Berry and Spinach Salad

Don't blink. You'll miss me making a salad. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't like salads or that I think veggies are a bad thing I just much prefer to eat my weight in carbs or steak. Mmmmmm steak (hey, I am a Texan after all)

But after all the super yummy delicious yet probably not so healthy things I have eaten over the past few weeks I thought maybe my arteries could use a break. Maybe the child in my belly would like a good dose of healthy vitamins this winter. Yeah, I know what you are thinking. You just said winter and you are making a berry salad. Well, maybe it's "winter" where you are, but here in south Texas it is a beautiful, sunny, 72 degrees. (yeah, you can be jealous, I am sure you will rub it in my face in August when it is 110 here and all I want to eat is ice cream.)

One time, when I had dinner at my Aunt's house in Dallas, she served salad and it had fresh berries in it. I remember at the time I thought that was the weirdest thing I had ever seen. Who puts fruit in a green salad!?!? Well now, this girl does. I have been thinking about it ever since and decided that now was the time to experiment.

Yes, yes. Technically putting fruit and candied nuts into my salad does add more sugar to my salad but hey, I wanted to want to eat my salad and not feel like I was having to choke it down. Forgive me. (Not that you'll even be asking for forgiveness after you taste it!)

Dressing:

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk (work with it to get the consistency you like)
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds

Place your mayo, sugar, milk, vinegar, and poppy seeds into a food processor and blend well. Add more or less milk to your recipe to get the consistency you prefer. (Can I just say as an aside, I tried using Daddy F's Magic Bullet which he said he HAD to have but never uses to blend the dressing. I see now why he sticks to the blender, it made a HUGE mess. Sorry Magic Bullet.) Store dressing in an air tight container in your refrigerator up to two weeks.

Salad

• 1 bunch hearts of romaine, torn into bite-size pieces
• 1 bunch fresh spinach, washed, stems removed
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
• 1 package fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
• 1 package blueberries 
• candied almonds
• crumbled Gorgonzola cheese  

Toss all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Drizzle with dressing just before serving. Or you can be like me and drown your salad in dressing. :)  Yummo! 

Our Ratings:

Mama F: 8 - I was a nice a refreshing change to the heavy meals we usually eat.

Daddy F: 8 - Enjoyed the salad, would eat it again.

Fuller Kids: 7 - Cleaned most the plate! My 4 year old said it would have been better without the "weird cheese stuff".

Lucky the Dog: 3 - smelled nice but where's the meat?