Has anyone else been feeling the beginning of winter blues? With the rain that came this afternoon, it literally got dark before 2:00pm today. 2 O’CLOCK! I just can’t handle that. I felt like I was supposed to be in bed after about an hour of darkness. Ugh.

Anyhoo, after carbo-loading on a bagel and cream cheese for breakfast AND lunch, I felt the need for a big salad for dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

My favorite salad ever is a Warm Spinach Salad with a Warm Bacon Vinaigrette (well, that and a Greek Salad…whatever I really like salads) that I would always get at Bakers Crust. It came with a tangy vinaigrette, mushrooms and crusted goat cheese. Talk about delicious!

But, last time I was at Bakers Crust and wanted to order my delicious salad, it was no longer on the menu! The horror! Good thing they still have their Kickin’ Corn and Crab Chowder or we’d be having some serious issues.

Since I needed to fulfill my cheesy, bacon salad craving, I found a recipe for a similar salad on Knuckle Salad and have been holding on to it for a bit.

 

 

 

 


 

Look at that bite! It was just what I needed after a day full of carbs…with bacon and cheese for a little bit of extra indulgence.

 

Spinach Salad with a Warm Bacon Vinaigrette

Recipe adapted from Knuckle Salad

  • 8 slices (roughly) thick cut bacon
  • 5 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 2 tbsp course mustard
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup shelled walnuts plus 1/3 cup finally chopped
  • 1 cup roasted red peppers, sliced
  • 1 red onion, thinly sliced
  • 4 oz log of goat cheese
  • bag of baby spinach leaves, washed
  1. Fry the bacon in a pan over medium-high heat until it’s very crispy. Remove it to a paper towel to drain. Reserve hot bacon grease. After the bacon dries, crumble it.
  2. Add vinegar, mustard, and olive oil to the bacon grease in the pan and stir.
  3. In a separate pan, add the onions and saute them for two to three minutes, then add 1 cup of walnuts.
  4. Slice goat cheese into medallions. Finely chop additional walnuts. Generously coat goat cheese with walnuts and place in a pan heated on medium-high heat. Cook until golden brown on each side and then remove from heat.
  5. In a large salad bowl, pour warm dressing over the spinach and toss gently. Top with onion/walnut mixture.
  6. Serve dressed spinach/nuts/onions with peppers, crumbled bacon and walnut-crusted goat cheese to taste.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This will definitely be put into my regular weeknight dinner routine! No off to finish watching Grey’s Anatomy and then climb into bed early. Tomorrow is Friday! Yay! :)