Strawberry Salad

When Spring has sprung, so do Ponchatoula Strawberries.  This is a great salad recipe from my friend Brenda.  We had dinner parties when we were all newlyweds.  I've made it every year when the strawberries are ripe and delicious!

Ingredients:

Dressing: 

• 1 C. sugar
• ½ C. vegetable oil
• 1 C. apple cider vinegar
• ½ T. Dijon mustard
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 T. kosher salt
• ½ T. black pepper
• 1 t. Accent

Salad:

• 1 small head of red leaf lettuce, torn into bite size pieces
• 1 small head of green leaf lettuce, torn into bite size pieces
• 4 green onions, sliced
• 2 pts. strawberries, sliced
• 1 can mangerine oranges
• ¾ C. almonds, slivered
• 2 bags of ramen noodles

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Place the ramen noodles, that have been broken up, on a baking sheet with the slivered almonds and bake for 20 minutes or until browned
3. Make the dressing combining all of the ingredients by whisking until fully incorporated
4. When you are ready to serve the salad, combine the salad ingredients and pour the dressing over the salad and serve immediately

Tips and Tricks:

• I use an immersion blender to incorporate the dressing ingredients.  It works better and faster than whisking.
• You can use any lettuce you like for this salad; baby greens are nice with this also.  I have tried it with iceberg and I don’t think it tasted as good.