Broccoli Salad

My high school friend Andrea invited our family over to watch some college football this past weekend and hang out with some other families.   They made some great kabobs and everyone brought a side dish to share.  One of the families brought a delicious Broccoli Salad..  Now, for those who know me, I can't stand to smell broccoli much less eat it.  But let me tell you, this salad was fantastic.  So thanks for the inspiration Melinda, here is my spin on Broccoli Salad.


INGREDIENTS:

2 heads of Broccoli
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
6 strips of cooked bacon cut into bite sized pieces
1 bottle of Sweet Vidalia Onion Salad Dressing ( I used Ken's brand)

Wash broccoli, chop into bite sized pieces and place in a large bowl.  Add carrots, cheese and bacon.  Pour entire bottle of Sweet Vidalia Onion salad dressing in bowl and toss into your broccoli.  Place in a covered tupperware in the fridge until ready to serve.  I would let it sit in the fridge for a couple of hours so that the dressing can marry with the veggies, so this is a definite "do ahead" dish. :)

Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Topping

INGREDIENTS
4 cups sweet potato, cubed

1/2 cup maple syrup

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 stick of butter (room temperature)

1/2 cup cream or half and half

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

 1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 tbsp Pumpkin Pie Spice

 1/4 cup orange juice

 PECAN TOPPING                   

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons butter, softened

1 cup chopped pecans

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees . Put sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan with water to cover. Cook over medium high heat until tender; drain and mash. (note:  you can certainly use canned sweet potatoes for this recipe as well)               
2. In a large bowl, mix together the sweet potatoes, maple syrup, eggs, salt, pumpkin pie spice, butter, cream, orange juice, brown sugar and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth. Transfer to a 9x13 inch baking dish.
3. In medium bowl, mix the brown sugar and flour. Cut in the butter until the mixture is coarse. Stir in the pecans. Sprinkle the mixture over the sweet potato mixture.
4. Bake in the preheated oven 30 minutes, or until the topping is lightly brown.