Spinach Mandarin Poppy Seed Salad

I love each and every ingredient in this salad. Fresh avocados, juicy mandarin oranges, applewood smoked bacon, cheese, onion and oh yeah, the spinach of course - Popeye would be proud of us. This salad makes for an easy side dish during the week and would be great to serve at a luncheon, family cookout, or a baptism (we just went to our friend's daughter's baptism on Sunday so it is on the brain!). I also love the lightness of the poppy seed dressing because it doesn't overpower the other flavors in the salad as some dressings often tend to do. The recipe below serves between 8 and 10 people so I obviously reduced the serving size when the hubs and I ate it with our dinner last week.

Source: A Hint of Honey

You Will Need for the Salad:

• 8 oz. spinach
• 2-3 romaine hearts, chopped
• 2 avocados, peeled, pitted, and diced
• 8-10 mandarin oranges, peeled and segmented with knife
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• handful swiss or gruyere, shredded
• 8-10 slices bacon, cooked until crisp and crumbled

You Will Need for the Dressing:

• 2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp stone ground mustard
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 tsp poppy seeds
• salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Here We Go for the Dressing:

• To make the dressing, whisk to combine vinegar, mustard, and sugar in a small bowl
• Slowly stream in the oil while whisking constantly to emulsify
• Whisk in the poppy seeds and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper

Here We Go for the Salad:

• In a large serving bowl combine the spinach, romaine, avocado, orange, onion, cheese, and bacon
• Drizzle with the dressing
• Toss and serve

Serves 8-10
Happy Feasting!