Mandarin Orange and Banana Salad
This salad is tasty and has a lot of memories attached to it. My cousin on my mom’s side of the family used to make this salad a lot when we would visit family in Iowa. There is a significant age gap between us—I was in her wedding when I was 11 years old.
My brother and I used to spend a week in small-town-Iowa with family in the summertime while Mom and Dad did craft shows. Grandpa would take us to the local donut shop and grandma would find new crafts for us to try. We would ride bike around the block, something we couldn’t do at home, and we would run around in the grassy front yard under the big tree.
I remember the first time Lorelle made this salad when I was in middle school. She was standing in our grandparent’s kitchen while I sat at the dining room table with my grandma. She was telling us about this new salad she thought my brother and I would like. I watched her make it that afternoon for supper.
Josef and I both loved it.
It became a thing we would request whenever Lorelle was making a dish for a holiday or gathering. She eventually gave the recipe to us.
Mom suggested we make Lorelle’s salad for Easter this year to take to dinner with my dad’s family. It’s something adults and kids will both enjoy.
Ingredients:
- 1 large box of vanilla pudding mix
- 2 cups of milk
- 1 small tub of Cool Whip
- 2 large cans (or 4 small cans) of Mandarin Oranges
- 3-4 bananas
- Lemon juice
- 2 cups of mini marshmallows
First you just make the pudding as instructed on the box—whisk in the two cups of milk. Make sure you use a big bowl—it makes a lot of salad.
Fold in the Cool Whip.
Drain the Mandarin Oranges and fold them into the pudding mixture.
Slice the bananas and coat them in lemon juice so they don’t get too brown. Add them to the big bowl and fold them in.
Fold in the mini marshmallows.
It’s best if you can let the salad chill in the fridge for a couple hours.
Enjoy!
