Pear & Walnut Salad

Use your favorite dressing with this; ranch and raspberry vinaigrette work well. Take the time to toast the walnuts, it truly does add to the flavor.

Pear & Walnut Salad

10-oz. salad greens, torn to bite-sized pieces
2 medium pears, cored and sliced
1 c. seedless red grapes, halved
1/2 c. crumbled blue or feta cheese
1/2 c. toasted walnuts
Dressing (your favorite)


In a large salad bowl, toss the greens, pears and grapes to mix. Drizzle with dressing.
Top with cheese and walnuts. Serve immediately.

Spinach Salad

This takes a little more work, than say dumping a bag of prepared salad mix into a bowl, but it is so worth the effort. I skipped making the dressing once and used a bottled variety, but it just wasn't the same.

Spinach Salad
1 bag of spinach leaves
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
3 hard cooked eggs, chopped
1 tomato, sliced into thin wedges
6 slices bacon, crisply cooked and crumbled

Dressing:
1 small onion, chopped
1 c oil
1/3 c. white vinegar
1/3 c sugar
1 T prepared mustard
1 teas celery seed
1/4 teas salt

Combine spinach, onion, eggs, tomato and bacon. Whisk dressing ingredients together and pour over; toss to coat. Serve immediately.

Broccoli Salad

There are many different versions of broccoli salad, but this one is, by far, my favorite. It has the perfect combination of flavors and crunch and the dressing is an equal balance of tart and sweet.

Broccoli Salad
1 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled
4 c broccoli florets, broken into small pieces
1/2 c chopped red onion
1/2 c raisins
1/4 c sunflower seeds
1 c mayonnaise
1/2 c white sugar
6 T red wine vinegar

In a large bowl, toss together the broccoli, bacon, onion, raisins and sunflower seeds.
In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sugar and red wine vinegar. Toss with vegetables to coat. Keep chilled.

Orange and Mozzarella Salad

I found the recipe card for this salad in the produce section of the supermarket. I never would've thought to put mozzarella and oranges together, but the flavor combination works! Different from the same old tossed veggie salad, it's unique enough to serve to guests who would never expect such a twist to a dinner staple.

Orange and Mozzarella Salad
8 oz chunk mozzarella, sliced
5 c mixed baby salad greens
1 large navel orange, peeled and sliced (or 1 lg can mandarin oranges, drained)
1/2 roasted almonds, chopped

Dressing
1/4 c olive oil
1 T red wine vinegar
2 T orange juice
1/4 teas salt
ground black pepper to taste

Place washed and torn greens into a serving bowl, then cheese slices on top. Whisk together the dressing ingredients; pour over greens and cheese and toss to coat. Arrange orange slices over top and sprinkle with almonds. Serve immediately.