Blackberry Pear Cashew Salad

I created this salad a bout a week ago with some ingredients that I hand on hand.  Blackberries and Dole Asian Blend chopped salad were on sale for a dollar and I had some cashews and home made poppy seed dressing on hand from having guests the weekend prior.  Ever since, I can't stop thinking about it.  Its so simple, yet so good.  It is a wonderful combination of crunchy and tender and salty and sweet.  Doesn't it look tempting?

The recipe, which is for one salad, only calls for about a 1/4 pear (you can use more if you like), but my little ones fought over who got to finish off the rest of this one.

The recipe is for just one lunch salad, but you could easily use more of the ingredients and make a larger salad to feed a crowd.

Salad Ingredients: (makes 1 lunch salad)

1 cup Romaine lettuce, chopped

1/2 cup Dole Asian Blend Chopped Salad

1/4 fresh pear, chopped

8 large blackberries

1/4 cup cashews

1/8 cup poppy seed dressing

Layer the ingredients in the order listed and serve with poppy seed dressing.

Poppy Seed Dressing:

1 cup oil, your choice

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup vinegar

1 tsp poppy seed

1 tsp grated onion

1 tsp mustard

Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar completely. You can warm it up a little in the microwave to speed up the process.  Add the remaining ingredients and enjoy.  The dressing will usually fit into a pint sized jar.  Store it in the refrigerator and shake well before serving.

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