Whitney's Broccoli Salad with a Tangy Twist

I had this the first time at my friend Whitney's house. For my long time readers, you might remember her from my wine tasting parties last year.

I instantly LOVED it!

She often includes it if we're going to dinner at her house, because she knows we all love it. When we plan a weekend's worth of meals when our families play together at her lake cottages, I always suggest she make that.

It's so yummy!

Recently I attended at potluck meeting at Bob's school. His section of the alphabet had to bring either a side dish or salad. I instantly thought of Whitney's Broccoli Salad.

She'd told me what was in it, but I didn't have the actual recipe.

Being the procrastinator that I am, I waited until the very last minute. So I looked it up online. I've heard people mention how much they love Broccoli Salad, so I figured the recipe would be easy to find. And it was.

But, being Whitney, she always puts her own special twist on everything.

All the recipes I found for this salad called for raisins. But Whitney uses craisins! I don't have the slightest desire to even try it with raisins, because craisins are just perfect in it!



These quantities are approximate.

Whitney's Broccoli Salad
2 bunches of broccoli, florets
1/2 C craisins
1/2 C bacon, cooked & crumbled
1/4 C red onion, diced
1 C cheddar cheese, shredded
1 C cole slaw dressing

Toss all ingredients except dressing until well mixed. The toss with dressing until it's evenly coated.
This filled a 13 x 9 pan.

Chop the broccoli.


What to do with these?


Makes me kinda wish I had a bunny.

They're great for soup.

Or roasted... or sliced in stir fry... or grated in slaw or salad...

LOTS of stuff! Don't let all of those vitamins & fiber end up in your compost pile!

The Broccoli is ready!


Toss in Diced Onions.


Craisins (Whitney's tangy delicious twist!)


Bacon


Cheese


Toss until well mixed.


Add the Cole Slaw Dressing.


I used T. Marzetti Slaw Dressing. It's wicked good and I had to make this right after work, wicked fast, to bring to the pot luck. But you could totally make your own dressing. (and I'm sure it would be almost just as fast... but this was WAY easier for me!)



Toss to coat!


That's it! How easy is that?

Lots of you probably already know, since this is a popular salad.

But I urge you to try it with CRAISINS next time you make it!



You'll never go back to raisins!



Thanks Whitney! This is for you!!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Yup... still on a bit of a soup kick.

Last week was unseasonably cold. The Perry High Homecoming Game was also last week... in the rain... and below 40F! (Perry killed.... 31-0... YAY!)

I thought after a cold soggy night of cheering in the rain, Tawny would like some nice warm soup.

She used to LOVE the Broccoli Cheese Soup at Panera. After the game I excitedly let her know that I had just made some Broccoli Cheese Soup... just like she loves from Panera.

She had no recollection of ever having it!! UGH! I swear, she really did like it! I took her there a few times and she always ordered it and raved about it.

Did my soup spark her memory? NO! But she did like it! Whew!



Broccoli Cheese Soup (a copycat to Panera's Broccoli Cheese Soup)
2 TBLS butter, melted
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 C melted butter
1/2 C flour
4 C half-and-half
4 C chicken stock (or veggie stock for vegetarian version)
1 pound roasted broccoli (you can use raw)
2 cup carrots, julienned
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
16 oz grated sharp cheddar cheese

Saute onion in 2 TBLS butter. Set aside.

Cook melted butter and flour using a whisk over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Stir constantly and slowly add the half-and-half. Add the chicken stock whisking all the time. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the broccoli, carrots and onions. Cook over low heat until the veggies are tender for 20-25 minutes. Add salt and pepper. The soup should be thickened by now. Puree with stick blender. Turn heat to low and add the grated cheese; stir until well blended. Stir in the nutmeg and serve.

Garnish with Croutons.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Saute your onions... and set them aside.


Make a roux with the butter and flour.


Stirring constantly, slowly add half & half.


Whisk in chicken stock and simmer for 20 minutes.


Add Roasted Broccoli (I made extra earlier in the week)


And Julienned Carrots (please ignore my less than stellar knife skills!)


And onions to the soup.




Simmer 20-25 minutes, until veggies are tender.

So while that was simmering, I made some croutons.

I picked up a loaf of Olive Oil bread from the bakery at the grocery store.


Cut it into cubes and tossed it with Penzey's Sandwich Sprinkle.


Then I toasted them in a pan with a little olive oil.




Ok... veggies are tender... (and steamy)


Time to blend!


Blend until there are no chunks left.


Time to add the cheese!


Stir until the cheese is all melted.


Grate in a little nutmeg and stir that in.


Soup's on!


I love the golden color with the little flecks of green and orange and brown.


This is a wicked thick, rich soup. And even though I prefer brothy soups, I really enjoyed this soup. Tawny loves creamy soups and really liked this one.

Perfect soup for a damp chilly night!

Have a great weekend!

Roasted Broccoli

I don't remember when I started doing this. But probably within the last year, I realized that veggies totally ROCK when you roast them.

They are ready super fast and don't take much prep either.

We used to eat a lot of steamed broccoli, but roasted is BY FAR the favorite now!



No real recipe.

Enough Broccoli for your family
A bit of Olive Oil
Seasoned Salt & Pepper

Sometimes I add some big onion rings or minced garlic or some parmesan cheese.

Just lay it all out on a baking sheet in a single layer and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle on seasoned salt & pepper.



Throw on some onions or garlic or parm.

Put it into a 450F oven, until the edges just start to brown.

Lots of little browned edges...


That's it!

It's so easy... but sooo tasty!

Only Tawny & I eat broccoli stems and normally I wouldn't cook them. I knew I'd be making some Broccoli Cheese Soup later in the week, so I roasted those too.

Quick easy and the only veggie that everyone in my house actually likes.

Stay tuned for Broccoli Cheese Soup!