Summer Salad Swap: Broccoli Salad

Welcome to the Summer Salad Swap!
I am sharing one of my favorite salad recipes that we make all the time!
This is my mom's recipe and is also a staple in our house during the summer months.
We have had it 2 times this week already!

Broccoli Salad

Here is what you need:

Broccoli Florets (I use bagged Broccoli most of the time)
Bacon
Red Cherry Tomatoes
Yellow Cherry Tomatoes (when in season)
Red Onion (I used the pre-chopped red onion because my eyes are SO sensitive to cutting onions)

Wash & Rinse Broccoli Florets and put in salad bowl.

Chop Tomatoes in half:

Now for the Bacon. I use about 8 slices of bacon.
And, I cook my bacon on a cookie sheet in the oven.
So much easier than cooking it in a pan!
I line my cookie sheet with parchment paper.

I bake my bacon at 425 degrees for about 10-15 minutes.
Every oven is different. I check mine at 10 minutes & cook it longer if it isn't as crispy as I like it.

Yum. Bacon.

I let the bacon cool for about 10 minutes before I chop it up:

While your bacon is cooking, I make the dressing.
Here is what you need for the salad dressing:

1 cup Mayo
1/4 cup Sugar
3 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
Dash of Salt & Pepper.

Whisk all the Dressing Ingredients together.
**Note about the Dressing - Depending on how large you make your salad, you may need to adjust the measurements of the dressing. I like my Broccoli Salad to be lightly coated, not soaked in dressing.**

Add the tomatoes, red onion & bacon to the salad bowl.
Chill Broccoli Salad & Dressing (separately) in the fridge for at least an hour before serving.

Toss & Coat with Dressing about 15 minutes before you serve it.

If you have a great Summer Salad Recipe, Grab a Button and add your recipe to the linky below.
And, be sure and check out the other recipes that are linked up!


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Summer: It's half over.

Summer. It's halfway over.
That makes me want to cry.
The "back to school" dreams/nightmares have already started. Ugh.
Here are some Insta-Highlights from the past week which was officially the Halfway mark.

Sunday after church we watched the US Women lose in a heart-breaking shoot-out to Japan in the World Cup Finals. We turned the game on & Claire ran outside to get her soccer ball.
The former soccer player in me rejoiced!
Her & Kate played "soccer" during most of the first half.
Did you know 20 years ago, on 7-17-91, I became a Christian & I prayed this prayer at summer camp. I was 12. Best decision I ever made.

{Romans 10:9-13}

Sunday was also National Ice Cream Day.
Target had Ben & Jerry's on sale. Milk & Cookies = YUM.
But my favorite was the new flavor, Bonnardo Buzz.
Coffee Ice cream with Heath Bar? YES, please.

Monday night Wendy & Jess came over to watch SYTYCD.
Wendy was pretending to be Cat Deely.
(Wendy is on a chair because she is short)
I LOVE SYTYCD!
Do you watch? Kate's ballet/tap teacher was Ashley
(She got voted off 2 weeks ago. So Sad. She is such a good dancer & SO nice!)

I made chocolate dipped strawberries to eat as we watched.

They made fun of me because I had Full House on my DVR. So what if I am 32 & DVR Full House. Does that make me dorky or Awesome? I vote Awesome.
Full House is one of the greatest shows. I watched it every Friday night as a kid. Who's with me?

Kate had a fever earlier this week. No fun.
Sunflowers in the summer make me happy:
Know what I love about summer? Weekday mornings with no schedule & we can hang out around the house & make pancakes for breakfast.

Organizing Library books. Yes, they checked out Amelia Bedilia. Awesome.
Poolside Princess Dinner.

Fabric for Claire's Birthday Party:

Princess Obsession at this house. They ate lunch with us.

Whoever invented Slow Melt popsicles is a genius. They are actually slow melting.

Riding the plasma car in the house? Why not!?!

Last night we had a date night to go see Harry Potter.
Big Harry Potter fans here. I thought the movie was great!
Cupcake toppers for Jordis' Birthday party this weekend:
Have you had this Sweet Tea before? I should have been born in the South because I am OBSESSED with Sweet Tea. They don't serve Sweet Tea here in California. I found this brand last summer & I am in LOVE.

Making the best chocolate chip cookies EVER (with pudding in the mix)

Recipe HERE.

Kate is doing so great at her swim team/swim lessons. She has improved so much!
Her teacher has been teaching her freestyle for the past week.

This picture makes me happy. It is our backyard after a pool playdate yesterday. Love the pool towels & suits hanging out to dry & all the pool toys piled up. One of my favorite things about this house is being able to have pool playdates!

Hope the first half of your summer has been great!
Now, I am going to go cry that it is halfway over. Wahhhh!!!

Linking up with:

And, don't forget, the Summer Salad Swap is Wednesday 7.27.11

Summer Salad Swap

One of my favorite things about summer is that we BBQ all the time & rarely use my stove or oven (unless I am baking)!

Our summer menu looks a little this:
BBQ Chicken
Tri-Tip/Steak
Salmon or Tilapia grilled on the BBQ
Pulled Pork Sandwiches
Hot Dogs
Hamburgers
Taco Salad
Chicken Apple Sausages
Grilled Chicken Sandwiches

With each of these meals, I make a salad to go with it.
{Mixed Green Salad with Dried Cranberries, Mandarin Oranges & Sugared Pecans}

I have a handful of salads that I rotate through.....
Pasta Salad, Orzo Salad, Caprese Salad, Green Salads, Brocolli Salad, Spinach Salad, etc.
{Spinach Strawberry Salad with Poppyseed Dressing}

But, I am getting sick of my salad rotation & need some fresh new ideas.
This is where you guys come in!
Next Wednesday, I am having a Summer Salad Swap Recipe Linky!
{Orzo with Shrimp}

I had so much fun with the Cookie Exchange in December and the Cupcake Carnival in May and loved getting new recipes, so I thought I would do one for Summer Salads!
{Broccoli Salad with Bacon & Tomatoes}

So, come back next Wednesday, July 27 & link up your favorite summer salad recipes and come check out what other people share!
{You can grab a button on the side bar}

I will be linking up my Broccoli Salad (see picture above)
I hope you will join in!

For the love of Strawberries.

I don't know about you, but we LOVE strawberries.

Summer means Strawberry season.
Every summer kicks off with us making homemade strawberry jam.
Here is our part of our jam stash that we made this summer.
It lasts us all year & I make extra to give as gifts.

Jam Tutorial & Recipe HERE.

We us our jam for PB&J, but my favorite it putting it on buttermilk biscuits or English muffins!

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I also wanted to share 2 other yummy recipes that use strawberries.
Here is a super easy & simple salad:
Spinach & Strawberry Salad with Poppyseed Dressing

All you need is a bag of fresh spinach, a red onion (I used pre-diced onions because my eyes are SO sensitive to cutting onions!), a container of strawberries, a bag of sliced almond accents & a poppyseed dressing.

Wash & Slice up your strawberries and then throw everything in a salad bowl.
Toss with the poppyseed dressing & voila! You have a delicious & healthy salad!

This salad is perfect for summer & it is also a great salad to make for wedding/baby showers!

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Frozen Strawberry Pie

Here is what you need:
Graham Cracker Crust
3 oz cream cheese (about half a block)
1 14 oz can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/2 pint of whipping cream, whipped (I bet you could use Cool Whip, but I haven't tried that)
3 T lemon juice
1 1/2 cup strawberries, pureed (I use my blender)
In your electric mixer, whip 1/2 pint of the whipping cream.
In another bowl, beat cream cheese & sweetened condensed milk.
Stir in strawberries & lemon juice.
Fold in whipped cream.
Pour into graham cracker crust.
Freeze for 4 hours (or overnight)

I let the pie sit out for 30 minutes before I serve it (to soften it up)
Then, I garnish each piece with some whip cream & sliced strawberries.

(I usually garnish with more sliced strawberries, but I ran out!)
It is a yummy pie & tastes like strawberry ice cream, but not as heavy.
Enjoy!