Mama's Broccoli Salad

I remember my mom making this salad on several occasions. I LOVE it it's one of my favorite salads.
Might not be the best for my hips but nonetheless I love it!
There are so many versions of this favorite, different nuts can be used, no onions or dried cranberries instead of raisins. the variations are endless. you just adjust to make it your own...no judgement here :-)
Thanksgiving is coming up and this salad is a MUST!
It's a definite crowd pleaser.
Make sure you cut the broccoli real small, I just really don't like big chunks of broccoli in my salad...yuck.
The sauce is a mayonnaise & vinegar mix. Slightly sweet and tart but soooo creamy.
I used good thick hickory smoked bacon cut into strips (I used scissors to cut them into strips...so much quicker)
I used sweet vidalia onions, my husband really does not like onions. but for some reason he can tolerate the sweet vidalia onions. I think they have a softer "onion" taste than most other onions.
I like walnuts in my version of the salad. although I can't complain about the salads that used almonds or roasted salted peanuts! So your choice.
If you are making this ahead of time DON'T add the bacon until just before serving. if you add it too soon the bacon looses it's crunch and you are left with limp bacon (yuck!!!)
You can combine everything else though beforehand ;-)

Hope this recipe finds it's way to your table this holiday, It's so worth it!
























And since it's the "thankful month" here are some things I'm thankful for:

• My Awesome God and Heavenly Father, He has given me sooo much (see all bottom notes).
• My Loving, caring and did I mention handsomely hot husband who has been such a blessing to me, wouldn't want to go through life with anyone else! Thank you God for bringing him into my life!
• My two tornado toddlers who make my life complete. there is never a dull moment in our house with these to cuties! God has given them such precious characters I can definitely see God's hand print on them!
• Our beautiful house that God very generously provided for us! What a blessing to call this house our home! 
• A backyard, I know this might seem funny but it is soooo crucial to me. It's been such a blessing and relief to see my kids playing safely outside in their own yard! Can't beat that!

Well those are my thankful for the first 5 days in November! I'll update as I post.

I encourage you to make a list of "thankful's" you will be surprised and blessed by the outcome of the many blessings you have right in front of you! and yes pumpkin spice creamer is a thankful in my book lol

Mama's Broccoli Salad

Ingredients

salad

• 4 cups (1 large bunch) broccoli with stems chopped
• 1/2 cup Chopped onion
• 1/4 cup nuts chopped (walnuts, pecans, peanuts, almonds...your choice)
• 1/4 cup Raisins (or craisins) 
• 1/2 lb Bacon cooked and crumbled

dressing

• 3/4 cup Mayonnaise
•  1/4 cup White Sugar
• 2 Tbsp Vinegar

Directions

1. Mix together the broccoli, onion, nuts & raisins mix well.
2. In a small bowl combine the mayonnaise, vinegar and sugar. Mix until well incorporated, and the sugar is somewhat dissolved.
3. Pour sauce over salad and mix well to coat salad.
4. When ready to serve, top salad with crumbled bacon an mix slightly. 
5. Enjoy!!!

PS: Try mixing half broccoli and half cauliflower :-)

Recipe courtesy of my mom

Daring Cooks: Tzatziki Potato Salad

Jami Sorrento was our June Daring Cooks hostess and she chose to challenge us to celebrate the humble spud by making a delicious and healthy potato salad.
The Daring Cooks Potato Salad Challenge was sponsored by the nice people at the United States Potato Board, who awarded prizes to the top 3 most creative and healthy potato salads. A medium-size (5.3 ounce) potato has 110 calories, no fat, no cholesterol, no sodium and includes nearly half your daily value of vitamin C and has more potassium than a banana!

I Loved this challenge, any challenge that really does put my mind to work is awesome!
Well I am a firm lover of the original spud salad lol and am not to keen on the "healthy" versions I had tried so far (I know, I know they are better for the figure). After looking up healthy versions of potato salad I came across a few with yogurt. Yogurt didn't sound too bad and I use it often when I make curry so first I thought of a curry potato salad but alas I had no curry in my possession at the time and I was on a strict budget and had told myself to only use up what I had in the fridge and cupboards...sigh...I sometimes wish I was more adventurous and talented at combining different flavors and coming up with awesome recipes but I'm sadly not the best ;-) so when they said we had full reign with this one, my mind went everywhere lol
I finally settled on this tzatziki potato salad from Food&Wine. I love tzatziki sauce and I use it with a lot of my Greek and Iranian recipes. sooooo good

Here is some info on Tzatziki sauce:

Tzatziki is a Greek meze or appetizer, also used as a sauce. Tzatziki is made of strained yoghurt (usually from sheep or goat milk) mixed with cucumbers, garlic, salt, usually olive oil, pepper, dill, sometimes lemon juice and parsley, and sometimes mint added. Tzatziki is served cold.
While in Greece and Turkey the dish is usually served as an accompaniment, in other places tzatziki is often served with bread (loaf or pita) as part of the first course of a meal.

I ended up using organic Greek yogurt,fresh dill and mint leaves, I didn't have kirby cucumbers in the refrigerator but did have a regular cucumber...it worked great! I used Yukon petite potatoes and left the skin on (it keeps the nutrients in the potatoes ;-)...)
I added some crumbled goats cheese and would have added a little bit smoked salmon if I had it, but that is totally up to you ;-)

Hope you like it!

Tzatziki Potato Salad
Printable version

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
• 3/4 cup Greek-style, plain fat-free yogurt
• 1/4 cup light mayonnaise
• 3 Kirby cucumbers—peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (I used a regular cucumber)
• 1 serrano chile, seeded and thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 cup crumbled goats cheese (optional)
• smoked salmon to taste (optional)

Directions

1. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the potatoes and cook over high heat until tender, about 9 minutes. Drain, gently shaking out the excess water. Spread the potatoes on a baking sheet in a single layer and freeze for about 10 minutes, just until no longer warm. 
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk the yogurt with the mayonnaise until smooth. Add the cucumbers, chile, mint and dill, cheese. Fold in the potatoes, season with salt and pepper add smoked salmon and serve.

Make Ahead The potato salad can be refrigerated for 2 days.

Recipe adapted from Food&Wine