Strawberry Spinach Salad

Fresh spinach leaves
Sliced and washed strawberries
sliced almonds
craisins
granola

Dressing:
1/2 cup to 1 cup homemade strawberry jam
1 tsp. Balsamic vinegar
You can thicken this by refrigeration, or you can thin it by adding water. Pour over salad just before serving.

I tried earlier to make a vinaigrette, it can take up to two days! The beauty of this recipe is you can use your own jam to make something even better in just a few seconds. This has been a hit whenever I've served it. People have said it is so sweet, it's like eating candy. Your dressing should look like a rusty color. Not too brown, not too red.

If you are making a small salad for two, just a few spoonfuls of jam with a splash of balsamic vinegar will work very well.

You sprinkle the granola on top of your salad just before serving.

I'm sure any granola would work but if you want my homemade, here it is:

Honey Granola with Fruits, Seeds and Nuts
1 cup honey
1/3 cup canola oil
1/8 tsp. salt
4 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
2 tsp. sesame seeds
1 cup crasins
1 cup golden raisins

300 degrees. Spray cookie sheets with Pam.
Combine honey oil and salt in small saucepan. Stir over med. heat until well blended. 2 minutes

Mix oats, pumpkin seeds, almonds, sunflower seeds, and sesame seeds in large bowl. Stir honey mixture and drizzle over oat mixture while stirring. Continue stirring until oats are coated.

Spread mixture onto baking sheets and cook 15 minutes. Stirring and toatating pan until golden brown. Watch closely to avoid burning. (It usually takes me around three sets of 15 min.)

Cool and stir in crasins and raisins.
This part of the recipe came from Prevention magazine.