Salad Greens with Berries and Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing

I created this salad for a potluck dinner last week.  The combination of the berries, greens, cheese, and onion with the raspberry vinaigrette dressing was very good.  Strawberries dress up everything, don’t you think?

The ingredients are simple.  Here’s what you’ll need for the salad:

salad greens – I used Spring Mix, but I think I might prefer Romaine

red onion, thinly sliced (amount depends on how much salad and how oniony you like it)

handful of dried cranberries

sliced, fresh strawberries

container of goat cheese crumbles (you could use feta or gorgonzola instead)

pecan halves

Toss all of these ingredients together in a large bowl.  You’ll want to wait to add the dressing until right before serving.  Here’s what you’ll need for the dressing:

3 Tbs. seedless red raspberry jam

2/3  cup oil (I used olive oil, but you can use vegetable oil instead)

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

salt and pepper

Melt the jam in a small bowl in the microwave, 10 seconds at a time, stirring in between.  You don’t want to sizzle it, just melt it a bit so it blends well.  In a container with a tight fitting lid, add the jam and other ingredients.  Shake it up to blend it.  Add to the salad greens right before serving to keep from wilting the greens.

The dressing recipe is based on one I found in Taste of Home.  It was easy and much better than store-bought dressings.

Tagged as: cranberries, goat cheese, lettuce, pecans, raspberry jam, red onion, salad dressing, strawberries