Broccloi Salad

Seems like we've been doing a lot of pot luck type gatherings lately. I love it! I love getting together with friends & not being in charge of the whole meal. And getting to try out everybody else's recipes is always great, too! In fact, this last BBQ, where I took this super yummy broccoli salad, there was a gal who brought a 'salad' (I use that term loosly! LOL) but it was only 3 ingredients. Diced up green apples, chopped up snickers candy bars & just enough cool whip to hold it all together. My first thought was 'really? Eww.' Then I tried it. Oh my holy goodness! You just might find that one on here soon!! It was like a big bowl of caramel apples! Annnnnnnnnnnnnyway! LOL Sorry about that! Focus, Michelle. FOCUS! This is a recipe that I've been making for along, long time. And I never get tired of it. You get the fresh crunch of the broccoli offset by the sweet raisins, salty cashews, zip of the onion & tang of the cider vinegar. It's party for your mouth!! Dig in!

You're gonna need:

Broccoli (you can get an enormous bag of pre-cut stuff at Costco for $4!), cashews, raisins, shredded cheese, onion, mayo, sugar & cider vinegar.

Have you seen this thing? It's for dicing onions. I'm not generally a fan of one-purpose kitchen tools but this one is So totally worth it. My eyes are extremely sensitive to onions so being able to do the work with one big push is just brilliant! You can find these things new at the "as seen on TV" section at Target for about $20 - or I just saw one this week at the thrift store for $2... guess not everyone was feeling the love!

Look at that! Perfect.

Throw your broccoli, cheese, onion, cashews & raisins together in a big bowl & toss them around. Set it aside while you make the dressing.

The dressing's just the mayo, cider vinegar & sugar. Mix 'em well with a whisk. You don't *have to* do it with a whisk but it breaks down the chunks of mayo really well.

Now - if you're having this right away go ahead & mix it. if not, keep them apart & stick them both in the fridge until you're ready to serve it up. I'd say don't mix it much more than about 15 minutes before you want to serve.

Oh - you're ready now!? LOL OK - let's mix!

YUM! Yum, yum. Enjoy!

Broccoli Salad:

8-10 cups broccoli florets
1 cup cheese, shredded (I use cheddar jack, would be fine with straight cheddar, too)
1 cup raisins
1 cup cashews
1 small onion, diced
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup white sugar

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl combine remaining ingredients.

Just before serving combine salad with dressing; stir to coat well.