I keep saying I'm not in the market for new recipes, but new recipes still seem to find me. In this instance, I'm not at all upset about it. At bowling on Tuesday some of the gals were asking me what I cooked for Thanksgiving and in telling them about my fantastic brussels sprout salads, one friend told me about her broccoli salad. Albertson's grocery store near my home has a broccoli salad that I love, mostly because it doesn't have bacon in it. This recipe calls for pork bacon, but I used my uncured turkey bacon that crisps up nicely and it was perfect.
I made it in the morning and was going to cook the bacon in the evening and serve it with dinner, but I now can't remember what happened and we didn't end up eating it until Saturday. I actually didn't cook the bacon until Saturday...so really it was a two part recipe (that's what I'm telling myself). Even though I didn't get it eaten on the day I planned, I did actually follow the directions ("The flavor is much better when it is made the day before") and I must say, this salad is perfect. It is the exact taste I was hoping for and tastes identical to the grocery store version except a little less dressing which is perfect for me.
Things I learned from this recipe:
To save time, I used shredded broccoli and carrots from Trader Joe's as well as their bagged broccoli florets.
Would I make this recipe again?:
The recipe:
Salad
1 Bunch Broccoli florets
1 C Raisins
¼ C Red Onion, diced fine
10 - 12 Strips Bacon, fried crisp & crumbled
2 Ounces Sunflower seeds, or to taste
Dressing
6 Tblsp. Sugar
1 Tblsp. Seasoned Rice Vinegar (Regular vinegar can be used, but Seasoned is best.)
½ C Mayonnaise
Fry bacon crisp and cool. Crumble bacon & set aside.
Mix all the dressing ingredients together until sugar is dissolved.
Cut up broccoli into small florets.
Mix all the other ingredients together except the bacon. Pour the dressing on top and mix again.
Make it the day before & add the bacon just before serving (The flavor is much better when it is made the day before).