Spinach Salad with Candied Pecans & Dried Cherries in a Balsamic Mustard Vinaigrette

This salad is so simple to make and you can add just about anything you wish to it but I happened to have a few extra candied pecans left from when I made the biscotti so I tossed in some of those, with some dried cherries and this was a great, quick dinner salad. For the hard boiled eggs, simply put the eggs into a pan of cold water and let them come to a boil. Once the water starts to boil, set your timer for 6 minutes then "test" the egg before cooling them by spinning it. Ok for those of you new to this technique, I found a video on You Tube . But basically, the way to tell if your egg is hard boiled or not is to try spinning it on the narrow point of the egg. If it falls to the side, it's not cooked all the way. If it spins upright, then it's hard boiled. Once cooked, cool the egg by placing it in cold water with some ice to speed the process. Refrigerate until you're ready to slice.

Spinach Salad with Candied Pecans & Dried Cherries in a Balsamic Mustard Vinaigrette
10oz. Bag Fresh Spinach
1/4 c. Candied Pecans
1/2 c. Dried Cherries
10 Baby Carrots, sliced
2 Hard Boiled Eggs, sliced
1 Cucumber, peeled and sliced
Prepared Vinaigrette

Wash spinach, remove stems and gently tear the leaves and place into a large bowl. Add the pecans, cherries, carrots, eggs and cucumbers. Add the prepared vinaigrette and toss coating all of the leaves. Serves 4.



Balsamic Mustard Vinaigrette
1/4 c. Balsamic Vinegar
2 tbsp. Stone Ground Mustard (I used Inglehoffer)
1/2 c. Canola Oil

Whisk all ingredients together until well blended. Makes 3/4 cup.

Enjoy!