Category Archives: Salad

Broccoli Madness Salad

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Broccoli SaladMMM…mmm..broccoli. One of my favourite vegetables. Hubby and I visited Sweet Tomatoes when we were down in Florida a few years ago, and we left thinking, I wish we had them in Canada! Such a great restaurant, I stumbled on this version of their broccoli salad over at Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice. We loved the restaurant, we love broccoli AND I was asked to bring salad when going to a friend’s house. The starts aligned. I made it, and it was the best broccoli salad I have made to date! Did I already say Yum?

Ingredients
Salad:
  • ½ cup cashews- toasted
  • 1 big head broccoli
  • 6 slices cooked, chopped bacon
  • ⅓ cup dried cranberries
  • ¼ cup thinly-sliced red onion – I used white
Dressing:
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • ⅓ cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • salt and pepper, to taste
 1. Gently blanche broccoli by putting it in boiling water for 2 minutes. Dump and rinse with ice water.
2. Combine this with cashews, bacon, dried cranberries and sliced onion.
3. Combine dressing ingredients. Toss with broccoli mixture. Let sit for 10 minutes. Toss again before serving.
4. Eat and enjoy!

Potato Salad

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Potato SaladIt’s time for a special edition of The Secret Recipe Club ! This round the whole club is getting together to get you ready for the summer. That is right, you will find all your picnic and BBQ needs in the recipes below. And what does every BBQ need. Well obviously dessert, that is a must for any function, but also no BBQ is complete without Potato Salad . Yes, potato salad is an absolute must. I was assigned Dancing Veggies , a lovely little blog. From the title alone, I new I would be picking a side dish, often the hardest part of a meal to plan. With plenty of recipes to choose from, German Chocolate Brownies , Green Bean Salad , possibly some Sour Red Cabbage . But I thought the basic potato salad recipe would be best, because that is something every house needs. This recipe turned out to be just perfect.  Don’t change a thing!

  • 2.5 lbs white or butter potatoes, halved
  • 4 eggs, hard-boiled
  • 1 Vidalia onion, chopped
  • 2 tbsp yellow mustard
  • 1/2 cup olive oil based mayo
  • 1 tbsp pickle juice
  • generous amounts salt and pepper
  • 1/2 tbsp paprika
  1. Boil potatoes, in a large pot of salted water. Drain, when tender, and rinse with cold water. Place in serving bowl, with peeled and chopped hard-boiled eggs, and onion.
  2. Combine mustard, mayo, S&P and pickle juice. Fold into potato mixture. Top with paprika. Refrigerate.
  3. Eat and enjoy!

Asian Cucumber Sesame Salad

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cucumber saladHaving a food blog, we eat a wide variety. Not just because of the blog, I am just a plain old recipe hoarder. For some reason, we seem to have the same vegetable side dishes over and over. And I am bored! Sick of caesar salad, sick of frozen peas, sick of glazed carrots. So I went hunting, and found this gem, which went lovely with our actual main course, pork stir-fry, rice and potstickers. This recipe makes a large batch, and I just went with it, as we were having company. The leftovers don’t hold up well though, so when it’s just our fam of five, I will certainly cut it in half. For a veggie side dish though, it had plenty of yum!

Recipe from Recipe Runner

Asian Cucumber Sesame Salad
  • 2 large English/Hothouse cucumbers, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
Dressing
  • 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
  • 2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
  • 2 teaspoons agave nectar – I was out, used corn syrup
  • 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely grated
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • Black pepper to taste
  1. Cut cucumbers, place in colander. Top with salt. Let sit for 30 minutes, then wipe of excessive water with clean cloth, or paper towel.
  2. Combine dressing ingredients. Toss cucumber in dressing. Top with sesame seeds.
  3. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving.
  4. Eat and enjoy!

Broccoli Noodle Salad with Peanut Sauce

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Noodle SaladMy hubby doesn’t love when I start adding peanut butter to everything under the sun. So I tried this out for lunch one day when he wasn’t even here. He missed out. Peanut butter certainly isn’t just for sandwiches anymore. I do love peanut butter, so I can see why some people would need a break now and again. Not me though, I could quite happily eat peanut butter, in my sandwiches, baking, and apparently even in my noodles. I am a peanut butter aholic. Because we tried this one out with out him, and all really liked it, it may make its way back into the meal plan sometime when he is here. It was super yummy, and came together quickly, so my suggestion, just add peanut butter.

Recipe from Allrecipes

  • 1 pound thin spaghetti
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 1/2 cup lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
  • 2 Tbsp. minced garlic
  • 1 pound broccoli, cut into florets
  1. Whisk together peanut butter, orange juice, lemon juice, soy sauce and sugar.
  2. Cook spaghetti until al dente. Drain, set aside.
  3. Heat oil in large skillet. Cook onion, garlic and green pepper until onion is tender. Add sauce and broccoli. Cook over medium heat until broccoli is tender. Add pasta, toss to coat.
  4. Serve warm, room temperature, or cold. The preference is really up to you.
  5. Eat and enjoy!