Sunshine Broccoli Salad

Somehow I never got around to posting this one this summer, but there is pretty much never a bad time to make this salad. The combination of sweet, salty, and crunchy makes it a dish that rarely has leftovers no matter how big a bowl you make. I always put a smaller dish aside when I take this somewhere to ensure I end up with some.

As always, when a recipe is not mine, I'm stating that right up front. This comes from Sweet Tea and Cornbread, and I thank her most sincerely for sharing!

I did take a couple of liberties with the ingredients based on what I owned. She uses sunflower seeds, but I chose Spanish peanuts (I left the skins on, but you can peel them if you'd rather). Instead of white vinegar I used cider vinegar, and since I didn't have a Vidalia onion I used a candy onion I picked up at the farmer's market.

First step is to combine the broccoli, onion, cheese, nuts, and raisins in a bowl. I decided after eating it I wasn't a fan of shredded cheese, so every time I've made it since I've diced the cheese instead. You can do whatever you want, of course... that's the beauty of salads!

In a separate bowl, make the dressing. You've probably seen these aluminum bowls in more than one of my posts; I have four of them in two different sizes, and I use them almost daily because they're amazing for a wide variety of uses. I just mixed the dressing with a fork instead of dirtying a whisk and then used that same fork to eat my dinner. I'm a big fan of saving dishes wherever possible.

After you add the dressing to the salad you're going to want to eat it immediately. Don't! It's not that it isn't tasty right away, it's that it gets exponentially better if you let it refrigerate for a few hours. I usually get to this point at night, intending to serve the salad for the next day's dinner.

Just before serving, add the cooked and crumbled bacon. If you add it too soon it'll lose its crispness. Which isn't necessarily bad, and it's not like you can't eat leftovers until they're gone (if, you know, you actually have any), but having the crisp bacon on top is definitely a treat.

This isn't particularly healthy, and it certainly isn't something you'd want to serve to a diabetic very often, but as a treat goes it's better than a lot of choices you could make. I tend to make it a few times a summer, varying types of onion and nuts depending on what mood I'm in and what I have on-hand.

Sunshine Broccoli Salad

Serves 8

1 large head of broccoli (about 4 cups when chopped into bite size pieces)
1 cup chopped sweet onion (I used Vidalia)
1 cup raisins or dried cranberries (I like to use the dried cranberries during the holidays especially)
1/2 cup shelled sunflower seeds (can substitute other nuts, walnuts, pecans, cashews)
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup mayonaisse
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbs. white vinegar
dash of salt and black pepper
6-7 slices of bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled

Again, this is not my recipe although the pictures are all mine. This comes to us courtesy of Sweet Tea and Cornbread.

Serving Size: 153 g

Calories: 331

Calories from Fat: 174

Total Fat: 19.3 g

Saturated Fat: 6.1 

Trans Fat: 0.0 g

Cholesterol: 40 mg

Sodium: 693 mg

Total Carbohydrates: 32.0 g

Dietary Fiber: 2.4 g

Sugars: 24.5 g

Protein: 11.3 g