Fruity Lettuce Salad

(This recipe was first posted in conjunction with the Meijer Ad Week of 2/26/12 - 3/3/12)

This summery salad is so easy to throw together.  It's the perfect accompaniment to almost any entree, from burgers and chicken to pizza and casserole.


Ingredients:

1 bag of salad lettuce (anything with only lettuce...no carrots, red cabbage, etc)
1 1/2 cup sliced fresh strawberries
1 1/2 cups red grapes (halved if desired, or leave whole)
1 - 15 oz can mandarin oranges, drained (optional)
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 of a 3.5 oz bag Almond Accents - Honey Roasted flavor (coupons frequently appear in the Sunday press coupon inserts), OR approximately 1 cup of candied almonds, walnuts, or pecans
poppyseed dressing, as desired

Directions:

Layer or toss all ingredients together immediately before serving.  Serve with dressing mixed in or on the side. 

Options and Tips

• The measurements do not have to be exact.  We like "a little lettuce in our salad" for this recipe, but you might like more lettuce and less toppings.
• Make sure to wait until the last minute to put the salad together (it gets soggy quickly), but you can easily prep everything ahead.  If I'm taking this salad to a gathering, I just wash, cut up, and/or drain the fruit, bag everything up separately in ziploc bags or containers, and then throw the salad together when we get to our destination.  You shouldn't have a problem with soggy leftovers though, because you probably won't have any!
• Don't limit yourself to the fruits listed above...get creative!  You can use blueberries, raspberries, or apples in place of the grapes and strawberries.
• When there isn't any fresh fruit on sale, you can use two cans of mandarin oranges instead.
• Almond Accents are kind of expensive, so it's something I stock up on when I see it on sale or as an in-store special.  Alternatively, you can make your own candied nuts:  Stir 1 cup of pecan halves, walnut pieces, or slivered or sliced almonds and 1/2 cup of sugar together over medium heat.  Continually stir and toss together until sugar begins to melt and carmelize over the nuts.  Watch closely...you want the sugar to get slightly brown, without burning.  As soon as most of the melted sugar is light brown, remove from heat.  Transfer to a heat-proof plate and allow to cool.  Break apart if necessary, and use for salad topping.

This recipe is kind of my own, resulting from a combination of a few different salad recipes...including one from my mom!

This recipe is linked to the Recipe Roundtable over at Sarah's Deals.