Recipe Vault: Mmmm Broccoli Salad

Broccoli Salad is one of my favorite side dishes to make in the summer! It's bright, crunchy, cool and refreshing. Umm, not to mention, YUMMY! I've even managed to trim down the recipe to something that is healthy and almost guilt-free and in my opinion, it is actually even more scrumptious than before! This recipe is my go-to for BBQ's and Summer Parties, everyone is always raving about it, and for good reason! You can vary this recipe also by making a Broccoli & Cauliflower Salad which is equally as delish! I hope you love this recipe as much as I do :)

Broccoli Salad

2 Large heads of raw Broccoli ( or 1 large head of Broccoli & 1 Large Head of Cauliflower)

1/2 C. Shredded Carrots ( I like to shred my own with a peeler for thinner ribbons)

1/2 C. Red Onion Finely Chopped

1/2-3/4 C. Craisins (I go heavy on the Craisins because I love the flavor they add!)

8 pieces of Crisply Cooked Turkey Bacon Chopped

Dressing:

1 C. Light Mayo (I prefer Hellmans)

1 1/2 TBSP White Sugar

2 TBSP White Vinegar

Cut up Broccoli (and Cauliflower), leaving only a small stem on the florets. I then break apart the florets by hand, making small bite sized pieces (smaller is better in my opinion) and place in large bowl. Add Carrots, Red Onion and Craisins to the Broccoli bowl and give a quick toss. In a separate bowl whisk together the mayo, sugar and Vinegar. Once the dressing is mixed, add to the Broccoli mixture and stir well (this might take a bit of stirring to get a  nice even coating on everything). Once the dressing is nicely incorporated you can add the Turkey Bacon. Make sure to cook the Bacon before chopping it, it makes for a much better consistency. Fold in the Turkey Bacon until it is evenly distributed, cover with tin foil and stick it in the fridge for a few hours. This salad gets better the longer it sits in the fridge! Make sure to give the salad a toss or two right before serving it. You can easily half this recipe, or double it etc! Make enough for left overs, you'll be wishing you did the following day :)

Enjoy!

A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss...

I'm back! Did you miss me? I know I've been a very bad blogger, but I promise I've been absent from blogland for good reason :) I might as well give you a quick rundown of what I've been up to for the past couple weeks...

Well, a couple weeks ago I started feverishly working on new seasonal items, Halloween items specifically. And, at the urging of my buddy over at Ponder & Stitch, I've decided to bring in oxidized sterling silver pieces as well, offering the bright silver and oxidized silver in my shop I think will be great for business and give my customers even more choices. I took a brief break from my jewelry making marathon to attend a Coldplay concert, which was incredibly fun and inspiring! I used to have a line of music inspired jewelry but got rid of it after a while. After going to such an incredible show, my urge to create some jewelry from some of the music and lyrics that inspire me is bubbling over! Right now I'm just trying to decide the best approach...

After my play date with Coldplay, it was right back to work. I'm proud to say I have somewhere about 40 new pieces! Not ALL of them are completed but it's getting close! I have some things I've sent off to the caster and am patiently awaiting their return to me :) All of my new Halloween items are finished though! Woohoo! I've become quite well know around Etsy for my Halloween pieces, so I certainly felt the pressure to deliver some great new stuff for this year! I'm spending the next couple days listing everything I can.

Aside from making jewelry, I've also been making and consuming lots of Broccoli Salad! No worries, photos and recipe for that coming very soon :) I'm not sure what it is but I've been really into cooking and baking lately. Right now I have a hankering to make some Pumpkin Bread and Pumpkin Cookies, both of which will have to wait for now, but I've been obsessing about them for some time! Anyone know of a great fat substitute/alternative for butter/oil for baking? I'm a novice baker, so any tips are welcomed!

Anyway, here's a sneak peak of the new seasonal and oxidized stuff, it's not up on Etsy yet so you are the first to see it! Hope you love it, I'll be working hard to list everything asap :)

It's good to be back, so sorry for my very long hiatus!