Much Ado about Broccoli

Yes I grow a garden but the big secret is that I really am not a huge vegetable lover.

If I had to pick a favorite it might be broccoli, and for this reason only...it's amazing with bacon.

Really what veggie is not great with it? What food can go wrong with bacon? Well none really. But I happen to know two easy and yummy recipes that are great with broccoli and bacon.

'Tis the season for fresh broccoli and sometimes a plethora that you might not know what to do with. Blanch and freeze the extra and then use the casserole recipe below during the winter months. Make the salad today, you won't be sorry...but find some friends to share it with 'cause you have to show off to someone and besides, the leftovers aren't good.

Broccoli salad, serves 8-12 as a side dish

~ 4 cups broccoli cut into bite size pieces

1/2 cup low salt peanuts or other nuts

bacon- 8 ish pieces fried and cut or cut and fried or bacos or smoked salmon (guessing this would work fine)

1/2 cup chopped green onions or red onions or no onion

-I like to make this salad usually the day before so I don't mix any ingredients I just put them into baggies and set them in my bowl 'till it's time to eat, this gets soggy quickly-

dressing

1 cup mayo or Veginaise

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup raisins, crasins, dried apricots (or grapes cut in half but I wouldn't add those to dressing)

2 T vinegar

mix well, chill for about an hour before eating

The first ingredient listed if there are options are normally what I use but I have tried others and are just as good. I think the flavor balance is there if you try the other things.

My favorite cooked broccoli dish:

Broccoli casserole (can use cauliflower)

9x13 pan size about one layer of broccoli or cauliflower, steam veggie 'till almost done, put back into 9x13

Mix up 1 cup mayo and about 2T mustard in a bowl, spread over veggies

Grate cheese to cover

Fry bacon and cut up sprinkle on top (I have used smoked salmon, also very good flavor)

Bake @ 350 for about 20 minutes, take to potluck, your food will be gone first.

3 Bean Salad

In my quest for not spending so much stinking money at the store, I have been learning more about dried beans, how to grind them for flour and how to put them in things more often to make meals stretch farther.

One of my favorite salads is homemade bean salad because I like the dressing. I made it the other day and have been snacking on it. I used only the things I already had here at home. The dressing is what makes it good, so you really can add what ever beans or veggies you want. Mine was not as colorful as normal, but still very tasty...

I'll list the recipe and what I used:

3 Bean Salad (can make 4 or 5 or 6 or 7 or 7 or 9 or 10 but not definitely not 11 bean)
1 can French green beans (I did not have these, I soaked and cooked soy beans)
1 can white wax beans (I did not have these, I soaked and cooked garbanzo beans)
1 can red kidney beans (I had these but opted for pinto since when soaked and cooked they stay together better than my kidney beans do)
1 sweet pepper, diced (I did not have these, but yellow and red make a pretty salad, I used celery)
1 whole onion, cut into rings

Dressing:
1 1/2 c sugar
2/3 c oil
2/3 c vinegar
1 tsp celery seed
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

Combine all in bowl or jar, chill for 6 hours or so before serving.

I keep mine in a large jar in the fridge, it lasts a long time as long as you don't share it.