Srawberry Spinach Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

Our friends made this for us one time and we all just fell in love with it. This salad is so light and fresh! It's also, super easy.  I asked for the dressing recipe, and come to find out, I had it all along. It comes from a book called The Essential Mormon Cookbook. 

We got this book as a wedding gift. I didn't realize what a great book it was until just lately when she showed me this recipe. The only strange thing to me about this recipe, is that it is a poppy seed dressing, and the poppy seeds are optional.  I don't know about you but that seems quite funny!

Strawberry Spinach Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing 

Salad

Baby spinach

1 pint of strawberries sliced

1-2 cups Candy Coated Chopped Pecans (recipe below)

In a large bowl, pour in desired amount of spinach. Top with strawberries and pecans.  Serve with poppy seed dressing.

Poppy Seed Dressing

1 1/4 Tbsp    poppy seeds (optional)

3/4 Cup        vinegar

1/2 cup         sugar

1 1/2 Tbsp    grated onion

1 1/2 tsp       salt

3/4 tsp          dry mustard

1 1/2 cups    vegetable oil

Mix everything in a blender. Refrigerate unused dressing for future use. Keeps up to 3 weeks in the refrigerator.

Candy coated pecans

Pecans

sugar

Chop pecans and pour into a skillet.  Sprinkle a generous amount of sugar over the pecans.  Over medium low heat, stir continuously until sugar is melted and begins to crystallize.  Remove from heat and let cool on a plate.