Caramelized Pecan & Craisin Salad with Honey Red Wine Vinaigrette

      So my husband turned 40 last weekend and I decided to go all out for his special day and throw a dinner party for him. We invited some couples over and played games, ate delicious food, and laughed a TON!!  It was a great night and now we have a wonderful memory of this milestone in his life that was shared with people we truly love. We celebrated with our kids the night before too so we got to party a lot last weekend!!  I'll be posting the to-die-for cake I made for dessert later this week.  Be watching and preparing for this by eating nothing but celery for the next several days so you can save up your calories and make and eat as much of you want of my triple chocolate cake cheesecake!!!  

   So I wanted to make a salad to go with dinner and this one came to mind immediately, we LOVE this salad!! I make it for Thanksgiving and have nicknamed it "Thanksgiving Salad", but it's great anytime of year!!   My wonderful friend Beckie took this picture for me, and as you can see by the time we remembered to snap a photo this delicious salad was almost gone!!  I'm seriously considering stealing her camera (it would be totally justified since my kids broke mine.) 

Caramelized Pecan & Craisin Salad:
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1 head of Romaine, Green Leaf, or Red Leaf Lettuce

2 Apples, chopped

Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice (to toss with apples)

1/2 cup Craisins

2 oz. Feta Cheese

1/2 cup Caramelized Pecans or Walnuts

Wash, drain and chop lettuce. Place in a salad bowl.  Chop apples, leave peels on. Cut open a fresh orange and squeeze the juice on top of your apples and toss to coat well. This keeps your apples from turning brown and gives the salad a super yummy hint of orange!! Add apples, craisins, feta cheese, and caramelized pecans to the salad and stir. Serve with Honey Red Wine Vinaigrette Dressing and be prepared for some compliments and requests for recipes if you're serving friends or family!!

Honey Red Wine Vinaigrette

1/2 c. red wine vinegar

1/2 c. honey

1-2 cloves garlic, peeled (depending on the size of your garlic cloves)

1 tsp. Kosher salt

1 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper

1/2 c. canola oil

In a blender, combine vinegar, honey, garlic, salt, and pepper. Place lid on blender and blend on high. While blender is running, add oil in a steady stream. Store in refrigerator for about 2-3 weeks. Shake well before serving

Recipe Source: Adapted from ourbestbites