Cranberry Spinach Salad

I love spinach salad. It seems like it goes with everything. Sometimes I make this basic recipe. Other times I fancy it up. It's so versatile. You can swap out the almonds for candied pecans or toasted pine nuts, trade the cranberries for strawberries, even add sliced chicken and make it into a main dish.

Cranberry Spinach Salad (basic)

adapted slightly from All Recipes

1 tablespoon butter
3/4 cup almonds, blanched and slivered
1 pound spinach, rinsed and torn into bite-size pieces
1 cup dried cranberries
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1/2 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons minced onion
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used canola)

DIRECTIONS
In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Cook and stir almonds in butter until lightly toasted. Remove from heat, and let cool.
In a large bowl, combine the spinach with the toasted almonds and cranberries.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, onion, paprika, white wine vinegar, cider vinegar, and vegetable oil. Toss with spinach just before serving.

*You can also toast almonds in the oven at 350 for 10 minutes , no butter required. Just watch them carefully.*

Cranberry Spinach Salad (Deluxe)

Follow the above instructions but add in:

red onions thinly sliced

grated swiss cheese

cooked and crumbled bacon

fresh sliced mushrooms

1 can mandarin oranges, drained

Posted by: Sallie