Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Salad for Supper



I hope you had a nice weekend!  We had a wonderful weekend, but were out of town for the past five days so I'm trying to get back into the swing of things here.  

Today I thought I'd share a salad recipe that is my husband's favorite.  Actually, my entire family loves this so I make it frequently.  It's easy, quick, and delicious - perfect for supper on a busy weeknight.


Begin by frying some bacon.  We all love bacon in this house so I chop at least 6 pieces and fry them until crispy.


 While the bacon is frying, I chop all the vegetables, starting with the lettuce.  I love artisan lettuce, so I typically use it but I think just about any variety would work for this salad. For our family, I probably chop about four cups or so. 


Next, dice some tomatoes (I prefer grape or cherry for a salad).  Sadly, this was the very last bunch of  grape tomatoes from our garden!


Chop up an avocado and add it along with some gorgonzola cheese (I use about 1/4 cup).


 Lastly, add the cooked bacon.  You can see why my husband often refers to this as a BLT salad!


 While this salad would be delicious with any dressing, I always quickly make a batch of this vinaigrette to go with it as my cookbook suggested.  Likely you will have some left over and it makes a perfect marinade for chicken later on in the week. I'll include the recipe at the end of the post.


To complete the meal, I often use this recipe for a side of bread... the only difference being I use about a third of the butter her recipe calls for, but it's still delicious (and a little healthier... you know, to make up for all that fried bacon - smile).


This is what a simple supper looks like for us... even though we have a large dining room table, we almost always eat in our kitchen cramped together at our old farmhouse table.  It's cozy and cheerful with the late afternoon sunlight streaming in and one of my favorite times of the day.


Salad recipe adapted from My Father's Daughter cookbook

Vinaigrette Dressing Recipe
 From My Father's Daughter cookbook

Mix together:
2 tsp dijon mustard
2 tsp maple syrup
1/4 c red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp vegetable or canola oil
1/2 c extra virgin olive oil
coarse salt (I like Kosher)
freshly ground black pepper

 P.S.  The randomly selected winner of the Eco Natural Soap giveaway is #38 Angie.
Congratulations, Angie!
Thank you all for entering!

26 comments:

  1. Ok, I am salvating now. I haven't even had breakfast yet. A salad with bacon is always a good salad. Who doesn't love bacon. The crusty bread looks delicious too. Your last photograph is making me drool. Now I want to go fry up some bacon instead of having my oatmeal. I think salad is on the lunch menu today. Thanks.

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  2. Your salad looks devine!!! Your photos look wonderful and come alive on the page.

    You are becoming my new mentor!!!

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  3. That looks really good and the dressing sounds interesting with the maple syrup. I will have to try that. I love salads and love trying new ones.

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  4. Beautiful salad, I love it, thank you I need ideas for suppers, Perfect

    Marina

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  5. Oh, wow, this looks tantalizing, Andrea! (The food and the photography!) I love hearty salads for dinner and with the inclusion of bacon? I'm there. :) We have a plethora of hard-boiled eggs at the moment thanks to our prolific hens, so I believe I'll have to do a variation of this salad later this week.

    Have a wonderful week,
    Erin

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  6. I can't believe it. I've never won anything! Thanks Andrea! That salad looks so good. I love to eat salad for supper but mine isn't near as pretty as yours is. And once again your photography is totally outstanding!

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  7. My hubby and I love a hearty salad for dinner...Your salad looks so wonderful!!....the presentation of your dinner is amazing!

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  8. Looks delicious! My family has never met a dish with bacon we didn't like! :)

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  9. Looks so good- I love a tasty salad! And the vinaigrette dressing sounds so yummy. Thanks for sharing!

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  10. Anything with bacon is a winner in my book! I have to admit that I would probably eat more of the bread than the salad. :o) Incredible pics as always. We were out of town for a few days too. It's so nice to get away but playing catch up is no fun!

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  11. i'm all about a simple supper. such a beautiful, useful and inspiring post!

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  12. Looks yummy! We have salads everyday, either for lunch or dinner, so I'm excited to try this. Thanks for sharing.

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  13. BLT salad is one of our favorites....simple and delicious especially with the addition of the blue cheese. We are still getting some roma tomatoes for Fall and from volunteer plants. We were so lucky. Your photography is just beautiful! xo

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  14. last of the tomatoes here too :(

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  15. We tend to think there's nothing that bacon can't make better! :-) Lovely food and photos. Have you ever tried adding something sweet to a salad like this? I like strawberries (when they are in season) or mandarin orange slices or blueberries. Sweet + bacon = Awesome!

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  16. Hi Andrea, Wow, that looks yummy, awesome photos. That is my kinda dinner. I make my own dressings but never tried the maple syrup, thanks for the recipe;)!!! Your blog looks beautiful, I love all of your fall images at top. Happy Fall, Jen

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  17. Oh that looks so delicious and your photography captures it so well. And I too agree that a homemade dressing is so much better than what you get at the store. Bravo! I imagine some wonderfully cozy meals in your farmhouse kitchen.

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  18. I just had that salad at Panera on Sunday. I must try that bread. You sure have a great eye for photography.....beautiful photos.

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  19. That salad looks delicious! It's also very healthy. Love how fresh the ingredients are that you used too. May have to try this one night.

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  20. Your salad looks yummy. My husband loves gorgonzola and bacon, so it will be a hit at my house! Love your photos also!

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  21. I just haven't felt like cooking much and this salad looks like a perfect easy meal. My husband loves anything with bacon so this will be perfect. Thanks for the great recipes!

    ~Lynn

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  22. Hi, You have a little surprise in my blog
    Marina

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  23. Not only does your salad look fantastic, so do your photos! We've been eating a lot of salads lately because we have some lettuce growing in our garden. I'm going to try your salad dressing recipe.

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  24. Wow this looks delicious! I'm going to try this next week, thanks! Hopping over from Happy Hour at Craftberry Bush :)

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  25. Well, you already know how I feel about this salad...but I'll say it again as I lick my lips and drool over it....thanks my sweet friend for sharing with the rest of us....xo
    Lu

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  26. I don't eat bacon, but the salad and the bread both look sooo yummy! It is like a BLT, isn't it? I'll have to give your recipe a try, I know my kids would love it!

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