Yummy Summer Salad

It's about 100* here now, consistently, and I just don't feel like cooking anymore. I dug out this recipe and we had it for dinner yesterday. Yummy! I thought I'd pass it along to all of you. Soon to come : a delicious cold tortellini salad that we had at enrichment last week. Get excited. (Leslie, don't be getting any fancy-pants ideas with this salad . . . I mean it.)

Spinach Salad with Strawberries

(Don't let the name turn you off like it did my kids. They ate it and loved it.)

• 1 bag fresh spinach
• 1 lb. strawberries, sliced
• 1 can mandarin oranges, drained
• 2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced (season with salt and pepper)*

Mix together and toss with Poppy Seed Dressing (about half the recipe is probably plenty, unless you like a soggier salad than I do). Top with Caramelized Almonds. (*About once a week I cook 6 or 8 chicken breasts in my crock pot -- just dump them in there with a cup of water and cook on high 3-4 hours -- then I package them up in freezer bags and keep them in the fridge so I always have some ready. Just a little tip.)

Poppy Seed Dressing

• 1/2 C. sugar
• 1 tsp. dry mustard
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/3 C. vinegar
• 1-1/2 tsp. orange juice
• 1/2 C. vegetable oil
• 1/2 C. pineapple juice
• 1-1/2 tsp. poppy seeds
• 1-1/2 tsp. unflavored gelatin

Combine all ingredients except oil and poppy seeds in blender. Mix well. While blending, drizzle oil in slowly. Add poppy seeds and beat 1 more minute. Let dressing chill about 5 minutes to gel a bit.

Caramelized Almonds

• 2 C. slivered almonds
• 1 C. white sugar

Combine almonds and sugar in a heavy saucepan. Turn heat to high and begin stirring nut mixture. Stir constantly to avoid burning. (I burned mine yesterday, darn it!) When they appear light brown and begin to smell toasted, remove from heat. Continue stirring for 1 minute. As they cool, stir every few minutes to prevent clumping.

Good luck and enjoy! By the way, Brent got a new calling yesterday. I can't say much about it because he hasn't been sustained and some friends from the ward could be reading this, but we had an appointment with the stake president before church yesterday. Good times. At least I think so. Next week . . .