Salad #2

Ok, so call it pregnancy hormones...I'm a cheater this week...I have switched to a new salad and it has my taste buds wanting more!!!

Again, it's not a secret recipe. The flavours are perfectly paired with the sun that is shining and the small signs that spring isn't as far off as we think!!!

We were invited over to dinner to our good friends and I asked if I could bring something. I was told a salad, so I started to think about which yummy one I could bring!  Most of my yummy salads come from this household, I needed something different!!

So I came up with a Mandarin Almond Salad with a Poppy Seed Dressing.

Pinterest

It had been a busy day and I basically had enough time to put the salad together and just grab the 'Kraft' Poppyseed Dressing out of the refrigerator!  I just wasn't satisfied with that...so 10 minutes before we left, I hit the internet and found this recipe and whipped it up.  I even made Hubby stop at the grocery store on the way to dinner to get the poppy seeds!

Mandarin Almond Salad with a Poppy Seed Dressing

*Your favourite greens (I used red leaf lettuce and baby spinach)
*Toasted, sliced almonds (watch them carefully when you toast them, they turn quickly and can burn! You just want them slightly golden)
*Sliced green onions (1-2 onions depending on how much you like - green tops too)
*Chopped celery (1-2 sticks)
*Can of mandarin oranges (drained)


Dressing  4 servings
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp vegetable oil (I used grapeseed oil)
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp poppy seeds
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp sugar (I used maple syrup and probably a bit more
Salt & Pepper to taste

***I did find the olive oil a little heavy in flavour, so the next time I will probably do 2-3 tbsp of the olive oil and the rest being the grapeseed, as long as it adds up to the 5 tbsp of oil***

***I toasted the almonds on a cookie sheet in the oven at 350 for probably less than 10 mins...start watching them closely around 5-6 minutes***

Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl and pour over salad a few minutes before serving (making sure dijon mustard is completely mixed in with other ingredients)

I took the salad and it was a hit!  I did also take the 'Kraft' dressing, just in case someone preferred it instead of the homemade (one being Hubby). That's ok, more for me!!!  :)

I wasn't sure how this salad would go over, so I didn't even think about taking a picture of it!!
Sorry!  I will do better next time!

Enjoy!!