Broccoli Salad....

This has to be my most favorite summertime salad. I am sure it came from the 1970's when Betty Crocker was mixing sweet and savory as well as making a multitude of Jello salad creations.  This does not have Jello involved, but defiantly has the sweet and savory.
The original recipe calls for bacon. I know we all LOVE bacon... but my waist line needs some help so I opted to come up with a version which included other savory ingredients.



Broccoli Salad (my FAVORITE version)
3 heads of Broccoli, cut into bite sized pieces
3 cups shredded Cheddar Cheese
8 oz Sunflower seeds
8 oz dried Cherries
1/2 large red onion diced

Combine following until well blended:
1 cup Mayo
1/3 cup white Balsamic Vinegar
2/3 cup Sugar
1 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Pepper

Mix all ingredients together, chill and serve.

Impromptu Ingredients
For the Sunflower Seeds:
8 oz crumbled bacon or 8 oz sliced almonds or 8 oz pine nuts or 8 oz cooked cooled edaname
For the dried Cherries:
8 oz Golden Raisins or 8 oz diced Apricots
You can replace the red onion with 1/2 cup sliced scallions to tone down the "onionyness"