A Simple Salad with a Sensational Oil and Vinegar Dressing

Whenever I'm on the road for more than a couple of days, it always feels extra great to be back home sleeping in my own bed and cooking my own food. As much as I enjoy eating out, I truly love to cook and always miss my kitchen!

This time was no exception, so last night for dinner I prepared a yummy shrimp stir fry (quick and healthy) and today I decided to have a salad for lunch. Too many meals out usually equals too many unnecessary calories, so I was craving something light and healthy.

If that isn't beautiful I don't know what is!

Enter my fine friends over at O Olive Oil.. as you probably know I'm a HUGE fan of their artisan vinegars and citrus olive oils. Well, recently they kindly offered to send me a sampling to try and the only problem I'm having is that I love every single one and can't decide which one to use next. Good problem to have, I know.

Honestly, some of their vinegars are so good I could literally drink them straight from the bottle. In fact, there are at least a couple that they recommend you could use in cocktails. I'll certainly be giving those a try.

Meanwhile, back to the simple salad with the sensational dressing.. no measuring needed, just choose your ingredients, drizzle and toss.

Simple Salad a with Sensational Oil and Vinegar Dressing

Ingredients:

mixed greens

dried cranberries

Marcona almonds (or regular almonds)

apple chips, lightly crushed (or fresh apple or pear, thinly sliced)

O Honey Apple Vinegar

O Clementine Olive Oil

Place the mixed greens, cranberries, almonds and apple chips in a bowl. Drizzle O Honey Apple Vinegar and O Clementine Olive Oil atop, toss, and serve. You could add goat cheese and/or chicken for a more substantial one dish meal.

If you only wanted to try one of these - either the vinegar or the oil - I'd go with the vinegar in this case. You could certainly get by using regular olive oil, but the Clementine does add a layer of citrus infusion.

The O Honey Apple Vinegar is just like you might imagine - a smooth and silky apple cider-type vinegar with a hint of sweetness from the honey. The O Clementine Olive Oil has just a hint of mandarin orange infused in the delicious olivey oil. You can find a smattering of O Olive Oil products at various markets, like Whole Foods, Bristol Farms and Gelson's. You can also order online direct from O Olive Oil or from any of the multitude of online stores offering deals.

These are the apple chips I used and they were amazing! I got them from Whole Foods Market
and they're made by Good Health Natural Foods