Even I must admit, sometimes you just get a spinach salad that is fabulous.
A few simple ingredients, bacon usually being one of them, turns regular ole’ spinach into a delicious meal.
Not that I really ever consider salad a meal, unless I have an entire loaf of bread beforehand. Bonus points for bread dipped in herbed olive oil.
We don’t have to talk about the bad salads that come into our lives. Let’s just focus on the good ones.
Like this.
I can deal with the raw spinach when it’s topped with some of my favorite things. I enjoy texture too – sweet, salty, crunchy and creamy.
After I snapped these photos, I topped the salad with filet which made it even better. I’m not usually up for chicken, but if it was acceptable (and affordable) to eat filet everyday, I would do so.
I drizzled the salad with olive oil, because if you have been reading you know that I do not really enjoy salad dressing. What I really wanted to do was make a hot bacon dressing, but I think I had my share of bacon grease for the week. I’m going to save that for another time.
Mother Lovett loved getting a spinach salad with hot bacon dressing from a local restaurant. It was slightly smaller than this and took her 3 days to finish. I wish I had her appetite. I’m not sure which kept her alive longer – the copious amounts of bacon grease, lard and butter, or the moderation that she consumed them in. And by ‘moderation,’ I mean she consumed some every single day.
Loaded Spinach Salad
Serves 1
3 cups spinach
1 ounce crumbled gorgonzola
2 slices bacon, fried and crumbled
1/4 sweet onion, cut into slices and caramelized
2 tablespoons chopped, toasted pecans
1/4 avocado, chopped
Add spinach to a large bowl and top with ingredients. Toss with favorite dressing.
Fact: Veggies count when they are covered in bacon and cheese. Because I said so.
I’m Jessica and this is where I share my stuff. You will find a balance of healthy recipes, comfort food and indulgent desserts.
Love the combo of bacon and avocado. So good!
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Big salads= great summer dinner. We had greek-ish salads last night with homemade focaccia. Awesome. Josh would probably like your version better though….he loves bacon :)
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I love making big salads on days when I can’t bear to turn on the oven because of the heat. I usually have to find some alternative for my husband, but every once in awhile he’ll eat on of these..maybe it is the bacon grease!
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I have been loving making big giant salads this summer. My favorite lately has been raw spinach, hard boiled egg, chicken, tomatoes, cucumbers, zuchinni, and red bell pepper. I also add tons of seasonings including red crushed pepper to the mix. The seasoning causes me not to use dressing and it taste delicious!
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This looks perfect for an awesome dinner salad. Can you ever go wrong with bacon + avocado? Nope.
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Mmmm bacon, avocado aand blue cheese – I’m in!
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Spinach…bacon…avocado?? I’m in! Looks great :)
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Spinach, the ultimate veggie! I love me some spinach any day. Putting a filet on top sounds good too!
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Mmmm…I LOVE spinach salad. I’m not even wild about raw spinach, but if you put enough good crap on there, I’ll eat it up :-)
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I love a good spinach salad….but I’d have to sub red onion for the bacon. Because I’m almost as obsessed with red onion as you are with bacon.
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I love hot bacon sauce too, but you don’t need to use the fat! If you heat up a little vinegar and let it reduce with the bacon in it, it totally takes on the most bacon-y flavor. Yum!
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Jessica — July 13th, 2010 @ 5:39 am
I had no idea! Thank you!
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I’m not a salad entree person – except when delicious nuts, cheeses and caramelized onions are involved. The avocado is simply an added bonus!
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Hooray for getting vegetables in your diet!!
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spinach salad with warm bacon dressing was one of my favorite dishes growing up…we always made it with homegrown spinach!
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Nothing beats a large salad in the summer! This one looks wonderful!
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I love any spinach salad!
Spinach holds dressing so much better than its other leafy friends.
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I LOVE this salad! Its one of my favorites :)
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I love that salad! Spinach is my favorite veggie :)
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This looks fabulous! I’d add some dried or fresh fruit too. :)
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I have to admit, I do not like eating spinach salads, BUT with all of those yummy toppings on it, I think I could eat it just fine!! :)
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I’ve been all about salads recently because the thought of turning on my oven makes me shiver!
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This looks SUPER good. I think I’ll make one now!
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Okay I have a confession to make…I like bacon but I hate bacon on salad. I don’t know why….ack…can we still be friends? haha!
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Hey, look at that, you R getting some veggies! ;) Yummmmmmmm…..bacon dressing, I wish I had Momma’s appetite too!! :)
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I just got a whole bunch of spinach and other mixed greens from my CSA this week and now I’m totally excited to make a salad like this! Yum!
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I love spinach salads! Salads are especially attractive in the summer. :) And bacon helps too :D
Wei-Wei
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That looks SOOO good I may have drooled on my keyboard just now. Over-share?
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Mmm.. this looks delicious!!
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Yumm! I love raw baby spinach, but obviously love it even more when it’s topped with things like bacon and cheese! And avocado! A loaf of bread would be nice too :)
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This salad looks AMAZING! I’m starvin’ for salad now:)
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i LOVE different textures in salads!! cool creamy crunchy its all so so so good!
that salad looks DELICIOUS!
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I love anything with bacon. I usually slow cook spinach (greens) for Ben with a few pieces of bacon and chopped up garlic and onion. It’s the onlyw ay he’ll eat veggies!
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You attitude towards food always makes me smile. This is fantastic. I think in general caramelized onions make everything better.
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I think that we should totally eat like our grandparents did, because they ate things like lard, bacon grease, fried chicken, etc. but ate them in moderation and made them at home. My great grandma lived to 101, never turning down chocolate or wine, or anything else she felt like having.
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That salad looks AMAZING!
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I love spinach salad with bacon dressing… and I bet is was FABULOUS with that filet… :)
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oh i was so hoping you’d post your 5 cheat/dirty secrets to me on my comments LOL. I couldnt wait to see what you were gonna write LOL….
xoxo
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I do not consider a salad a meal in itself either. And as a veggie-phobic myself (I believe the proper term is Lachanophobia :) )… spinach most definately counts with bacon.
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I saw the title post and I was a bit confused at first. You and salad? What? ;) Jk. But this looks fantastic!
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I love your humor, and the fact that you’re so balanced with your eating. I usually opt for arugula, but this salad sounds so good, I might go for spinach next time :)
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Jessica — July 13th, 2010 @ 11:16 am
I actually really like arugula too. In fact, I like it more than spinach. Now I’m kicking myself wondering why I didn’t use arugula.
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yum! who needs to eat out when you can make this deliciousness at home?!?
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Seriously. You alone make me want to eat bacon (but not enough to actually eat it…but close).
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I’m salivating over your spinach salad pictures, they are beautiful. I made/had a spinach salad today too but yours definitely takes the cake!
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what a beautiful colours!
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I love big tasty salads for meals. We’ve been having that a lot lately because of all the hot weather. Usually just salad isn’t enough to fill me up, but we’ve been adding things like beans, hard boiled egg, smoked tofu and tuna to pump up the protein and make it more filling. YUM!
p.s. Beautiful pics!!!
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Believe or not I had a warm bacon spinach salad once, hehe,it was tasty…but your salad here looks so much better. ; )
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Your salad looks amazing! The perfect meal for these hot summer days!
http://www.amkingmemorieswithyourkids.blogspot.com
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Hey Jessica! I just came across your blog and love it! I have a favorite spinach salad I have been making lately but yours sounds awesome too, I will definitely have to try it. I am going to add you to my blogroll and stop by your page frequently :)
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No joke – I double checked what blog I was on when I saw the salad! It looks great. :)
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What a great combination of flavours! I love the addition of nuts (and avocado of course!!)
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