When the weather gets nice, everything in our life tends to get a little bit more social. Now that spring is upon us and summer is right around the corner, we’re all going to be spending more time outside with family and friends. Although spending quality time with your loved ones is a joy in and of itself, these backyard get-togethers are all the more exciting because the food is always so delicious.
Backyard barbecues, picnics and cookouts are staples of the season and each one promises a bunch of our favorite foods. Sometimes it burgers on the grill, other times it’s a big, juicy slice of watermelon. For some of us, though, it’s all about the hearty and creamy salads—and we’re not talking about leafy greens, here. Egg salad and potato salad can be particularly delicious side dishes when done correctly, but even the best things can get old after a while. Fortunately, we have the perfect recipe for you in the same vein with broccoli and bacon that will surely spice up your next party.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 1 pound of fresh broccoli, in bite-sized pieces
- 1 pount of bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 1 diced red onion
- 1/2 cup of dried cranberries
- 3/4 cups of sunflower seed kernels
- 1 cup of mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup of sugar
- 2 teaspoons of white vinegar
Here’s what you do:
1. First you’ll want to clear off some counter space and prepare your ingredients. Be sure to fry up all your bacon, dry it off and crumble it up before you start doing the other steps!
2. Once that’s ready, rinse and chop your broccoli into little chunks to your liking. Get out a large mixing bowl and throw your broccoli in it once you’re done. Peel and dice your onion and throw that in the bowl as well along with cranberries and sunflower kernels. Mix it roughly to combine everything.
3. In another bowl, pour in your mayonnaise along with sugar and vinegar, stirring that all up as well.
4. Finally, pour the dressing into the broccoli mixture and toss it together to make sure all the pieces are equally coated with your dressing. Once you’re satisfied, throw the entire thing in the fridge and let it marinate for an hour to two hours. After enough time has passed, pull it out and you’re ready to serve!
Though broccoli draws some strong reactions from some people looking for a pure comfort food, it’s important to sneak your vegetables in whenever you can. In the case of this dish, all of the flavors combine so beautifully and smoothly that you’ll only be focused on creamy flavor and the crispy bacon! One thing’s for sure: your party guests are going to love this, no matter their age.
As always, there’s still room within these guidelines to put your own twist on this recipe. Instead of using the sunflower seeds we mentioned, you could throw in some sliced almonds instead to pair perfectly with the cranberry flavor. If you’re not partial to the cranberries you can always switch them out for raisins for a similar effect—or if you want an extra burst of fruit, you can add both! As anyone who’s had a delicious broccoli cheddar soup knows, cheddar cheese also goes perfectly with broccoli’s unique flavor and can be added in here as well. Above all, have fun with it and rest easy in the fact that you’re getting your veggies in!
Have you tried this recipe out for yourself? Let us know what you think in the comments.
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