Apple, Bacon & Gargonzola Salad w/ Candied Pecans

I love a good salad. Especially when it's loaded with bacon and cheese! Oh and the homemade candied pecans are amazing and way cheaper than buying them in the store.

• 4 cups of your favorite greens (I like to use a mixture of baby spinach and a spring salad mix
• 1 green apple, cored and sliced
• 4 slices bacon, chopped and fried until crispy
• Crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
• Dried cranberries
• Candied pecans (recipe below)

Apple Cider Poppy Seed dressing:

• ¾  cup extra virgin olive oil
• 4 Tablespoons Apple cider vinegar
• ¼ cup honey
• 3 Tablespoons sugar
• 1 Tablespoon poppy seeds
• 1 teaspoon dry minced onion

Combine all the dressing ingredients together in a mason jar or small bowl and mix well. Set aside. Or make ahead of time and keep in fridge, up to 1 week. Combine the remaining salad ingredients and top with dressing. 

Candied Pecans

• 2 cups pecans
• 3 Tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 3 teaspoons water
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Mix the brown sugar, water, vanilla and salt in a small bowl and set aside. In a large frying pan over medium heat cook the pecan halves until fragrant and roasted, about 4-5 minutes. Add the brown sugar mixture to the pecans and stir until evenly coated, remove from heat. Lay out pecans on parchment paper to cool. Store unused pecans in a airtight container.

Kale & Brussels Sprouts Salad

This is one of my favorite healthy salads. It reminds me of a Caesar salad, but without all the calories. And if you have someone that doesn't like Brussels sprouts? They'll never even notice them in this salad. It's so good. And it tastes even better the longer you let it sit.

• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 Tablespoon minced shallot
• 1 small garlic clove, finely grated
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• ground black pepper
• 1 large bunch of kale, center stem discarded, leaves thinly sliced
• 6 oz brussels sprouts, trimmed, finely grated or shredded
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1/3 cup almonds with skins, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup shredded parmesan

In a large bowl add the chopped kale and drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Gently massage the kale for around 5 minutes. This helps the kale to become a little less bitter. Combine lemon juice, dijon mustard, shallot, garlic, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Stir to blend; set aside to let flavors meld. Mix thinly sliced kale and shredded brussels sprouts in a large bowl. Measure 1/2 cup oil into a cup. Spoon 1 Tablespoon oil from cup into a small skillet; heat over medium high heat. Add almonds to skillet and stir frequently until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Transfer nuts to a paper towel lined plate. Sprinkle almonds with salt, if desired. Slowly whisk remaining olive oil into lemon-juice mixture. Add cooled almonds and Parmesan to the kale. Add enough dressing to coat. Save the remaining dressing for later use. 

Recipe slightly adapted from:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Kale-Brussels-Sprout-Salad-368295