Plus, a yummy Hot Bacon Dressing recipe!
Spinach seems to be one of those leafy greens that if you don’t take care of it as soon as you get home from the grocery store, it goes bad before you can use it all. But it doesn’t have to be that way! Once you learn how to store spinach properly, you can make your spinach last for weeks!
Washing Spinach
Even though store-bought spinach is labeled “pre-washed”, I always recommend washing spinach again. This is the best way to ensure it is truly clean and it helps those leafy greens last longer! When you get home, remove it from the bag or plastic container and put the spinach leaves into a large bowl with 10 cups of cool water, and ¼ cup of 5% Distilled White Vinegar. The vinegar will remove E.coli, salmonella, listeria, and other harmful pathogens. Make sure to set a timer for two minutes. When the timer goes off, rinse the spinach and lay it out on a clean bath towel for about three hours to dry. A salad spinner, like this one, can help to speed up the process.
How to Store Spinach
For the best results, you need to make sure there is no excess water on the leaves. Over the years, I have found that if I store spinach in an airtight container, it lasts even longer. Plus, they’re more eco-friendly than plastic alternatives. Silicone bags are another good option. I really like these silicone bags. They’re my favorite reusable bags because they are dishwasher safe and can go from the fridge to freezer.
If I have any leftover spinach from my previous shopping trip as I get toward the end of the month, I transfer it from the fridge to the freezer to use for green smoothies. This is a great way to boost their nutritional value and sneak in some extra leafy greens.
Taking a few extra minutes to wash your spinach when you get home from the grocery store will help make your spinach last. Follow these steps so that there are no more bags of slimy spinach leaves going bad before you have a chance to use them. Also, don’t be afraid to throw your spinach in the freezer so it doesn’t go to waste!
Spinach Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing
Equipment
- Tongs
- Dinner Plate
- Paper towels
- Large pan
- Wooden spoon
- Small Bowl
- Salad bowl
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
Ingredients
- 4 strips Bacon, cooked and diced
- ¼ c. Bacon Grease, or Oil of your choice
- ¼ c. Pine Nuts
- ¼ c. Honey
- ½ Lemon, juiced
- ¼ c. Dijon Mustard
- ½ tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 T. Red Wine Vinegar
- 3 T. Balsamic Vinegar
- 16 oz. Baby Spinach
- 1 c. Croutons, (see Note below)
- ⅔ c. Craisins
Instructions
PREPARE BACON BITS:
- Dice bacon and cook on medium heat until crispy.
- Line a plate with paper towels and lay bacon bits on paper towels to cool.
- Reserve grease for future steps unless you plan to use another oil of your choice.
TOAST PINE NUTS:
- Toast the pine nuts on medium heat in 1 T. of oil until they are golden brown.
- Remove from pan and set aside in a small bowl.
PREPARE THE DRESSING:
- Add bacon fat to the pan and heat until it returns to liquid form.Or oil of your choice.
- Add honey, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, red wine vinegar, and balsamic vinegar to the pan.
- Stir to mix thoroughly.
- Add the bacon to the pan and heat through.
BUILD THE SALAD:
- In the salad bowl, add the spinach, croutons and craisins.
- Remove the pan of dressing from the heat and pour over the spinach salad.
- Mix to evenly coat and top with parmesan.Serve immediately.
Notes
- I make my own gluten-free croutons using my food dehydrator and homemade sourdough bread. I dehydrate the bread pieces and store them in a large jar. To season the croutons, I remove the amount I want to make from the larger jar, put them in a smaller container and spray with oil. Then I season with a garlic and herb seasoning blend and some salt. Shake to coat and there you have it, homemade, gluten-free croutons!
- You can make the salad and the dressing ahead of time, but do not combine the salad and dressing until you are ready to serve. If you make the dressing ahead of time, it will need to be reheated in order for the ingredients to combine properly.
- We make this for Christmas every year. If we have it in the spring or summer, we serve it with fresh strawberries in place of the craisins.
- The Cross Legacy provides estimated nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is collected from the USDA database via Spoonacular, when available. If not available, nutrition information is pulled from other online calculators. Ingredients can vary and The Cross Legacy can make no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
Nutrition
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