Last weekend, our good friends, Katie and Steve, visited from Philadelphia. For dinner, I made Pasta Bolognese and this Pear and Pecan Salad. When Katie eyed the salad she hesitated. I later found out she is not much of a nut or spinach fan. But to her surprise and my relief, she loved the salad! She was really into the spiralized pear (more on spiralizing in a minute) and loved the dressing. So much, that a couple of days later Steve sent me a text for the recipe so that they can make it at home. The takeaway from this story is that even if you do not like salads, you may actually like this one, so give it a try!!
If you notice in the pictures, the pear is not sliced–I used a spiralizer to create the noodle- like shape. A spiralizer is super easy to use and creates noodles out of vegetables and fruits. I get many of my spiralized dish recipes from Inspiralized.com where the blogger spiralizes EVERYTHING!! The best part of using a spiralizer is that it is so quick and easy which is why I decided to use it for the pear–Yes, I was being lazy. I use the Paderno Spiralizer. Do not worry if you do not have a spiralizer, this recipe can be made without it. Finally, you will notice that the recipe below calls for chicken because I wanted to give you the option of creating an entrée salad. Feel free to omit it if you prefer this as a side dish.
Ingredients:
Spinach or any other green you like (I used a mix of baby spinach, baby kale and swiss chard
1/4 cup to ½ cup pecans
¼ Red onion
1 Pear
(Optional: 1 Pound Chicken Breast, Garlic Powder, Salt, Pepper)
Dressing:
3 Tablespoons Olive oil
2 Tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
½ Tablespoon Pure Maple Syrup
Salt and Pepper to taste
Directions:
Wash and dry greens. Place in a large salad bowl. Slice onion thinly and add to salad. Slice of ends of pear. Place in spiralizer and turn to create the noodles. If you choose not to use the spiralizer, slice pear into thin, long slices.
Add to salad. 
Add pecans and toss until mixed well. Set aside.
(If adding chicken: Cut chicken into bit size pieces. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Grill. Add to Salad.)
In a separate container (small Tupperware works great), mix the dressing ingredients and shake well. Pour over salad and mix.
Enjoy!
Newlyfed 