Meatless Monday: Pear & Pomegranate Spinach Salad

It's Monday! I'm Candace and I'm here from FoodLoveTog to share a recipe for Meatless Monday.  I know what you're thinking. "The bacon lady does Meatless Monday?" Yes, more often than you think. While I do have my love for bacon, I do recognize that I can not have bacon every single day with every single meal. Going Meatless is an excellent way to curb my bacon addiction. That said, I do have moments where all I'm craving is a giant spinach salad. Enter this baby: Pear & Pomegranate Spinach Salad with  Pomegranate Vinaigrette. Yes, you can make a delicious salad and your own dressing at home! Try it, it's easier than you think.
The flavors of Fall are all throughout this salad. Sweet Bartlett pears, tangy Pomegranate seeds, chunky blue cheese and crunchy Pecans. The dressing has a balsamic vinegar base, but when matched with sweet and tangy pomegranate juice, it's kicked up a bit. Simple, yet full of flavor.
Checkout the recipe below.

Pear & Pomegranate Spinach Salad with Pomegranate Vinaigrette

Ingredients 

1 Large bunch of Spinach Leaves for Salad (cleaned and prepped)

1 Bartlett Pear, Seeded and Sliced thinly

1 Handful of Chopped Pecans

1 Handful of Pomegranate Seeds

1/3 cup of Blue Cheese Crumbles

For the Pomegranate Vinaigrette

1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar

1/3 cup of Pomegranate juice

½ teaspoon salt

Several cracks of cracked Black Pepper

¾ cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Directions

To Prepare Salad:

Add Spinach to large salad bowl

Mix in Chopped Pecans.

Mix in Blue Cheese Crumbles.

Top with sliced Bartlett Pear.

Sprinkle Pomegranate Seeds on top of salad just before serving.

To Prepare Pomegranate Vinaigrette:

In a bowl, combine by whisking Balsamic Vinegar, Pomegranate juice, salt, and fresh Black Pepper.

Slowly whisk in Extra Virgin Olive Oil and whisk until emulsified.

Spoon desired amount over dressing.

Toss gently

Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Candace Boyd Wylie is an Indianapolis, Indiana native who believes in the power of a good meal.  She is the recipe developer and content creator and FoodLoveTog. A food blog that is dedicated to sharing good eats and food for the soul. Candace is a wife, mother, daughter, sister and CWUW supporter.. She can be found on the web at FoodLoveTog and at BoydWyliePhoto