Recipes

[Carol1229]

OK, I admit it, I'm HOOKED on salads of all kinds this summer. I love trying new recipes for them and the weirder the combination-the better they sound to me.

I've had broccoli salad at my friend Susan's house-we really enjoy it. That led me to make a few twists on the classic-the Strawberry Broccoli Salad and now this one.

I base my menus on what's on sale come grocery shopping time. The last time we went shopping, fruit was cheaper than most of the fresh vegetables (COME ON vegetable garden-start growing!), and the best deal on fresh vegetables was fresh broccoli. I had seen different versions for Broccoli Grape Salad-one other one that looked interesting had pasta in it. Since we were still enjoying the Mexican Pasta Salad, I decided to put that aside for another time and go searching for other ideas.

I ran across this recipe, took a look at the ingredients, had everything, so off to the kitchen I went.

This is so doggone easy to toss together. I decided to use both red and green grapes since I had nice ones of each variety. When I make broccoli salads, I cut the florets apart and coarse chop them-along with the stems of the broccoli. They have great crunch and....I hate to waste food!

The original recipe called for cashews....I had some left from the Strawberry Broccoli Salad but wanted something different. Bob suggested peanuts. I used the lightly salted ones-what a nice addition.

Now for the dressing........I don't mind using SOME mayonnaise in dressings but I don't like just mayonnaise based dressings. I also don't care for salads drenched in dressing-I like just enough dressing on a salad to give it flavor and not puddle at the bottom of the bowl.

I decided to cut the dressing in half and substitute one of my favorite ingredients, plain low fat Greek yogurt, for half of the mayonnaise. I cut back on the sugar and swapped white vinegar for apple cider vinegar. I used rounded 1/4 cupfuls of both the mayonnaise and yogurt...with the other ingredients, that made the PERFECT amount of dressing.

Oh my gosh-is this ever GOOD. One bite and Bob said "whatever you do-DO NOT lose this recipe." Oh don't worry-I won't! I made it at Robin's last Saturday afternoon for her salad party-everybody loved it. There was a spoonful left that Robin said "DON'T THROW IT AWAY-I'll eat it later."

I can safely say this one is a keeper in this house. Be sure to check out the blog for some wonderful recipe ideas,


Carol



BROCCOLI GRAPE SALAD
(Source: adapted from Point-less Meals-original recipe found HERE)

4 c. coarsely chopped broccoli florets
2 c. halved red seedless grapes
2 c. halved green seedless grapes
4 green onions, thinly sliced
6 strips bacon, cooked crisp and chopped
Rounded 1/4 c. low-fat mayonnaise
Rounded 1/4 c. plain low-fat Greek yogurt
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1/2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 c. lightly salted peanuts

Combine the chopped broccoli, red grapes, green grapes, green onions and chopped bacon in a large bowl; stir to mix.

For the dressing, in a medium bowl, combine the mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, sugar and cider vinegar; whisk until combined and smooth.

Pour the dressing over the broccoli mixture, stir to coat. Cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight.

Just before serving add the peanuts; toss to combine. 6-8 servings.