Spinach Bacon Vegetable Salad Supreme

Adding more greens to your diet can be a difficult thing considering most greens have little flavor and can be bland on their own. I, for one, do not like green, leafy vegetables on their own. I always need to season them.

I noticed a big difference between cooked and raw greens. When you cook them, they often become mushy, which might not be for everyone although, I am partial to cooked spinach with butter and garlic. I prefer them raw in a salad, mixed in alongside other vegetables and/or fruits, seasonings, toppings and sometimes meats, such as bacon, ham, chicken or tuna. Tomatoes seem to be the quintessential accompaniment to any greens and a salad but not always necessary. I usually always add tomatoes to my salad because they add a mild sweetness that removes some of the bitterness of the greens.

There are many kinds of greens from dozens of kinds of lettuce to kale, spinach, among many other kinds. I prefer raw spinach and some kinds of lettuce, like escarole. They should be cold, clean and crisp to add the extra crunch -- I doubt that most people like soggy greens in their salads.

Seasonings and toppings for salads number in the dozens. Some that I like, in addition to tomatoes, include, olives, croutons, bacon, green peppers, pepper and cheese, among other things.

Dressing is another topic entirely. There are enumerable brands and flavors of dressings in supermarkets or homemade. No matter if you like Caesar dressing, Italian, ranch, French, or thousand Island, they should be used sparingly, just enough to add flavor to salad without overpowering the flavor of the vegetables and toppings and definitely not enough to make it soggy. Dressings are also high in fat and cholesterol, so you don't want to use much or possibly use a light dressing.

I recently discovered one of the best seasoning mixes I've ever used. It's called McCormick Salad Supreme Seasoning, which is a blend of Romano cheese, sesame and poppy seeds, paprika, garlic, celery seed, salt, red and black pepper adds great flavor and a colorful garnish to salads, pasta, chicken or fish for vegetables. While it has 0 calories, fat and cholesterol, you need to be careful of this seasoning because it has 55 mg of sodium. You don't want to add any more salt to your recipe if you use this.

McCormick Salad Supreme Seasoning can be found at most supermarkets. Go to the McCormick website for more information.

The recipe I have included is a simple one which I call Spinach Bacon Vegetable Salad Supreme. The title says it all. It is a good solid for vegetarians, if you leave the bacon out. That is, unless you are one of those strict vegetarians that does not eat animal byproducts because of the cheese in the seasoning. This salad can be done with countless variations but this should give you a good starting point.

Spinach Bacon Vegetable Salad Supreme

Ingredients

1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup vinegar
1 tablespoon dry oregano
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
4 strips of bacon
6 cups salad greens (preferably spinach)
1 cup sliced vegetables, such as mushrooms, carrots, radishes and cucumber
1 medium tomato, chopped
McCormick Salad Supreme Seasoning

Directions

1. Mix oil, vinegar, oregano and mustard in small bowl. Chill the dressing in the refrigerator.

2. Fry the bacon until well done and crisp. Crumble into small pieces into a bowl and chill in the refrigerator.

3. Chop and/or slice the tomato and vegetables. Rip the greens into big leaves with your hands (using a knife will cause it to brown).

4. Toss the greens, vegetables, tomato, bacon and the Salad Supreme Seasoning in a large bowl. Chill in the refrigerator until serving time (at least 30 minutes). This will get everything cold and also allow all of the flavors to blend together.

5. Drizzle the dressing over the salad to taste and serve.

Makes 4 servings.

Pre-cooked bacon or bacon substitute, such as Bac-Os, may be used in place of the bacon in the recipe. Store-bought dressing may be used as well. If necessary, sprinkle more of the Salad Supreme Seasoning and/or dressing to taste.