I make no excuses...only delicious food

I think about giving up on this blog but then I always come back. I like to cook, I like to write, and I love to eat...this just makes sense.  I guess the egotistical side of me needs gratification of knowing someone is reading thing besides my Mom.  (Hi Mom!)

The significant other and I are dieting or having a lifestyle change or what ever you want to call it. It all boils down to we are trying to loose weight and eat cleaner food.  The thing is...my body seems to crave all that bad, processed food, and sugary drinks.  So far I am down 22 pounds since December 13, 2013.  We are using this great app/website called: MyFitnessPal. It really helps a lot and makes me think about what I eat and drink.   I was drinking so many calories and didn't realize it.

As for eating...we have come across this killer warm salad dressing to have on a spinach salad.  A serving of the salad with two servings of the dressing is about 300 calories. It tastes delightfully bad while being good for you.  We like to add some protein to it  in the form of some lean steak.  I'm sure it would be rocking with chicken or shrimp as well. It also goes great as a side with pasta dishes.  It's so good I could seriously eat this every night.  Original recipe called for blue cheese...feel free to use that if you like...I dislike blue cheese so asiago for me.  It also called for lettuce.  I'm not a fan of wilted lettuce so enter spinach.

Warm Maple Bacon Spinach Salad

Ingredients:

• 4 strips of Bacon, cooked, crumbled and bacon fat reserved
• 1/3 cup Real Maple Syrup
• 3 tablespoons Country Dijon Mustard
• 2 tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 1/8 teaspoon Black Pepper
• 1 Shallot, finely diced
• 1 package of fresh spinach
• 1 small Honeycrisp Apple, sliced
• 1/4 cup Pecan Halves
• 1/4 cup Asiago Cheese, or more to taste

Directions:

1. Combine the maple syrup, mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper into a small bowl or jar and set aside.
2. Toss together the spinach, sliced apples, pecans, cheese, and crumbled bacon.
3. Reheat the bacon fat over medium/ medium-high heat.
4. Sauté diced shallot until softened. 
5. While whisking, gradually add in the jar of maple/mustard mixture. 
6. Simmer for 3-5 minutes or until slightly thickened.
7. Plate up the salads and serve the warm maple bacon dressing drizzled over the top.

I also take no credit for making this recipe other than eating its delicious goodness...the significant other is the one that totally makes it.