Birthday Salad

It was my grandpa's 88th birthday last week! We had a little family and friends potluck party, and I brought this very tasty salad, which had to stand up beside classics like ham loaf and corn pudding. This salad is nothing that original, but the beet-red vinaigrette makes it relatively fancy-looking for a simple homemade salad, and it has got some great combinations: beets, red onions, bacon, goat cheese...

Birthday Salad

Serves 8-10 as a side salad, 4-5 as dinner salad

1 lb fresh spinach or your favorite leaf mix (I got a mix from Sam's Club that had baby kale & swiss chard leave plus Spinach)
1 red onion, sliced thin
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
4 small beets, steamed or roasted, peeled, and cut into wedges
6 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into 6 inch pieces
1 mini-log (? oz) goat cheese, crumbled

Pink Vinaigrette
1 small beet, steamed or roasted, peeled, and cut into wedges
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
3 tbsp white vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
pinch sea salt
pinch pepper
Cook the bacon - I either bake it or fry it in a skillet. It's easier to fry in bigger pieces and then cut up to smaller bits after it's cooked since frying up small pieces makes them easy to burn. I kept my bacon bits pretty big compared to your average salad bar bacon bits - you want to be able to tell it's real bacon.

Mix it all up in a big bowl.

To make the dressing, blend in a blender or mini food processor until smooth - it should only take a few seconds. Add the dressing as the salad is served in individual bowls - you don't want all the pink beetiness all over everything until it's all ready to eat.