Spinach Mandarin Poppy Seed Salad

The recipe may be stolen, but the picture is by yours truly (as are all my other pictures). See? I'm not ALL thief. :)

I haven't been in much of a "cooking new recipes" mood lately. It's summer - I'd rather play than spend an hour slaving in the kitchen before dinner!

So I'm (once again) presenting another one of my favorite recipes I've gleaned from the Our Best Bites cookbook. I know it's easy to just go get it from there, but at least this way, I may point someone (and by that I mean the two people that read this blog) to the easiness and yumminess that is this salad.

Our family is small (three of us that eat big-people food), so I pretty much halved everything in the recipe below. The original makes 8-10 side dish servings. I also substituted chopped up mini cucumbers for avocados since my hubs doesn't like avocados. Like I said, it was really easy to throw together (especially if you just cook the bacon in the microwave), and tasted just like I expect summer foods to taste. Sweet. Tangy. Crisp. Light. Perfect. :)


Spinach Mandarin Poppy Seed Salad

8 ounces (1/2 bag) baby spinach
1/2-1 head Romaine lettuce, chopped
1/2 thinly sliced medium red onion
1 large avocado, cubed
8 oz. mozzarella or Swiss cheese, shredded
1 (12-oz.) package bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 (12-oz.) can Mandarin oranges, drained
Poppy seed dressing, to taste (I made it from scratch, but it would be just as easy to buy a bottle of the pre-made stuff)

Combine all ingredients except dressing in a large bowl. When ready to serve, toss with desired amount of salad dressing and serve immediately.

If you anticipate leftovers, just let your eaters dress their own salads because the dressing will make the greens wilt.