Simple Spinach Salad

February 8, 2013

Mike hates salads. He often gets mad at me or grumbles when I make a side salad to go with our dinners. He begrudgingly eats it, leaving behind the tomatoes. Watching him eat a salad makes me sad. How does he not like the crunchy combo I have made for him? Why does he always look like he is in pain when he is eating salad?

You can clearly see how feeding Mike salad is distracting for me.

That’s why on nights when Mike is not home for dinner, I relish in not cooking and just throwing together an awesome salad. I always make a Seinfeld size biiiiig salad. If it is going to be my dinner, it is going to count.

Last night, I made one of my favorite salads—spinach  salad. My Mom always makes spinach salad for New Year’s Day dinner. It is super simple and great for dinner or lunch. I feel bad even making a recipe for this salad because it is so easy.

I tweaked my Mom’s recipe by adding some toasted sunflower seeds and cranberries. The important ingredients are clearly the spinach and bacon. Feel free to add anything your heart desires.

Eat that salad on the couch while watching anything on the Bravo network and then paint your nails. That’s how I treat myself to my faves when Mike isn’t around. Yes, a salad can be a treat yo’ self situation! It has bacon, duh!

Simple Spinach Salad

Course Salad
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 2 -4
Author Sarcastic Cooking

Ingredients

  • For the Dressing:
  • 1 Teaspoon Bacon Drippings
  • 2 Teaspoons Red Wine Vinegar
  • 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
  • Pinch of Salt and Pepper
  • For the Salad:
  • 4 Slices Cooked Crisp Bacon chopped
  • 8 Ounces Spinach
  • ¼ Cup Dried Cranberries
  • ¼ Cup Toasted Sunflower Seeds

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with tin foil. Arrange slices of bacon on lined baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes until crispy. This method makes the crispiest bacon, always.
  2. When bacon is cooked crisp, remove and add to a paper towel to drain. Reserve a teaspoon of bacon grease for the dressing. Roughly chop the bacon.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together the bacon grease, olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper.
  4. Toast the sunflower seeds in a small pan until slightly golden.
  5. Add the spinach, bacon, cranberries, and toasted sunflower seeds to a large bowl. Pour dressing into the bowl and toss to combine. Serve salad right away.

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  • Anita at Hungry Couple
    February 15, 2013 at 7:33 pm

    I am lucky in this respect because Brian is not a very picky eater and he happily eats salads and any other veggie I put in front of him. Both both love spinach salad with bacon, walnuts and goat cheese. As a matter of fact, it’s on the menu this weekend. 🙂

  • Stephie @ Eat Your Heart Out
    February 8, 2013 at 8:44 pm

    My momma also makes a salad very similar to this, only she usually adds hard boiled eggs and sliced mushrooms along with the bacon. We like to have it with some muffins during the summer when we can get spinach from the farmer’s market! (and you know the healthiness of the salad negates the calories from the muffins…)

  • Kristen
    February 8, 2013 at 12:41 pm

    I think this salad and I could get along quite well. Quite well indeed.

  • Maggie @ A Bitchin' Kitchen
    February 8, 2013 at 11:16 am

    Salads are almost always a treat yo’self kind of situation for me since I tend to smother them with blue cheese and croutons, rendering them completely unhealthy. This salad looks super delicious! I love that there are bacon drippings right in the dressing!