Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Five Prizes

How do you make broccoli salad?

When I compiled and wrote FLAVORED WITH LOVE, which includes recipes from my friends and family, I published two broccoli salad recipes because I liked both of them.

I've been wondering whether some of you have other ideas about making broccoli salad. Send me your recipe at MaryLCheatham at gmail.com. The contributors of the five best broccoli salad recipes will receive free copies of FLAVORED WITH LOVE!

Please send me your recipe by March 30, 2010.

1. Broccoli Salad
1 bunch broccoli (Use only the flowerets.)
½ cup red onion
½ cup sunflower seeds
½ cup raisins
½ cup chopped pecans
1 cup celery

Combine the above ingredients.

Dressing
1 cup Miracle Whip® (We use the low fat.)
¼ cup white vinegar
¼ cup sugar

Combine the dressing ingredients and stir the dressing into the salad.

2. Broccoli Salad
4 cups broccoli
½ cup raisins
½ cup nuts
½ cup onion
½ cup celery
½ cup real bacon bits
½ cup light mayonnaise
½ cup sugar
¼ cup vinegar (apple cider or white)

Mix the first 6 ingredients. Make a sauce out of the mayonnaise, sugar, and vinegar. Pour the sauce over the salad. Toss and chill.





Get This Amazing Collard Story Cookbook, The Collard Patch, Now!Get This Amazing Southern Cookbook, Flavored with Love, Now!

Crawfish Tortellini Salad

Who said crawfish and collard greens don't mix? This salad from The Collard Patch will prove otherwise. When we cooked this and featured it on KTVE news, the staff had trouble giving the news that day because they kept sneaking over to get a little more of this while they were trying to give the news, weather, and sports.

Crawfish Tortellini Salad
Ingredients
½ cup thinly sliced green onions with tops
1 small jar artichoke hearts, drained
1 cup small fresh mushrooms
1 cup large pitted ripe olives
1 cup fresh red bell pepper, sliced
1 cup thinly sliced carrots
12 ounces frozen crawfish tails
1 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt-free Creole seasoning
½ cup red wine vinegar
¼ cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon spicy mustard
1 teaspoon Splenda®
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Salt substitute to taste
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
1 cup seedless golden raisins
1 package (14 ounces) cheese tortellini
4 ounces (¼ cup) feta cheese
4 cups tender baby collard leaves, chopped
4 cups Romaine lettuce, torn into small pieces

Preparation
Place the first 6 ingredients in a big bowl.

Place ¾ cup olive oil in the blender. Add the vinegar, lemon juice, mustard and all the remaining powdered seasonings. Blend until it is well mixed. Stir in the parsley and basil.

Pour the blended dressing over the ingredients in the bowl and marinate them covered at least 2 hours in the refrigerator.

Sauté the crawfish in ¼ cup olive oil and Cajun seasoning about 5-7 minutes. Even though there will be other seasoning mixed with the tortellini, each individual crawfish needs its own spiciness.

You don’t want those crawfish to get lonesome. After you sauté them long enough to catch the seasoning, set them aside to cool.

Cook the tortellini according to the package directions. Cook it al dente. Drain it in the colander and allow it to cool.

Toss the crawfish, tortellini, and raisins with the vegetable mixture.

When you serve the salad, place it over the greens. Garnish it with feta cheese.

Cooking Tips
Instead of crawfish, substitute 1 of the following:
3 cups white chicken meat, cooked and chopped
1 pound jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
If the feta cheese is a block, cube it.
Cubed ham would be tasty too.


Get This Amazing Collard Story Cookbook, The Collard Patch, Now!




Get This Amazing Southern Cookbook, Flavored with Love, Now!