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

Easy Italian Pasta Salad [+ Video]

This easy Italian Pasta Salad is a crowd-pleasing dish perfect for summer picnics or potlucks. Packed with fresh vegetables, cheese, pepperoni and dressed with a zesty homemade Italian dressing, this salad is sure to be a hit. Plus, check out the recipe video for step-by-step instructions!

Have you made our Greek Pasta Salad? It’s really good and one of the most popular recipes on our site. Here’s the thing though, not everyone is a fan of feta cheese, so we felt like we had no choice but to bust out an amazingly easy pasta salad recipe complete with mozzarella cheese, fresh and flavorful homemade Italian dressing, and meat and colorful vegetables galore.

There’s something about pasta salad recipes and summertime that just make the world happy. I get almost giddy the closer we get to summer just thinking about dusting off the BBQ and pulling out the lawn chairs for outdoor cookouts with friends. Make some grilled chicken and grilled corn on the cob with this pasta salad with Italian dressing, and you have yourself the perfect summer dinner!

What’s in Italian Pasta Salad?

I’ll be honest with you — our kids totally pick out some of the ingredients in this homemade pasta salad. Two of our kids love straight up cold pepperoni. So Cade and I are left to eat whatever’s leftover from this pasta salad with pepperoni. The joys of parenthood!

To make this pasta salad recipe, you’ll need:

• Rotini Pasta: Any short, sturdy pasta works great like penne, farfalle, fusilli, macaroni, etc.
• Pepperoni
• Salami
• Black Olives
• Mozzarella Cheese: Fresh mozzarella balls are preferred.
• Parmesan Cheese: freshly grated
• Bell Pepper: I prefer a red, yellow or orange bell pepper.
• Tomatoes: Grape or cherry tomatoes work great.
• Red Onion
• Italian Salad Dressing: You can grab some at the grocery store or make it at home with the recipe we’ve included below.

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

How to Make Italian Pasta Salad

Don’t let all the mix-ins fool you, this Italian pasta salad with pepperoni is as easy as it gets! It’s just a matter of cooking the pasta, choppi

Smoky BBQ Rub

Perfect for beef, chicken and especially pork, this Homemade BBQ Rub is what makes grilling so amazingly delicious. Just dig in!

We love this on grilled chicken, smoked brisket or pork ribs! It’s great on everything! Heck, I’d add it to roasted brussel sprouts or broccoli and it would be amazing! Ooh, and I totally need to do a salmon recipe with this rub too!

Why Make You’re Own Rub

In my opinion, rubs are a tastier alternative to marinating meat as they give a fuller flavor. We prefer to dry rub the meat so that it can get all flavorful before any BBQ sauce is even added. In fact, sometimes we enjoy meats dry because they are so good on their own.

Making your own seasoning blend is the best way to go since you can fine tune the ingredients to exactly what your palate is craving. Whether or not if you feel like having a sweet, spicy, or smoky flavor — or a mix of them all! — it is very easy to do when you start with the right base. It is great on meats that are smoked, grilled or roasted.

How to Make a Dry Rub

When creating any bbq dry rub, the base typically starts with your sugars and salts abd then you add spices for flavoring. 

Sugar

There are many different kinds of sugar (brown sugar, dark brown sugar, turbinado, regular refined sugar and so on) that will give you different flavors. Experiment to see what you like best, and keep in mind that it may be a combination of them as well.

Salt

There are a lot of different salts as well (kosher salt, sea salt, table salt…etc). We prefer kosher salt, but if you don’t have it, you can use table salt. See section below for the differences in salt.

Spices

After getting you sugars and salts picked out, move onto choosing how much and what kind of pepper to use, as well as the other spices that are typical among many rubs, like cumin, chili powder and paprika. Then, start adding in combinations of other spices to make it to your very own liking.

The best part about making a barbecue spice blend is that if you start with very small increments then it’s hard to screw up. When I first started playing around with how much to put in, I forgot to write down what I put in and how much, so don’t make that mistake :).

Here is one of our rub recipes that we really enjoy with any meat.

What’s in This Homemade BBQ Rub?

As I mentioned above, there are so many flavor combinations to choose from when creating a bbq dry rub. Here’s what we used in this particular recipe:

• Kosher Salt
• Brown Sugar
• Black Pepper
• Garlic Powder
• Onion Powder
• Chili Powder
• Smoked Paprika
• Thyme
• Grou

Honey Lemon Basil Grilled Chicken [+ Video]

Grilled chicken is the perfect meal for summer! Add a simple marinade of the best flavors, and you’ll be making this Honey Lemon Basil Grilled Chicken all summer long! It is a healthy and easy chicken recipe your whole family will enjoy!

Our easy grilled lemon pepper asparagus or our simple roasted garlic veggies make the perfect side dishes for this easy grilled chicken.

The marinade is made with just 4 ingredients and produces tender, juicy and plump chicken that is delicious on its own, or it can be sliced up and added to your favorite salad or pasta. Try it in our Lemon Chicken Caesar Panzanella Salad or in our 20 Minute Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta! It is also great just over some simple white rice.

One thing I like about Utah is that there are definitely 4 distinct seasons. While I enjoy certain seasons more than others (winter, I’m looking at you!), there is at least one thing I love about each season. Grilling is one of the things I love about summer!

Pulling the grill out or the Traeger just makes me happy! I love the smoky flavor of food on the grill, and I love getting friends or family together for a fun BBQ. Let’s get to the details of making this simple grilled chicken!

How to Marinate Chicken?

Creating perfectly grilled chicken starts with a good marinade. A marinade infuses the chicken with flavor and helps the chicken stay tender. For this easy grilled chicken recipe, just a few simple ingredients are needed. You probably have them in your house already. No need for a trip to the grocery store!

• Lemon zest: adds bright fresh flavor
• Fresh lemon juice: helps tenderize the chicken
• Honey: adds natural sweetness and helps caramelize the chicken
• Montreal seasoning: adds flavor

Combine all the marinade ingredients together and reserve a couple of tablespoons for later. Place the chicken thighs in a glass dish and pour the marinade over the chicken. Flip the thighs over so they get coated on each side. Cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for at least an hour (up to overnight).

Is It Healthy to Eat Grilled Chicken?

Yes! Skinless chicken is a healthy protein, though a chicken thigh is going to have more fat than a chicken breast. If you want a lean meal, go with a chicken breast. Our motto is balance and moderation in all things. Eating grilled chicken for every meal everyday wouldn’t be a healthy practice and pretty extreme, but a nice piece of grilled chicken paired with some healthy fruits and veggie

Mustard Carolina BBQ Sauce Instant Pot Beef Short Ribs

Beef short ribs that fall apart and are bathed in a tangy mustard based BBQ sauce from South Carolina! And you only need 30 minutes and an Instant Pot!

Cade grew up in South Carolina so we are always trying to find new ways to get back to his roots through delicious Southern food. These Instant pot beef short ribs smothered in mustard Carolina sauce is our latest and greatest! And our mustard sauce is the best with a couple of surprising ingredients you won’t believe!

You all have loved our world’s best Carolina pulled pork, so you’re going to go crazy for these short ribs! Pile them on top of some steakhouse smashed potatoes!

So make a side of Southern macaroni and cheese or this Southern English pea salad, and get all your favorite people around the table the for this one!

Ingredients for Mustard BBQ Beef Short Ribs

Before we jump into the recipe for these Instant Pot short ribs, you need to make the Carolina Barbecue Sauce. It is the most fabulous combination of ingredients you’re already going to have on hand. Here is what you need:

• Yellow Mustard
• Honey
• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Ketchup
• Brown Sugar
• Worcestershire Sauce
• Texas Pete’s or Franks Hot Sauce
• Butter
• Nutmeg
• Liquid Smoke

Those surprise ingredients…melted butter and nutmeg! I could almost drink this stuff it’s so good! Once the mustard sauce is made, you just need a few more ingredients…

• Beef Short Ribs
• Pineapple Juice: braising liquid
• BBQ Rub: Kosher Salt, Brown Sugar, Black Pepper, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Chili Powder, Smoked Paprika, Thyme, Ground Cumin and Nutmeg

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

We love our BBQ rub because it’s the best ever, but feel free to use whatever your favorite BBQ rub is! Once the sauce and rub are ready, then we can start the ribs!

How to Make Mustard Carolina BBQ Short Ribs

Our oven braised beef short ribs has been a popular recipe on the site for years, so we are speeding things up with this recipe and cooking them in the I