Mixed green salads are great, but sometimes you want something different. Perhaps you'd like something a little more special to serve with a fancy meal or to share with others. How about a salad that features apples, one of the best fruits of fall? Apple and Blue Cheese Salad is simple to prepare and chock full of healthy ingredients, including slightly bitter-spicy arugula, carrots, green onions, and crunchy celery. The apple adds sweetness, and the blue cheese provides a creamy, salty taste. To add to the fall theme, try the salad sprinkled with roasted pumpkin seeds. They'll provide a tasty, nutritious crunch.
Apple and Blue Cheese Salad -- Serves 4-6
4 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons of olive oil
2-3 tablespoons of strawberry jam
1/4 teaspoon of lemon pepper
5-6 cups of arugula (about half a large bag)
1 large apple, cored and chopped
1/2 cup of shredded carrots
1 stalk of celery, chopped
3-4 green onions, chopped
1/4 - 1/2 cup of blue cheese, crumbled
2-3 tablespoons of dried cranberries
2-4 tablespoons of roasted pumpkin seeds (without the hulls!)
In a large salad bowl, whisk the apple cider vinegar, olive oil, strawberry jam, and lemon pepper together until the jam breaks down and everything is well blended. Add the arugula, apple, carrots, celery, green onions, blue cheese, and dried cranberries to the bowl. You can refrigerate the salad at this point, if you'd like to finish the rest of your dinner preparations. When you're ready to serve the salad, take it out of the refrigerator and toss the ingredients gently to coat them with the dressing at the bottom of the bowl. Sprinkle on the pumpkin seeds and then serve the salad.
