Recipe Tuesday ~ Wilted Spinach and Shrimp Salad

Shannon and I went to Applebee's for lunch the other day and they had a new spinach and grilled shrimp salad on the menu, and that inspired me to come up with my own version.  The Applebee's version had spinach, red onion, bacon, grilled shrimp, avacado, roasted red peppers, toasted almonds, and a hot bacon dressing.  I'm lightened mine up a bit in the dressing department, but it's a pretty healthy salad to start with, so I didn't have to modify it too much to make it at home.  This is going to be dinner for us tonight, after a food filled holiday weekend!

Wilted Spinach and Shrimp Salad
1 lb. shrimp, deveined
1 large red bell pepper, cut into strips
2 C bottled Italian dressing
10 ounces pre-washed baby spinach
2 slices bacon, finely chopped
3 ounces Canadian bacon, finely chopped
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 red onion, sliced (about 1 cup)
1 pound button mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1/2 C slivered almonds
1 cup apple cider
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper

Marinate the shrimp and red peppers in some Italian dressing for an hour or so.  Grill the shrimp and the red peppers on a grill or in a grill pan.  Set aside.

Place almonds in a non-stick skillet and heat on medium heat for a few minutes to toast them, then take off the heat and set aside. 

Place spinach into a large bowl. Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat for about 4 minutes, or until it is just crispy. Add Canadian bacon to the skillet and cook for 2 more minutes, stirring frequently. Remove meat from pan and place on a plate lined with paper towels. Drain any remaining fat from the skillet. Add olive oil and onions to the skillet and cook for about 2 minutes, or until onions soften slightly. Add mushrooms to the pan and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 more minutes. Put shrimp, peppers, almonds, onions and mushrooms on top of the spinach. Add apple cider and vinegar to the skillet and turn the heat up to medium-high. Stir to scrape up any bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pan and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until cider is reduced to about 1/2 cup. Whisk in mustard, salt and pepper, to taste. Pour warm cider dressing over the mushrooms and spinach and toss until the vegetables are well coated. Sprinkle the bacon on top and serve.

Doesn't this just sound like a great summer salad?  Yum! If you're not a big lover of spinach, feel free to substitute romaine lettuce or mixed greens as you like. 
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It seems like no time at all that I was looking forward to the holiday weekend and it's gone already!  Hey, who stole my holiday weekend?  Seriously though, it was a blast. 

On Saturday I spent literally HOURS working on power washing the patio, the walks, the deck, the hot tub, my flower pots, the patio furniture....it's a good thing the dog wasn't around or she wouldn't have been spared.  I swear, that powerwasher is my all time FAVORITE power tool!  It's easy to use and really makes a huge difference immediately, so there's a lot of satisfaction in using it.  I wish I could use it on the inside of the house :-)  I also picked up a few hanging baskets and some flowers for my deck pots to get some color out there.  I don't know why....with the cicada invasion just a day or so away, I won't be outside for six full weeks until those suckers are dead and gone, but still.  I have to have some color.  I've been putting it off because we're having the house painted this spring and I hate to plant and mulch only to have the painters tear everything up again.  Hopefully that will get done soon.  We were supposed to have it done in May, but it's been so darned rainy!

Now my deck looks purdy!



Saturday night we went to the Taste of Cincinnati and the Cincinnati Cyclones hockey game.  Fun, fun, fun!  The Taste is the second largest street food festival in the world, next to the one in Chicago.  I really don't care for crowds and we hadn't gone in years, but we went before the hockey game and had a ball! Of course we all ate too much.  The Cyclones ended up playing great and winning their first playoff finals game and we hope to go again if they make it back to town.  Sunday was our last choir Sunday for the season, and then we went to my parents' house for a barbecue, and yesterday we worked outside again then watched the Detroit Red Wings take one step closer to then 2008 Stanley Cup at our friends' house.   Is it Tuesday already?  School is out on Friday.  I'm not in that mindset yet.....

And so I leave you with some photos from Saturday night.  I kind of wish I would have taken my good camera, but these were just from my baby camera, because I didn't want to have to carry a big bag!

Comments

[Hubby]

Why haven't we had this salad???

[DawnMarch]

Love your photos and I'm impressed with your ability to create your own recipes. I am hopelessly un-creative with food!

[JANET IN MICHIGAN]

HI I CAME ACROSS YOUR SITE FROM PIONEER WOMAN AND CLICK ON YOUR NAME AND SAW THAT SALAD---I AM SOLD HAHA SO HERE GOES THE READING--HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND GO WINGS---TALK TO YOU SOON JANET

[Catherine]

looks like a filled and wonderful WE! wow! love spinach so i might try this salad! thanks for the recipe! :)

[Jenna]

Great photos..makes me wish I was there...and OH YUM YUM with the salad...just what I needed to come by and make my stummy growl MORE..dang you! *lol* Seriously though, mmmmmmm!

[Elaine]

Love the photos and what a great recipe, I copied and pasted it so I can make this one night. With us living where we do we go out shrimping all the time to catch fresh shrimp so I'm always looking for good shrimp recipes.
Thanks
Elaine

[Robin L]

we had freezing temps last night so I still cant get flowers out!
Sounds if you had a wonderful weekend! I hope your week goes as well.

[Michelle Waite]

the recipe looks yummy. Great pictures.

[Heather]

Sounds like an awesome weekend! Barb, I'm allergic to shrimp, and your picture even looks good to me. LOL That's awesome! I should see if I can modify it for me so I can eat it. :o)

[janmary, N Ireland]

Great photos - especially the signs.

[Carjazi]

Go Wings!!!! Always excited when they make it to the Finals. Some of the best times were during the 97 playoffs when I was still living in Livonia. Sounds like you had a great weekend. Salad sounds delish too. Congrats on your layouts. Love the extraction one. Have a great day.

[evitangel]

this looks sooo yummy! I have to try this salad!

[evitangel]

OMG barb, this looks soooo yummy! I have to try this salad!

[Andrea]

wow - you had a busy weekend! My husband's been eyeing a powerwasher for awhile now - I'm honestly afraid if he gets one, I'll never see him again, but if the flip side is that the outside of our house is clean? Hmmm - decisions, decisions. Love your photos! I wonder what is says about me that my favorite is the row of porta-potties?

[Amanda]

Looks like a great time! love your photo of the row of toilets!

[amy]

long weekends always seem too short, eh? looks like a fun time sat night!