Sweet Apple Cole Slaw

Given any option in the world, employing any of his darling mother's culinary skills, my son requested Popeye's Fried Chicken for his 8th grade graduation party.  Sigh.  Oh well.

So we bought a boatload of chicken and I made some sides.  Pasta salad, roasted potatoes (his one homemade request) and cole slaw.  I looked online for a simple cole slaw recipe and threw one together based on a few different ideas I found as well as my family's preferences.  I prefer my cole slaw sweet and this one is as good as dessert.  Confession: I just had the leftovers for breakfast.   

Sweet Apple Cole Slaw


Ingredients
3 cups grated/shredded cabbage
1  cup shredded/finely chopped carrots carrots
1/2 cup raisins or Craisins
1/2 Red apple (Gala or Macintosh)
1/2 Granny Smith apple
3 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
1/4 cup Ranch salad dressing
1/3 cup brown sugar

Directions:
1.  Chop the cabbage finely, shred or finely chop the carrots
2.  Finely chop the apples or julienne them into thin sticks.  Toss with 1 Tbsp of the lemon juice to keep from browning then add to the cole slaw mix.
3. In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise, salad dressing, brown sugar and remaining lemon juice.  Make the sure mixture is free of sugar lumps and completely mixed. 
4.  Mix the dressing into the veggie mix (using less or more as you prefer) and add the raisins.
5.  Allow to chill at least 30 minutes in the fridge and serve with your favorite summer meal. 

Alternatives:

• Instead of chopping the cabbage and carrots, feel free to use a food processor.  If you're really pressed for time, buy the pre-chopped cole slaw mix in your grocery produce section.
• I like raisins in this recipe but dried cranberries are a tangy alternative as well as adding walnuts or pecans for a little extra crunch.