Mr. Food: Chillded Stacked Salad August 31

With Labor Day weekend creeping up on us, if we're hosting that last big bash of summer or we're invited to bring something along on a holiday intended to celebrate a day off from work, we sure don't want to be working in the kitchen at the last minute to make our salad. That's why a make-ahead idea would be a dream come true! So watch: We make our dressing by combining some mayo, sour cream and a bit of garlic powder. And the trick to having our make-ahead salad looking so fresh is to layer the ingredients like this: In a trifle dish (or you can use a glass bowl), we alternate layers of the chopped iceberg or romaine lettuce, red peppers and onion, chopped celery, thawed frozen corn, and half of the mayo mixture and some shredded Cheddar cheese. Once we repeat the layers, we finish it off with some bacon bits, let it chill up in the fridge overnight, and that's it! See, the trick to this salad is that by layering the ingredients along with the thick dressing, they won't mix with each other until we're ready to dish it up. That makes sure that everything stays fresh. That way we've got a colorful, attention-getting salad that's hearty enough to be our main dish if we want. Or we can team it with any of our "easy to just throw on the grill" favorites! Want your Labor Day to be labor-free? Sure, you do! Pick up the recipe for Chilled Stacked Salad that's online now - and take it easy on your day off whether we're at our house or we bring it along to a friend's gathering! Either way, we'll be the celebrity with the "OOH IT'S SO GOOD!! "