Pasta with Chicken and Lemon

I don't know about you, but I am always trying to find ways to get vegetables into what we are eating. Sometimes I dice them and throw them in soup, with pasta, or into a starch. Often, I have a giant pile on each person's plate, hoping the sheer magnitude will force them to eat at least half.
I recently realized my husband is throwing away his vegetables when he clears his own plate. I hadn't noticed right away because he always comes back with a giant pile of rice doused with Tabasco and that's all I can think about. After a minute or two I realize he ate a lot of vegetables, and as I open my mouth to ask how they were I realize he threw them away. It has only taken me two or three years to catch on to this. A couple weeks ago at dinner I finally confronted him.
"Did you throw your vegetables away?!!" I already knew the answer.

Broccoli Slaw Salad

My husband usually grills on Thursdays, because I teach until late and we don't really want to eat dinner at 8:15. Plus, I often don't feel like cooking when I get home, and that leads to fast food. Bad ending. So, during the summer months, I just plan that my husband grills, and he gets good practice. More difficult than finding something to grill is finding side dishes that hold up well for several hours, and can be made completely ahead of time. None of this 'toss with dressing just before serving', or anything like that. Completely made ahead. One recipe I came up with is this quinoa salad. Its light, refreshing, zippy, and perfect for a hot day and grilled meats.
Another dish I remembered was one I had at a friend's house quite a while ago. Raw broccoli, tossed in a cole slaw dressing, topped with crumbled bacon. I didn't have the recipe but I knew I had the components. If you have mayonnaise in your fridge you can make it up. The flavors play so well together you will find yourself staring at an empty plate and wondering how it was possible that you like broccoli that much. Confession: I was actually nibbling on the broccoli while I was making up another side dish. It might be possible that I have never composed a sentence like that. For an added flavoring, reserve the bacon grease and toss the broccoli in it after you have dressed it with the cole slaw dressing. Magical.

Broccoli Slaw

4 cups broccoli, chopped into small pieces

2 slices bacon, cooked and roughly chopped (reserve grease)

Cole Slaw dressing:
This makes a little more than you need, but everybody's tastes are different. You might like a little more than I do. 
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 Tablespoons vinegar (white, red wine, apple cider, but not balsamic)
1 teaspoon celery salt (if you don't have any, plain salt is fine)
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Combine dressing ingredients. Toss 1/3 cup of dressing with broccoli. Adjust seasoning if necessary and add more dressing if you would like. Drizzle on 1 Tablespoon of reserved bacon grease. Top with chopped bacon.