Last night I was just not feeling that whole cooking dinner thing.
But, there were these people in my house expecting a meal and that meal wasn't fixing itself.
I took inventory of the vegetable bins in the fridge and decided that a cold, crunchy Broccoli Salad would be a great alternative to anything I could bake, boil, grill, or saute.
I jumped onto Pinterest to see what folks are putting in their Broccoli Salads these days.
Don't you just love Pinterest?
What did we do 4 years ago, before it came along?
I mean, what can't you find there?
Did you know that if you search for unicorns on Pinterest, you'll get a picture of Ringo Starr, holding a drumstick on top of his head, resembling . . . a unicorn ?!
Yep, it's there.
You're welcome.
But, I digress.
Uhm, I found a lot of recipes for Broccoli Salad.
Some have raisins.
Others have currants.
And still others call for dried cranberries.
I saw recipes with different nuts and seeds, too:
cashews, pecans, sunflower seeds, and others.
I even found one recipe that had coconut in it! I might just have to give that a try sometime . . .
Oh, and the dressings varied, too.
Some were creamy.
I found some that were Asian-inspired.
Others were vinaigrettes.
I had a good old time just clicking around and getting ideas for my own concoction.
Of course, I was getting this bright idea after 5 p.m. so it's not like I was going to run down to the store to buy a bunch of ingredients. I needed to feed the hungry family, pronto.
So, I made do with what I had on hand and it was a huge hit!
Now, it's not every day that I fix a meal that everyone is on board with.
And it's not because I'm a bad (or even mediocre) cook.
I just have some . . . we'll say . . . discerning critics living with me.
I ended up using chopped onion, chopped broccoli, dried cranberries, broken pecans, Hormel Real Crumbled Bacon, and Kraft Balsamic Vinaigrette.
I usually don't measure things, and this time was no exception.
Handful of this, splash of that.
Taste.
Hmmm, I think I'd like it better with more of those cranberries.
Perfect!
Everyone ate it and enjoyed it.
There was just enough for a little bowl left over for my lunch, which I savored.
I really liked that Broccoli Salad.
There's none left.
I can't wait to make it again.
I guess you could say I'm a little bit obsessed with the thought of having it again.
Do you have a favorite summer salad?
Or is there one you once had and wish you had the recipe for?
Maybe it's sitting there on Pinterest, like all those various Broccoli Salads.
I'd love to hear what you're cooling off with.
