Summer Salad with Berry Vinaigrette

Here in the great Northwest, school doesn't start until September. It was the same when I was growing up in Buffalo. So I've been flabbergasted by all the back-to-school pictures plastered on my Facebook feed this week.

In my crazy brain it goes something like this, "These kids look so cute with their fresh haircuts and backpacks! Wait...backpacks. What? How are these children going back to school already?! It's mid-August! I'm not ready for school supplies! Or leaves falling! Or cold weather! It's practically Christmas. Oh, geez. And where's my snow brush. I should put that in the car..."

See the slippery slope to snow? Yeah. Not cool.

So I'm here to remind all of us that it's still summer. Hear that? IT'S STILL SUMMER! Eat the corn! And the ice cream cones! And the berries! Allllll the berries. We'll start with this glorious Summer Salad with Berry Vinaigrette. And we'd better make it quickly, before the snow gets here.

Let's get cooking!
Erin

Summer Salad with Berry Vinaigrette
Dressing adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction

For the Dressing*:
1 cup raspberries
1 cup sliced strawberries
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

For the Salad:
8 ounces mixed greens
1/2 cup raspberries
1/2 cup sliced strawberries
1 cup blueberries
1/2 cup toasted pecans
3 ounces crumbled goat cheese

Using your food processor or blender, blend together all the dressing ingredients except for the poppy seeds. Once the dressing is smooth, stir in poppy seeds. Refrigerate until you're ready to serve.

Place greens in a large bowl and top with berries, pecans, and goat cheese. Drizzle with some of the dressing just before serving. You can serve extra dressing on the side.

*This recipe makes about 2 cups of dressing, which is probably more than you need for this amount of salad. But the dressing is so delicious you'll want to drizzle it on everything for the next few days! Just use what you need and keep the leftovers in the fridge.

Strawberry and Spinach Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

It hasn't felt very Spring-y in Milwaukee lately. The cold, windy weather makes me want to stay in the covers watching movies all day. Maybe sipping cocoa. With marshmallows.

When I finally forced myself to stop whining about the winter weather, I attempted to perk things up with a Springtime salad. Fresh strawberries, juicy mandarin oranges, and a sweet-but-tangy poppy seed dressing really did the trick. Although I ate this meal in my bulky sweater with the heat on full blast, it gave me hope that these April showers may actually lead to May flowers.

Strawberry and Spinach Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing
Adapted from Food.com
Serves: 4

Dressing Ingredients:
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon juice from the can of mandarin oranges (or fresh orange juice)
1.5 teaspoons poppy seeds
Salt

Salad Ingredients:
6-8 cups baby spinach
1 can (11 ounces) mandarin orange segments (drained and juice reserved for dressing)
1 pint strawberries, sliced
1/4 cup toasted, sliced almonds (or pecans)

In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, shake together sugar and vinegar until the sugar starts to dissolve. Add olive oil, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, orange juice, poppy seeds, and salt to taste. Shake everything together until the dressing is thickened and emulsified.

Combine salad ingredients in a large bowl. Just before serving, shake the salad dressing one more time. Drizzle dressing over salad, toss, and serve.

Low-Fat Honey Mustard Dressing

I love salads, but sometimes I get bored of the usual dressing options. I'm always switching between Ranch (my favorite is Bolthouse Farms) and vinaigrette, Ranch and vinaigrette. Lame.

When Jill came over for Macaroni & Cheese the other day, I decided to try something new. A quick Google search uncovered a plethora of recipes for honey mustard dressing. "Oooh," I thought. "That is neither Ranch nor vinaigrette." 

And for an added bonus, this dressing is off-the-hook easy. Seriously, it'll be ready in 2 minutes. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Low-Fat Honey Mustard Dressing

Adapted from allrecipes.com

Serves: 4

2 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise

2 tablespoons plain yogurt (If you don't have plain yogurt on hand, just use 2 more tablespoons of mayo instead.)

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Combine mayonnaise, yogurt, honey, and lemon juice until well blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve over your favorite greens. 

P.S. As I was typing this up, I realized that Honey Mustard Dressing would be an unbelievable dipping sauce for chicken tenders. Now my wheels are really spinning. Chicken tender salad, anyone?