Apple-Pear Salad with Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing

I've recently set a new goal for myself and that is to try to make a dinner, at least 2 or more nights a week, that doesn't contain any meat.  Don't get me wrong though, I love chicken and beef, I just want to try to add a little more whole grains, fruits, and vegetables to my diet. 

Throughout the past couple of months I have stumbled across so many delicious looking salad and pasta recipes, but for some reason have skipped over them.  I think that this is mostly due to the fact that my husband refers to salads as "rabbit food".  I've come to the conclusion though that it's ok, because on the nights I feel like making myself a healthy salad, my husband can cook something for himself on the grill.  Overall, I believe this is a win-win situation, because I know how much he loves to cook on the grill.

So, for the start of this week, I decided to begin with an apple-pear salad recipe that I found in one of my many cookbooks.  There happened to be a picture to go along with the recipe and it looked delicious, which is one of the few reasons why I decided to give it a try.  The only thing I ended up changing about the recipe was the fact that I added some spinach to the romaine lettuce.  Every other ingredient that it called for I liked, and I didn't feel that anything else had to be added.  This recipe makes a fabulous summer salad!

Apple-Pear Salad with Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing
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Makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients:
10 oz. romaine lettuce
6 oz. baby spinach
6 oz. Swiss cheese, shaved
1 cup cashews
½ cup sweetened dried cranberries
1 large apple, thinly sliced (your choice of apple)
1 large pear, thinly sliced
Lemon-Poppy Seed Dressing

Directions:

In a large bowl, toss together the first 7 ingredients; serve with Lemon-Poppy Seed Dressing

Lemon-Poppy Seed Dressing

Ingredients:

2/3 cup light olive oil
½ cup sugar (I used splenda and it was delish)
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 ½ Tbsp. poppy seeds
2 tsp. finely chopped onion (I omitted)
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
½ tsp. salt

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a small-medium size bowl and whisk together until well blended.  Store the dressing in an airtight container, in the refrigerator, for up to 1 week.

Source: Very slightly adapted from Southern Living - 1001 Ways to Cook Southern