Spinach Salad with Candied Pecans

I made this salad the other night for my husband's birthday. But I did not really add the recipe. So here it is!

My daughter used her Cricut Machine to do the letters "PARTY" for my Party drink tub....
Here she is with her cute girls...

Party tub for our canned drinks....Isn't it so cute?

Thanks Tiff!  

Dressing ingredients

• 1/3 cup  red wine vinegar or rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon frozen orange juice concentrate
• 1/6 cup of fresh or frozen raspberries
• 1/2 cup light olive oil (or canola oil)
• 3 Tablespoons sugar
• Lawry's Season Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix up slowly in the blender then blend on high for one minute. Taste test it. If it needs a bit more sweet add a bit more sugar. If it is bland, add a dash more of the vinegar. It should be sweet and tart with a dark pink hue. 

If you are not into making your own dressing, which is VERY economical, I do love the Lighthouse dressings or many of the Kraft vinaigrette dressings are good, especially House Italian (hard to find sometimes) and Catalina. But making your own just simply tastes better. Especially making your own buttermilk ranch.

Spinach Salad with Candied Pecans  Recipe

Salad Ingredients

• 1 package of  baby spinach, add mixed greens if desired 
• 1 10.5-ounce can mandarin orange drained OR
• 1/2 cup fresh raspberries or fresh sliced strawberries (choose your fruit)

Once I was out of all fruit so I added dried apricots and got tons of compliments on that salad.  I made the dressing with apricot jam in place of the raspberries but everything else was the same. It was also a real yummy salad!

• 1/3 cup sliced almonds or pecans, lightly toasted with regular sugar
• 1/4 cup fresh diced avocado
• thin slices of red onion if desired (I don't love onions but my family does)

• OPTIONAL 
• sometimes I toss in some dried cherries or cranberries too. I just got some real nice fat dried cherries from the farmers market so I would add those.
• occasionally if I have fresh mushrooms I will add 4 thinly sliced and halved.

Toast the almonds or pecans in a fry pan with a few tablespoons of regular sugar. Cut up all the veggies and add into the baby spinach mix. Toss with dressing just before serving. Top with the candied nuts passed around in a separate bowl at the table.

Spinach Salad.and Candied Pecans..sometimes I add mushrooms, sometimes I add dried cranberries or cherries...
But I really prefer fresh strawberries in season....and a little bit of sliced avacado....and of course the purple onion....

I usually make up a cup of CANDIED PECANS at a time and then keep them in
a zip lock baggie for later spinach salad attacks. Just toast up 1 cup pecans with 1/4 cup white sugar and
wait until it melts and "coats" the pecans....then cool on a plate or cookie sheet....Easy! 

A good dressing if you are in a time crunch is Kraft light raspberry vinaigrette. It is sweet and yummy and only 50 calories a serving. Spinach salad is always a light and healthy summer salad that everybody loves eating.