Baby Mixed Greens with Pear, Pecans and Feta

Fruit in salad.  What an awesome thing!  I'm always trying to find new ways to make salad and change it up for my family.  The same salad would get boring.  And who wants to eat boring food.  Well, this salad is exciting!  The honey and orange juice in the dressing go pefectly with the pears, the pecans, the feta, the dried cranberries and the mixed greens.

I found this recipe in the 2009 Costco Wholesale Club cookbook.  I don't have a Costco where I live (wish I did) and my sister Paula gets this free cookbook for me every year during the Christmas holiday season.  I'm making this salad again this weekend.  It's great all year round but perfect for the Spring season right now.

Baby Mixed Greens with Pear, Pecans and Feta

Recipe by Kingsburg Orchards in the 2009 Costco Cookbook

(printable recipe)

4 servings

Ingredients

For the Dressing:

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons orange juice

3 tablespoons finely copped pecans

2 tablespoons honey

salt and freshly cracked black pepper

For the Salad:

6 cups baby mixed greens (I used baby romaine but use any of your favorite lettuce)

1 apple pear, halved, cored and sliced into thin wedges (I used a Bartlett pear)

1/3 cup pomegranate seeds or dried cranberries

1/3 cup feta cheese

Preparation

To prepare the dressing, combine olive oil, vinegar, orange juice, pecans, honey, salt and pepper to taste in a salad bowl.  Mix well until blended. 

Add greens and toss to coat with the dressing.  (if you don't want to dress your entire salad, make the dressing in a small bowl and drizzle over each individual salad plate)

Divide the salad on individual plates.  Top with the pear slices.  Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds or dried cranberries and feta.

          

Enjoy!

Mom's Cooking Club Lesson:  To increase your daily serving of fruits and vegetables, try adding fruit to your salad.  It tastes wonderful, it's healthy and a different way for your family to eat fruit.  Now, that's an awesome thing!

Happy Easter, Passover and Spring everyone!