Easy Summer Salads Series…Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing

I love salads.  Summer is the perfect time of year for them, too.  I live in Colorado and I do not have air conditioner in my home (when we built the house the builders assured us we didn’t need it, they were wrong!!!)  so there are several weeks during the hot months that I just don’t want to turn on the oven… A refreshing summer salad is just the way to go!

Here is the second salad that I am LOVING this summer…

Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing

This recipe adapted from Prevention Magazine.

Ingredients for 4 salads:

6 strips of nitrate and sugar-free bacon, cut into 1/2″ pieces

1 red onion, sliced thin

1 cup sliced mushrooms

2 T. pine nuts, toasted

6 ounces baby spinach

2 hard-boiled eggs, sliced

8 ounces shrimp, peeled and de-veined (or 8 ounces other protein)

3 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

  • Heat a large skillet over medium heat, cook bacon pieces until crisp, remove with a slotted spoon (leaving drippings in pan) and drain on a paper towel
  • Add onions and mushrooms to hot skillet and cook until onions begin to brown
  • Add shrimp (or other protein), salt and pepper to taste and pine nuts.
  • When the protein is cooked thru remove from heat and stir in vinegar and Dijon mustard.  If the skillet becomes too dry add additional fat (bacon grease, coconut oil, or avocado oil).
  • Divide spinach among 4 plates or bowls, evenly top each bed of spinach with onion, mushroom and shrimp.
  • Garnish with sliced eggs and crumbled bacon.

In the salad pictured above I substituted green olives for the pine nuts and left out the additional protein and add more eggs, feel free to adapt the recipe to suit your taste and pantry ingredients!

This recipe is shared at:

Fight Back Friday, Fat Tuesday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, Summer Salad Sundays

Grammy’s Famous Mile-Hi Mudd Pie

Mile-Hi Mudd Pie

***Disclaimer***

This is not a recipe for a “healthy” dessert.  It is an off-the-rails, special occasion, treat with consequences (or not).  It can certainly be made with “healthier” substitutions successfully but the recipe that follows is in its original full glorious sugar-filled (although gluten-free) form.  This is my daughter’s favorite dessert and she is coming home from her freshman year of college this weekend and has requested it…what’s a mom to do? Uh, well…say heck yes and get in the kitchen to make it!!! 

Grammy’s Mile-Hi Mudd Pie (serves 12, generously)

1 chocolate cookie pie crust, cooled (I use Pamela’s Gluten-Free Chocolate Cookies, 1 bag for the crust)

2 pints caramel ice cream, softened

2 pints coffee ice cream, softened

1-2 cups chocolate ganache (recipe follows)

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1-2 cups crushed chocolate cookies (about ½ bag of Pamela’s)

Bake the chocolate cookie pie crust in a 9″ springform pan or deep pie pan and completely cool.

Spread 2 pints of softened caramel ice cream on top of cooled crust. Sprinkle the crushed cookies on top of the caramel ice cream. Place in the freezer until ice cream is firm (at least 2 hours). Spread 2 pints of coffee ice cream on top of cookie layer.  Freeze for 2-4 hours until very firm.

Spread room temperature ganache over the frozen coffee ice cream layer and sprinkle on the sliced almonds (I left these off in the photos).  Cover with plastic wrap and freeze overnight.

Take pie out of the freezer 20-30 minutes prior to serving.  Garnish with fresh whipped cream, chocolate ganache drizzle and sliced almonds.

Chocolate Ganache (yields 2 cups)

8 ounces dark chocolate

¾ cup heavy cream

½ Tbsp. butter or coconut oil

1 tsp. vanilla

Place dark chocolate in a heat-proof bowl.  Bring heavy cream and butter to a boil, remove from heat and stir in vanilla.  Pour cream over the dark chocolate and let rest for 5 minutes.  Whisk together until smooth.  Let set on counter until cooled to room temperature.

Normally garnished with almonds and whipped cream but the girl likes it plain.

This is an old photo showing the Mudd Pie garnished with whip and ganache…also made in a pie pan so you get the lovely domed shape!

This recipe is shared at:

Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Gluten-Free Wednesdays

Easy Summer Salads Series…Classic Cobb Salad

I love salads.  Summer is the perfect time of year for them, too.  I live in Colorado and I do not have air conditioner in my home (when we built the house the builders assured us we didn’t need it, they were wrong!!!)  so there are several weeks during the hot months that I just don’t want to turn on the oven… A refreshing summer salad is just the way to go!

In the next few posts I’m going to share a few recipes for my favorites right now…

Classic Cobb Salad

This recipe is adapted from Food Network.

Ingredients for 4 salads:

8 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled

2 scallions, sliced

24 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half (or 1 large tomato, seeded and chopped)

1 large avocado, chopped

4 hard-boiled eggs, chopped

8 ounces, cooked chicken breast or thighs, chopped

1 cup cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped

8 ounces chopped lettuce

Dressing of choice… I like cheater homemade ranch (recipe to follow) or if you eat dairy the traditional dressing for a Cobb salad is blue cheese (recipe to follow).

  • Prep ingredients as instructed in the above ingredient list.
  • In a large bowl toss the lettuce with your dressing, season with salt and pepper and then divide evenly between 4 plates.
  • To garnish each salad, make a row of each on top of the lettuce; avocado, chicken, tomatoes, cucumber, scallions, bacon and eggs.
  • Serve immediately.

Cheater Homemade Ranch Dressing:

1/4 cup homemade mayonnaise

1 T. Penzey’s Sunny Paris Seasoning

2 T. cold water

In a small bowl combine seasoning and water and allow to set for 5 minutes.  After 5 minutes, pour reconstituted seasoning into 1/4 mayo and mix until well combined.  Chill for at least 30 minutes.

Classic Cobb Blue Cheese:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

juice of 1/2 lemon

4 ounces blue cheese or Gorgonzola

In a medium bowl whisk together the olive oil and lemon juice, season with salt and pepper.  Whisk in blue cheese until well combined.

This recipe is shared at:

Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Fat Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, Gluten-Free Wednesday, Whole Foods Wednesday, Beyond the Peel, Tastetastic Thursday, Fight Back Friday, Summer Salad Sundays