.thanksgiving recipe: bacon and pepita salad.

 

Salad is a "safe" food for me, so I eat it a lot. Not to mention it's delicious and good for you! And who doesn't love bacon, really?  

 

This salad is so satisfying for me; I often have it for dinner just by itself. And it's definitely on my Thanksgiving dinner menu!

 

Because many store-bought salad dressings contain soy, dairy, or food coloring, we have started just drizzling our salads with an oil and balsamic vinegar. If you haven't done this before, this is the perfect salad to try it!

 

Click the read more below for the recipe

 

Bacon and Pepita Salad

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds)
• 3-4 tablespoons oil for sautéing (I use sunflower oil)
• 4-5 strips of bacon (I use turkey bacon)
• 1 shallot, minced
• Favorite salad greens
• Balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries

Instructions

• Heat oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat
• Add bacon, shallot, and pepitas
• Sauté until bacon is crispy
• Place salad greens in serving bowl
• Pour entire bacon mixture with oil over greens
• (Side note: because I use turkey bacon, there is not a lot of extra fat in the pan; if you are using pork bacon, I would suggest draining the fat and oil and drizzling the salad greens with different oil)
• Allow the hot mixture to slightly wilt the greens
• Sprinkle the cranberries on top
• Drizzle with balsamic vinegar

 

Serve immediately!

I think this would be wonderful with cheese, as well, maybe a feta, or other similar cheese. Because I cannot have dairy, though, I've never tried it!