Mushroom Bacon Salad

Shannon got ahold of my camera

So it’s time for bacon butternut squash again. You can find that recipe here, but the reason I know it’s time for the squash recipe again is because last night we had Mushroom Bacon Salad. There are 3 meals that I usually make in order because I can start with the salad like I did last night and it makes the next three meals very easy. And talk about easy, this one took all of 5 minutes! So here we go

1 9oz bag of spinach leaves

1 cup of green leaf lettuce torn up into salad size pieces

1-2 lbs of turkey bacon (for all 3 recipes I usually cook up 2 pounds but not everyone likes bacon as much as we do)

1 8oz container of mushrooms

1 onion

Feta cheese

Your choice of yummy dressing- hands down the best with this salad is Red Wine Vinaigrette, but Tim and the kids also enjoy Creamy Poppyseed

Cook bacon on med heat, flipping as necessary, until it’s cooked and crunchy. Empty ¾ of the spinach bag into a large bowl. Mix in green leaf lettuce. While the bacon is still cooking, chop all of the mushrooms and the whole onion. Put half of the mushrooms and ¼ of the onion on top of the spinach leaves. Put the remaining mushroom, onion and spinach in airtight containers for later use. Next add as much feta as you’d like, I’d say we put about 1/3 of a cup. Now the bacon should be done, so pull it off the heat, soak up grease with a paper towel and crumble ¾ of a lb on top of everything else. Put the rest of the bacon in a Ziploc with a paper towel. Toss the spinach leaves and toppings a few times, serve and enjoy!

I love this dinner; it’s easy and even my kids love it. They didn’t always, getting kids to eat salad may take some trial and error as it did with us but now they eat it all up and Patrick told me last night when he finished, “Thanks Mommy, I really liked that a lot.” What I also love about this meal is that I can chop and have everything ready for the butternut squash the next night, then omelets the following breakfast or even dinner. A lot of the ingredients are the same, yet they all taste so different you won’t know you’ve been eating the some of the same foods three days in a row.

So, with the salad we had leftover from last night, I added avocado and some leftover chicken breast, and wrapped it up, poured a little of the poppy seed dressing on top and wrapped it up in a tortilla for Tim’s lunch today. Then there was still a little more salad left over that I will use for omelets tomorrow. For tonight’s dinner, we’ll have butternut squash and use the rest of the spinach in the bag, about ¾ of the remaining onion and 1 lb of the bacon. For the omelets, use the leftover spinach salad, some fresh salsa, mozzarella cheese, and the remaining bacon, onion and mushrooms for a whole new taste with those same ingredients.

And because the salad is so light and refreshing, we had dessert too. This is one of my favorites. For one serving you’ll need

1 cup of applesauce

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

½ cup of berries

Cinnamon to taste

Like the salad this is really simple, just combine all the ingredients and you have a wonderful and refreshing dessert. I like to use frozen berries and thaw them when I need them so I get more “juices” to mix into the applesauce. I think it gives it a little more flavor and it definitely makes the applesauce a pretty color, which served in a pretty bowl also makes a great choice for guests or a brunch.

And again- Shannon's favorite subject: Laura

Pirate Patrick- Arrgghh Matey!

Romans 12:9-18
12:9 Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; 10 love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor 11 Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord.12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.13 Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.16 Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. 18 If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.