Spinach Salad with Teriyaki Bowties

I've made this salad 4 or 5 times now and have forgotten to take a picture EVERY time. So, this one is from The Sisters Cafe. We love this salad... it's perfect for summer! Last night I brought it to our RS activity and it was a huge hit there, too.

Spinach Salad with Teriyaki Bowties
Adapted from The Sisters Cafe

16 oz. bowtie pasta, cooked and cooled
2 bags of fresh baby spinach
2 small cans mandarin oranges
1 cup Craisins
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 can water chestnuts, sliced
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 cup honey roasted peanuts or cashews
1/2 cup fresh parsley (optional-I don't add)
1/4 cup sesame seeds, toasted (optional-I don't add)
2 cups torn cooked chicken (optional)

Dressing:
1 cup vegetable oil (I used canola)
2/3 cup white wine vinegar (I used rice vinegar)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2/3 C. teriyaki sauce
5 Tbs. sugar

Cook bowtie pasta according to directions, drain/rinse and cool while whisking the dressing together in a large bowl. Marinate cooked bowtie pasta in the dressing for 1 hour or longer in the fridge (I also marinate the shredded chicken along with it, to give it some flavor... I also marinate it for about 4 hours, usually). Combine salad ingredients in a large bowl and pour the teriyaki sauce and pasta over the salad, toss together and serve. If it's just a few of you, make individual salad servings; keeping the salad and bowtie sauce separate for the rest of the week.

This makes a HUGE salad. I made half for our activity last night and we are having the other half for dinner tonight. The spinach wilts quickly, so definitely keep it separate. Enjoy!

Craisin Apple Salad

I made this for our Thanksgiving a few years ago, and it's become one of our family's (and now our ward's... it's always requested at potlucks) favorite salads.

Craisin Apple Salad
Serves 4-6 (dinner portions) or 10-12 (as a side)
Adapted from According to Kelly

1 bag of baby spinach, wash & dried
1/2 lb. bacon, cooked until crispy & crumbled (I bake ours in the oven... easy and no mess)
1 green apple, cored & thinly sliced
1 small bag of craisins
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup candied pecans (or almonds), for candy-ing how-to go HERE.

Mix the salad ingredients & add the Poppy Seed Dressing (below) just before serving. Note: When I bring this to a potluck/ward dinner, I usually use romaine lettuce, because the spinach wilts pretty quickly. The romaine tastes great, too! Also, when we're having this only for dinner, I usually throw in some chopped grilled chicken.

Poppy Seed Dressing
2 T poppy seeds
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 cups light salad oil (I use canola)
1 & 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. dry mustard

Mix all ingredients in blender. Refrigerate leftovers.

Note: This makes A LOT of dressing. Enough for 3 salads, at least. Mike loves the dressing, so we just keep the leftovers in the fridge and use them on lunches; however, you could halve it if you prefer.