly until you get the ratio of salad and dressing that you like. Chill for 1 hour before serving.

This Crunchy Pea Salad is also one of those delightful transition type salads. It’s great served in the summertime along side barbecued chicken and can made an appearance during a Thanksgiving day brunch and even continue on through to Easter as a wonderful accompaniment to your succulent sweet ham.

Now come on and eat your peas with this delicious Crunchy Pea Salad!