Pears, Goat Cheese...Need I Say More? Foodie Friday

Is there anything more beautiful than a simple pear?

With just a few ingredients and very little time, you can prepare a Delicious

salad  that is nice enough for company and yet simple enough for family.

Ingredients:

1 bag of spinach (don't forget to rinse it, even if it says pre-washed)

goat cheese (I used 3 oz. for this salad, you can add as much as you like)

1/2 cup (or more if you like) toasted nuts* (I used walnuts. You could use pecans, almonds or pine nuts)

1 pear-cored and thinly sliced

Place the spinach in a large bowl, top with sliced pears, goat cheese and cooled toasted nuts. Drizzle with Orange Vinaigrette before serving.

Orange Vinaigrette:

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup white vinegar

2 heaping T. orange marmalade

2 T. sugar

1 T. spicy mustard

pinch salt and pepper

Place in bowl and whisk until well blended. You can leave out the marmalade if you don't happen to have it, you may need to add a bit more sugar to sweeten the dressing.

I will be serving this salad with pork chops. I will also pour a bit of the dressing over the pork chops and let them marinate before cooking.

*To toast the walnuts (or whatever nuts you are using) I use a piece of foil with the ends turned up so that I can remove it easily from the oven. You can use a cookie sheet, but I’d rather throw away foil than wash something else. Place them in the cold oven, turn it on to 350 degrees and bake about 10 minutes. They can burn easily, so watch them closely. You will know they are toasted when you can just begin to smell them. Remove from oven, and let cool a few minutes.