I first had this completely addicting and simple salad thanks to Ari, my sister-in-law who has a penchant for making delicious magazine-worthy dishes, flared pants, and growing adorable babies. She's basically the Martha Stewart in the family, minus the criminal record. To say I take mental notes on her meals each time I see her is an understatement. I'm basically mental novel-writing because they are always so friggin' good.  Considering I just made a Costco-sized batch, I figured I'd share one of my fave go-to salads for when I need a good dose of greens....tempered with a little bite of bacon-y goodness in every bite, natch.

Broccoli Salad

Ingredients

I large bag of fresh broccoli florets (I got the massive one from Costco)
1/2 red onion
1/2 pound bacon
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup slivered almonds (walnuts or cashews would be tasty too)
Handful of cherry tomatoes (optional)
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar (I subbed with rice wine vinegar because that's what I had)

Directions

1. Crisp your bacon. I baked mine on a foil-lined sheet in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes. Sop up all the grease once crisped, cool and crumble.
2. Cut the broccoli into bite-size pieces, and quickly blanch it. Drain and let cool.
3. While the broccoli is cooling, cut the onion into thin slices. Combine with the bacon, cranberries, nuts and mix well.
3. Prep the dressing by mixing the may, sugar and vinegar together until smooth.
4. Combine all the ingedients into a bowl, and stir until evenly coated. Refrigerate to chill, and serve.