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