Broccoli Salad with Walnuts and Cranberries

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I need to get motivated.  Sometimes in the summer I have a hard time motivating myself to get things done.  It’s not that I don’t do anything.   It’s because I don’t work full time in the summer so it’s harder for me to get motivated.  I often sleep in (well to 7am) and I have trouble getting started in the mornings.

The work that I do in the summer in for my blog.   That means I’m often sitting down typing on the computer and editing photos.  If it’s a day where I’m cooking and baking then I can usually motivate myself.   I get a few hours in of running around the house on those days and once I start cooking I’m pretty motivated.

So the other day I decided to prepare cold salads for the entire week.  I figured we could eat them as part of our lunches and even as side dishes for our dinners.   I like preparing a few things on the weekends that we can eat all week.  Even though I’m not going to school during the week I still like to do my heavy cooking and baking on the weekends because my husband is usually gone most of the day and I can totally mess up the kitchen and dining room.

This week one of the dishes I made is a delicious Broccoli Salad with Walnuts and Cranberries.   I’ve made broccoli salad before and it was decent but I was looking for one that had a little more flavor and texture to it.  I happen to have a big bag of broccoli in the refrigerator so I went with it.

The dressing was made from mayonnaise, sour cream, vinegar, salt, and pepper.  It’s a very simple dressing but it works well with the broccoli.   Then I added in some bacon, red onions, and cheddar cheese.    Finally I tossed the salad with chopped walnuts and dried cranberries.

The broccoli salad was delicious!  I liked that the dressing was light and creamy.  I was afraid it would be a little weird with the cranberries but it wasn’t at all. The cranberries added a nice tartness to the salad while the walnuts and broccoli added crunch.  The bacon added a ton of flavor and just the right amount of salt.

This would be a great salad to take to summer parties and picnics.  I like how fresh it tastes because the base of it is raw broccoli.  Even though the dressing is creamy it’s still a good bit healthier then a traditional pasta or macaroni salad.

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Broccoli Salad with Walnuts and Cranberries

Yield: serves 8

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

A crisp broccoli salad mixed with bacon, cheese, walnuts, and cranberries make for a fresh summer salad.

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Ingredients

• 1/4 c. mayonnaise
• 1/4 c. sour cream
• 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• salt and pepper
• 4 c. broccoli, chopped
• 3 Tablespoons red onion, chopped
• 4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1/2 c. cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/2 c. walnuts, chopped
• 1/2 c. dried cranberries

Instructions

1. In a small bowl combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper. Mix well until combined.
2. In a large bowl combine the broccoli, red onion, bacon, cheese, walnuts, and cranberries. Toss to combine.
3. Add the dressing to the broccoli salad and toss until everything is well combined.
4. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Notes

Recipe adapted fromFlavor Mosaic