AMAZING SPINACH SALAD WITH SWEET-SPICY NUTS, APPLES, FETA AND BACON

yield: 6 servings

AMAZING SPINACH SALAD WITH SWEET-SPICY NUTS, APPLES, FETA AND BACON

PREP TIME: 20 MINS

COOK TIME: 8-10 MINS

INGREDIENTS:

SALAD:

• 16 ounces baby spinach
• ½ small red onion, slivered (see note about tempering the onion flavor)
• 6 slices of applewood smoked bacon, cooked and crumbled or chopped into small pieces
• 1 cup Feta cheese crumbles, more or less to taste
• 1 cup dried cranberries or cherries, more or less to taste
• 1-2 Honey Crisp apples, cored and sliced thin

SWEET SPICY NUTS:

• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• Pinch of cayenne (more to taste if you want)
• Pinch of salt

RED WINE VINAIGRETTE:

• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic, pressed or finely minced
• 1-2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, more or less to taste
• Fresh cracked pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. For the dressing, shake all the ingredients together in a mason jar until well combined or run them through a quick blender cycle. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. The dressing can be made up to a week in advance.
2. For the nuts, lightly toast the nuts in a 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes, checking often so they don’t burn. While they toast, place the sugar, cayenne and salt in a skillet over medium-low heat. Cook the sugar mixture until it liquifies completely, adjusting the heat so it doesn’t bubble and burn. Toss in the toasted nuts and stir to coat the nuts with sugar. Let the sugared nuts cool completely.
3. To assemble the salad, toss all the salad ingredients together along with the cooled nuts. Serve immediately with the vinaigrette alongside. All the components can be measured out/prepped ahead of time and stored separately (I like to soak the apples in a bit of lemon juice in water to help prevent browning). Just toss right before serving. Enjoy!

NOTES:

Kim, who gave me this recipe, alerted me to the most magnificent tip. I love onions but hate the after effects of eating them raw in a salad. To temper the onions a bit, soak the onion slices covered in cold water with a bit of baking soda (I use about 1/2 teaspoon soda). Let them sit for 15-20 minutes then rinse and drain well. Also, in my pictures, disregard the overly yellow color of my vinaigrette. I went a little crazy with the mustard when I made it this time. Yours probably won’t be quite this yellow. Finally, this recipe makes an excellent main dish if served alongside grilled chicken and keep in mind that all the quantities can easily be adapted according to taste. Yum!

All images and text ©Mel's Kitchen Cafe.

Recipe Permalink: https://www.melskitchencafe.com/spinach-salad-with-sweet-spicy-nuts-apples-feta-and-bacon/

Cafe Rio Pork Salad with Crock-pot Pork

YUM! This is definitely a new favorite in the house and a fairly easy Sunday dinner. I went ahead and warmed up a can of black beans and I also buy the tortillas that you have to make at home. They're super soft and taste just like their tortillas. I buy mine at Costco in the frozen food section.

Shredded Pork

5-6 lb pork loin or butt

1 jar of salsa

2-3 cups brown sugar

1/2 can coke (NOT diet)

3 Tbsp molasses

1 Tbsp cumin

1 tsp salt

Place pork in a crock-pot. Cover with brown sugar, salsa, molasses, cumin, salt and coke. Cover and cook until tender and pulls away with a fork. (6-8 hours on high, or 8-10 hors on low).

Cilantro Lime Rice

2 Tbsp butter

1 cup long grain rice

2 cups chicken broth

Juice from 1-2 limes (I only used one and there was plenty of lime flavoring)

2 Tbsp chopped cilantro

1/4 tsp cumin

salt and pepper to taste

In a heavy pan, melt butter with rice. Add broth and other ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes. Keep checking on it though other wise it will stick to the pan and burn. Add a little more fresh chopped cilantro.

Creamy Tomatillo Dressing

3 fresh tomatillos

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup fresh cilantro

1/4 tsp cumin

1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 pkg ranch BUTTERMILK dressing

2 cloves garlic (minced)

1/3-1/2 cup buttermilk

Combine all ingredients in blender. Chill for at least one hour.

Frank's Red Hot Chicken Salad

Frank's Red Hot Chicken Salad
submitted by Erin ~ sisterscafe.blogspot.com

12 oz bottle Frank's Red Hot Sauce (Original, cayenne pepper sauce)
1 bag of chicken breasts (3 lb)

tortilla chips
lettuce
tomatoes
shredded cheese
homemade guacamole
ranch or bleu cheese salad dressing (I like to use the creamy tomatillo dressing from the cafe rio recipe below.)

Dump bag of frozen chicken breasts in the crockpot. Pour bottle of hot sauce over chicken. Cook on Low for 7 or 8 hours. At dinner time, take breasts out of the liquid and shred. Serve on a bed of tortilla chips along with other ingredients. YUM!

In case you need a visual, this is what the bottle of Franks Red Hot Sauce looks like:

Chinese Cabbage Salad

This recipe is from my mom and is absolutely delicious when you want something a little healthy with a hint of Asian in it. Definitely an A+ recipe!

CHINESE CABBAGE SALAD

1 (3 oz.) pkg of uncooked ramen noodles (discard seasoning)
1/2 cup cashews or cashew pieces

In a preheated 350 degree oven, toast the crushed noodles and cashews in a shallow baking pan (8-10 min.) until golden brown.

1/2 large head green cabbage--finely shredded
1/2 large carrot--cut into matchstick pieces
1/2 med. red bell paper--sliced into thin strips or chopped
1/2 bunch of green onions--chopped

Dressing;
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 c. olive oil
1/8 cup white vinegar
1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 T. soy sauce

Whisk together dressing

In a large bowl, combine chopped cabbage, shredded carrot, green onions, bell pepper, toasted ramen noodles and cashews. Prepare the dressing. Pour dressing over the salad, toss all ingredients well together. Chill for at least 1-2 hours, then serve.