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Hereā€™s what you need. You can switch up the ingredients, add in things that excite you, change the variety of cheeseā€”the world is your oyster!


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If you have a clear glass bowl, grab it. If not, any olā€™ bowl will do. Start with a layer of chopped iceberg.


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Sprinkle on some kosher salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.


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Next comes a layer of baby spinach.


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And another sprinkling of salt and pepper. This seasoning is important; itā€™ll give the salad more flavor once itā€™s all tossed together.


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After that, crack open some hard boiled eggs. I just tap-tap-tap the middle with a sharp knifeā€¦


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Then slide the shell right off.


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Then I just give it a rough chop. You can neatly slice the eggs if youā€™re into that kind of thing, or you can dice them finely. But Iā€™m sort of a rough chop kind of girl.


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While youā€™ve got the knife in your hand, go ahead and chop up the bacon, too.


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Make a nice layer of eggs, then a layer of bacon.


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Hard boiled eggs + Bacon = TruLuv4Evr.


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Hereā€™s a little trick I do: since I want the ingredients to really show on the outside of the bowl, I concentrate them around the perimeter, then fill in the center with more lettuce or spinach.

Itā€™s all a sham!

A delicious, colorful sham.


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Next, dice up some tomatoesā€¦


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And throw them over the top.


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Pretty!


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Next, slice up a bunch of green onionsā€¦


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And sprinkle those over the tomatoes. Color is bursting from the bowl!


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Next comes a layer of grated cheese; I used sharp cheddar, but you can use Swiss, mozzarella, colby-jackā€¦whatever youā€™d like! Just please grate your own. Please? Please please please please please?

Thank you.


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And next, one of the definite signs of a true Layered Salad: a generous layer of frozen (and partially thawed) green peas.


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Gorgeous!


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And now for the weirdness. Combine sour cream and mayonnaise in a bowl.


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Add a tablespoon or two of sugar. This is totally optional, and can be left out. But I really like what the sugar does to the dressingā€”doesnā€™t make it overly sweet, just gives it a little dimension.

Note: this is going to wind up being the dressing for the salad, so you can dress it up however youā€™d like. Fresh herbs would be nice, or just a little garlic.

Iā€™m a purist, though. For this salad, I like things plain. Let the salad ingredientsā€”not the dressingā€”take center stage!


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Mix it together till smooth, then pour it over the top of the salad.


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Smooth it out with a spoonā€¦


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And bring the spoon out to the edges to seal in the ingredients below.


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And that is IT, my dears. Now cover it with plastic wrap and store it in the fridge for a few hours. Thatā€™s one of the beauties of this salad: make it beforehand and youā€™ll have plenty of time to paint your nails, do your hair, apply a rejuvenating mask, wax, self-tan, and try on eight different outfits before the picnic.


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When itā€™s party time, garnish the top with a little of whatever leftover ingredients you might have: a little egg, a little bacon, a sprinkling of peas. Then just toss it at the party and add a little color to everyoneā€™s plate.

Everyoneā€™ll love it!