Our BEST Broccoli Salad [+ Video]

This Broccoli Salad is a delicious blend of crisp, fresh broccoli, savory bacon, and creamy dressing, creating the perfect balance of flavors. It’s an easy-to-make, crowd-pleasing dish that’s ideal for any occasion, from weeknight dinners to summer BBQs and potlucks. Smoky, crunchy, and utterly satisfying!

Made with cheese, raisins, and sunflower seeds, this really is the BEST broccoli bacon salad recipe! It can be prepped in advance too!

Easy Broccoli Bacon Salad with Cheese

When I was dating my husband, he surprised me one night with an amazing home cooked meal. He picked me up after I had attended a bridal shower and took me back to his apartment so that we could work on our Anatomy and Physiology lab. When I walked in, he had made steak, rolls, loaded baked potatoes, and Broccoli and Cheese Sauce. I thought, “Oh no!! he has no idea how much I hate broccoli.”

I was so impressed with everything that I didn’t want to hurt his feelings, so I dug in. IT. WAS. DELICIOUS. Oh, I still can taste it. That was the first food he had ever cooked for me and he blew me away. Everything was fantastic, including the broccoli.

This man has changed my life in many ways, but definitely in the food department that night. From that night onwards, I started trying all sorts of new things that Cade loved (but never Sushi. I still don’t eat that even though he loves it and continually tries to convince me).

What’s Needed for Cold Broccoli Bacon Salad?

To make the broccoli bacon salad, you’ll need:

• Broccoli Florets
• Golden Raisins
• Craisins (dried cranberries)
• Sunflower Seeds
• Cooked Bacon
• Frozen Peas
• Red Onion

And to make the simple salad dressing, you’ll need:

• Mayonnaise
• Granulated Sugar
• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Shredded Colby Jack Cheese

The measurements for all the ingredients can be found in the recipe card down below. Keep scrolling for all the details!

How to Make Broccoli Bacon Salad

This cold broccoli salad comes together quickly! Here are the basic steps to making this recipe:

1. In a large bowl, stir together the broccoli, onion, raisins, craisins, and frozen peas.
2. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the simple salad dressing.
3. Pour the dressing over the broccoli mixture and toss well to coat.
4. Just before serving, add the crumbled crispy bacon and sunflower seeds and toss to evenly distribute.

The

Copycat Café Rio Cilantro Lime Rice [+ Video]

Craving the fresh, zesty flavor of Café Rio’s cilantro lime rice? This copycat recipe brings the perfect balance of fluffy rice, tangy lime, and aromatic cilantro, making it the ideal side dish for tacos, burritos, or even just a delicious bowl on its own. With a few simple ingredients, you can recreate that vibrant, savory taste at home.

*This is a sponsored post due to my partnership with the Utah Dairy Council.

I’ve found that when I make Mexican food lately I really want rice and beans with it, just like the restaurants do. I didn’t used to care, but I’ve really grown to like the rice and beans. We especially love how easy this rice is. There’s a touch of butter in the rice too. Let’s not forget that. A little dairy can totally change a dish for the better. True story.

I’ll include a whole section below for recreating a whole Café Rio meal that includes this easy rice recipe! Mmmm…now I’m craving some Café Rio!

Ingredients for Cilantro Lime Rice

Whether you’re planning to eat this rice as a side dish for some chicken fajitas or as the base for burrito bowls, you’re family is going to love it! Let’s jump further into the all the ingredients you will need!

• Rice: Just regular long-grain white rice will work great. Jasmine rice and basmati rice would also work.
• Water: used to cook the rice
• Unsalted Butter: adds richness and flavor
• Chicken Bouillon: Adds flavor to the rice as it simmer.
• Garlic: Fresh minced garlic will give you the best flavor.
• Cilantro: You can’t have too much fresh cilantro in my opinion, so grab a bundle from the produce section of the grocery store and chop it up.
• Lime: Fresh lime juice is definitely preferred, but if you don’t have lime, the bottled lime juice will work.
• Diced Green Chiles: I like to leave the juice in for added flavor. You can dial up the spice here with medium or hot canned chiles. We stick with mild in our house.

The measurements and details for each recipe can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.

How to Make Cilantro Lime Rice on the Stove Top

I almost always cook rice on the stove top these days. I used to be loyal to the rice cooker, but as time has gone on, I’ve found myself enjoying being a little more hands on with rice. It takes a tiny bit more work, but for me, it’s worth it. Here are the steps for making this cilantro lime rice recipe including a photo of each s

Easy and impressive poblano corn chowder has serious comfort food power. Gather your ingredients and be ready to gather the praises that will be heaped on you when folks dunk a spoon into a big bowl of this flavorful chicken, corn, and potato chowder with a hint of heat from roasted poblano chiles.

Potato Corn Chowder

Chowder is the king of the soup world, in my opinion. You can chowder-ify just about anything and there’s no time of year when it isn’t welcome at the table. Today’s soup is a particularly delightful addition to the category, though.

Roasted poblano peppers add just enough warmth to keep you coming back for bite after bite without being so rich that you’re filled with regret. The chicken makes this into a satisfying meal-in-one!

Corn Chowder with Poblano

Don’t let the length of the list intimidate you: these are all easy to find items many of which you likely have on hand already. To make this comforting corn and poblano chowder, you’ll need the following ingredients:

• butter
• onion 
• celery
• garlic
• potatoes
• chicken stock
• ground cumin
• dried oregano
• kosher salt
• black pepper
• frozen corn
• poblano chiles
• cooked chicken
• heavy cream
• limes
• cilantro

Read more

Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad

The best pasta salad recipe must have a delicious dressing and this chicken Caesar pasta salad has exactly that. Juicy chicken breast, crunchy croutons and crisp romaine lettuce are tossed together with spiraled pasta and sharp parmesan cheese making one of my daughter’s favorite pasta salad recipes ever.

Ingredients for Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad Recipe

I always like to see a quick overview of the ingredients I’m going to need for a recipe so here is everything you’re going to need:

Salad

• Chicken Breasts: You will cook these ahead of time and chop into bite-sized pieces.
  • SUBSTITUTION: If you want to skip cooking chicken, you could use a rotisserie chicken.
• Salt: used to season the water that you boil the pasta in
• Cavatappi Pasta: Rotini also works great. You want a hearty pasta with lots of nooks and crannies to catch all that yummy dressing!
• Caesar Croutons: Any store bought brand will work great.
• Romaine Lettuce: Rinse and dry it before chopping it up.
• Parmesan Cheese: Grab a block of parmesan that you can shave yourself!

Dressing

• Mayonnaise: acts as the base for the creamy dressing
• Plain Greek Yogurt: lightens up the dressing a little and adds good protein
• Lemon Juice: adds acidity and brightness
• Champagne Vinegar: If you can’t find champagne vinegar, white wine vinegar will work too.
• Dijon Mustard: adds flavor
• Worcestershire Sauce: adds flavor
• Garlic: You’ll grate it with a microplane or use a garlic press to get it really fine.
• Parmesan Cheese: You want the powdery kind from the can for the dressing. It gives the dressing that signature Caesar flavor.
• Salt and Black Pepper: adds flavor

The measurements for all the ingredients can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.

How to Make Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad

I know, you’re probably thinking that you’ll just buy a Caesar salad kit from the store and just add pasta and call it good, but I swear to you, this homemade salad dressing will be such a game changer! If you have the time, make this chicken Caesar salad with pasta from scratch. It’s really so simple! Here are the steps:

1. Cook the Pasta: Get a large pot of salted water boiling over medium-high heat and add the pasta once the water is boiling.
2. Cook the Chicken: While you are waiting for the water to boil and for the pasta to cook, get the chicken cooking. You can gril

Welcome to the weekend, my friends! It’s a drizzly warm weekend here in Ohio, and I am happily here for it. My weekend plan is to be on the couch with a stack of books or out for a walk, as long as the weather cooperates.

If you are on TikTok, (full disclosure, I am just not that cool) my brother (Hi, Miles!) has an account that I love. (And yes, I can see it using my computer – again, I’m just not TikTok cool.) 

Anyways, if you’re into homesteading, DIY projects, schoolie life, or just enjoy watching someone else getting things done (yes, that’s me!), it’s a lot of fun to watch. You can check it out here: https://www.tiktok.com/@miles_3m 

IN THE KITCHEN THIS WEEK: Calling all shrimp lovers! These flavorful and satisfying Shrimp Quesadillas with bright bell peppers are fast enough for busy schedules and special enough for company. As a matter of fact, I liked them so much, I made them two days in a row for my lunches last week.

I just put this Noodle Stir Fry with Chicken and Cabbage back on my meal plan. I would be thrilled to eat this weekly. I seriously love it.

Need a super easy brunch that will impress a crowd? Elegant and easy to make, Puff Pastry Danishes are flaky, crispy-edged breakfast pastries that you can customize for everyone at your table. This easy danish recipe comes together almost too quickly to be believed.

This Steak and Mushroom Skillet delivers all the flavors I crave in a great restaurant steak. Lucky for all of us, that steak has been transformed into a quick stir fry that can be made even on the busiest of nights.

Quick and easy Chicken Fajitas are simple to make with just five ingredients! These fajitas are filled with great flavors from peppers, onions, chicken strips, and spices.

Lemon Posset is creamy, velvety 3-ingredient lemon pudding that is impossibly simple and satisfying. It’s impressive as can be and proof that old-school techniques can yield very happy modern results!

Almond-flavored ice cream swirled with buttery toasted almonds? Yes, please! Each bite of Almond Ice Cream is an irresistible combination of creamy smooth ice cream and those crunchy buttered almonds. 

My FAVORITE THING this week is this ice cream scoop. Several years ago, I ordered and tested every unique ice cream scoop I could find online or in stores. With over 150 ice cream recipes, I