Apple, Bacon & Spinch Salad

Hi Friends!

So remember how I told you I've been drooling over this salad since Ali at Gimme Some Oven posted it last week???? Well, tonight I finally made it!

Apple Bacon Spinach Salad Recipe

Ingredients:

• 4 cups baby spinach, well-washed and dried (I used a baby spinach & lettuce mix)
• 4 strips of bacon, cooked and diced (I used turkey bacon)
• 2 apples, chopped (I sliced mine)
• quarter of a red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup toasted pecans (I used almond since I already had them and nuts are expensive!)
• 1/4 cup feta cheese (I used the rest of the blue cheese crumbles from the buffalo mac & cheese)
• apple cider vinaigrette (see below for directions)
• I added cranberries! 

Method:
Toss together first seven ingredients (or lay out as you wish).

Pretty simple right? Now, to make the apple cider vinaigrette:

Apple Cider Vinaigrette Recipe
* I halved all the ingredients so I wouldn't have so much leftover...my quantities are below
 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup apple cider
• 1/4 cup olive oil
•  1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
•   1 Tbsp. honey or agave nectar
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. freshly-ground black pepper
• pinch cinnamon

Method:
Whisk all ingredients together.  (Or pour in a tight-fitting jar and shake until combined.)  Serve immediately, or store in the refrigerator for up to one week.

So...it turns out that this dressing was NOT a big hit. It tasted very oily, not very cidery and like it was missing an ingredient or two. Which is precisely why I didn't drizzle without tasting!

Instead, in our house, we'd recommend this:

My dad introduced us to this dressing a few years ago and it's been a staple in our fridge ever since. SO GOOD. Go buy some right now.

By the way, the salad was DELICIOUS!!!! I'll definitely be making it again. Maybe tomorrow :)
We also enjoyed some salmon and leftover rice. But the salad was the star!

Enjoy!
--Lindsay--