This is a post from Jenn Porsche of Treasuring Life’s Blessings
I love this time of year for many reasons – warm temps, walks with the family and the longer days of sunshine! I could list a whole host of reasons I love this time of year but I’d have to say one of my top picks is my huge garden because it starts giving forth a wonderful bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables. One of the many ways I save money for our large family is growing our own produce not only to eat fresh over summer but to also can and freeze for over the winter time.
One of my family’s most recent favorite side dishes is a simple Spinach & Strawberry salad with roasted pecans, topped with a homemade poppyseed dressing! Since my spinach and strawberries come in at the same time, this is an easy dish to throw together. I keep a bag of pecans in my freezer (once in a while I score a deal on them and freezing them ensures they stay fresh and easy to use for a recipe like this). The poppyseed dressing comes together in a flash in a pint canning jar, just dump in the ingredients and shake!
Nothing beats walking out to your garden in the late afternoon and picking fresh ingredients to make this delicious and healthy salad! Enjoy!
Spinach and Strawberry Salad with Poppyseed Dressing
Salad:
6-7 cups fresh baby spinach
2-3 cups sliced strawberries
1/2 cup toasted pecan pieces
Dressing:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
2/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 1/2 teaspoons poppy seeds
Directions:
- For the salad, place the spinach in a large bowl. Top with the strawberries and pecans then lightly toss.
- For the dressing, combine all the ingredients together in a jar, close with a lid, and shake thoroughly until well combined and smooth.
- Toss the salad with the dressing when ready to eat or serve the dressing on the side. The dressing will keep, well covered, in the refrigerator for at least a week. (if you mix it all together, it will need to be eaten that day as the salad will get soggy.)
