Spinach and Bacon Salad with Apple Cider Dijon Vinaigrette

I didn’t do so good with using up our produce this week and Saturday rolled around and I had a container of organic baby spinach that was calling my name from the fridge drawer. I had planned to put the spinach into a Spinoccoli pizza, but then Ryan informed me he wanted plain old pizza. Crust, tomato sauce, cheese, and nothing fancy. So plain pizza it was, but now I needed another use for my spinach.

I resigned myself to make a salad, but as I began pulling things out of our fridge, suddenly this was looking better and better. Fresh spinach, check. Crispy turkey bacon, yum. A whole block of good Parmesan waiting to be shaved over the salad, even better.

By the end of the meal, we had lots of leftover pizza, but had nearly eaten this entire salad. I have never seen Ryan go back for thirds on a salad, and that’s how I knew this was a winner!

Ingredients:

For the salad:

5 oz. fresh baby spinach

10 slices turkey bacon (use regular if you’d prefer)

1/4 cup shaved or shredded Parmesan cheese

black pepper

For the dressing:

1 tsp. dijon mustard

5 tsp. apple cider vinegar

2 -3 tsp. sugar

1 tbsp. flavorless oil, such as canola

Cook your bacon your preferred method. I cut mine into small pieces and then lightly fried it in a skillet. I also like baking my bacon. Toss your spinach, cheese, warm bacon, and lots of black pepper together in a bowl.

In a small bowl, whisk together the dijon, apple cider vinegar, oil, and sugar. Start with 2 tsp. of sugar and add more if you like a sweeter dressing.

Toss the salad ingredients with the dressing and let sit for a few minutes before serving. Serve at room temperature. Enjoy!