Summer Strawberry Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

Mmm this is my favorite kind of salad, fruit, veggies, chicken (I added grilled chicken!!), and a great dressing that you dont need to use a lot of to get the full flavor. Found on Annie’s Eats I knew it was sure to be a hit and guess what, Annie did it again…it was fabulous, light, summery, delicious! I added grilled chicken and this became the perfect meal!

ENJOY!

Ingredients:
For the dressing:
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
¾ cup sugar
2 tbsp. minced shallot
¼ tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. salt
6 tbsp. light mayonnaise
3 tbsp. freshly squeezed orange juice
6 tbsp. vegetable oil
1½ tsp. poppy seeds

For the salad:
Romaine lettuce, washed and dried
Strawberries, hulled and sliced
Blueberries
Mandarin orange segments
Fresh pineapple, cubed
Slices of grilled chicken breast

Directions:
In the bowl of a food processor, combine the vinegar, sugar, shallot, dry mustard, salt, mayonnaise and orange juice.  Process to blend well.  With the feed tube open and the processor on, add the vegetable oil in a steady stream and continue processing until incorporated.  Add the poppy seeds and pulse briefly just until blended.  Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to use.
To make the salad, chop the lettuce into bite-size pieces.  Plate individual servings of the lettuce in salad plates.  Top each serving with strawberries, blueberries, mandarin oranges and pineapple cubes as desired.  Drizzle lightly with the poppy seed dressing and serve immediately.

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