Strawberry Spinach Salad With Vinaigrette

This salad reminds me of Spring! I love Spring. My husband made this salad yesterday. I love when he helps in the kitchen. He adds a nice extra touch to the things he makes. It is a busy time around here getting ready for our daughters wedding next week. Happy Time!

The salad was:

5-6 C spinach

1/2 C sliced almonds

1 C sliced strawberries

1/2 C sunflower seeds
sometimes I also add a thinly sliced red onion

Optional items

1/3 C bacon bits

1/2 C shredded Parmesan

Layer the ingredients so you get all the ingredients in each serving. 

I put the dressing on right before serving.  It will get soggy if you do it too far ahead. Add a little bit of dressing at a time to get just the right mix. 

dressing:

2/3 cup olive oil

1/4 honey or sugar 

2 TBSP. diced purple onion

1/2tsp. salt

3TBSP. apple cider vinegar
1/4 C chia *optional

Blend in blender or food processor until smooth. 

*If you use bacon. An easy way to do the almonds is to take the bacon bits and the almonds and saute' them together.  This gives the almonds some of the bacon flavor and roasts them a bit.  

Tossed Salad with Light Vinaigrette

We have enjoyed this delicious salad the last two Sundays. The thing I love about it is you get to enjoy the wonderful flavor of the vegetables and it tastes great. It is also wonderful because it is a healthy dressing too. Great way to eat a lot of vegetables

Ingredients

2 C spinach

2 C Romain or your favorite greens

1/2 red pepper sliced thin seeds removed
1/4 purple onion chopped up
1/2 cucumber chopped up
1/2 C cut up celery
3-4 small peppers chopped up
1/2 zucchini chopped up
other options chopped up purple cabbage

Dressing

1/2 C olive oil
1/4 C vinegar
1 T honey
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 garlic cloves


Directions

1. In a blender blend all of the ingredients for the dressing until all smooth.

2. Put all the ingredients for the salad in the bowl starting with the greens on the bottom.

3. Then drizzle the dressing over the top of the salad and serve.

Strawberry Vinaigrette W/ Candied Nuts

I have been having fun making my own dressing for salads. I like the idea of saving money and also of having something healthy to put on my salad. Like anything when you are experimenting, some work better than others. The ones as of late have worked out well. Last night I tried out this one and it was a success. It is wonderful to put strawberries in the salad too. Not the best season for that, but it will be soon. :) So have fun coming up with your own creative dressings. The cool thing is they are easy to make too. The nice thing is you make a small amount you could even 1/2 this recipe. The other nice thing is you don't have bottles of dressing sitting in your fridge for a long time, that I always wondered if they were still good.

Ingredients:

1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 T xagave or honey etc...
2 T apple cider vinegar
6 to 7 frozen strawberries (You could use jam and cut down on the sugar)
3/4 C olive oil
(I have added herbs too)

Directions:

1. Pour all the ingredients in the blender and let it whirl. I love how the blender puts some air in it and makes it really creamy. Give it a tasted and see if you want to add anything. The dressing is ready to serve.

* The other thing my family likes is to put candied nuts on the salad. You can do this by, chopping up 1 C of nuts, in a blender or food processor. I usually do almonds, other ones would work too. Then pour the nuts into a small frying pan, on the stove. Pour in 2 T of sugar, honey, or agave etc.. Then turn the heat to med. If you are using sugar it will melt. You need to keep and eye on it. Keep stirring it, till the mixture starts to thicken. Let it cook for another couple minutes. Then take off the stove, and let cool before putting on the salad. Yummy!

*If the dressing starts to separate after sitting in the fridge, you can just pour it in the blender and blend it again. The one I made last night is still a good consistency. It has not separated. Have fun with it.