A Spinach Salad Popeye Would Love

It's a little known secret that Popeye really didn't like eating spinach out of a can, but rather he preferred to eat his spinach, salad-style with eggs and protein to help build his muscles. But realistically, they couldn't have Popeye sitting down for a big bowl of salad every time there was an emergency, so they went with the spinach-out-of-the-can scenario.

As interesting as that little story is, it's completely made up. BUT, it sounds reasonable doesn't it? Who wouldn't prefer a fresh, tasty spinach salad over spinach in a can?

Luckily, you can walk into any store at any time and buy fresh spinach, but its true growing season runs from March through May and from September through October, so right now is when its freshest. So RIGHT NOW is when we’re going to make Spinach Salad.

Most salads include lots of vegetables like carrots and tomatoes, while other swanky salads candy their pecans, dry their cranberries, roast their pine nuts, and flavor themselves up with some gorgonzola cheese. Today, we’re not going to do any of that. Today’s salad is all about spinach and protein.

We always recommend buying the pre-washed spinach, because nobody but June Cleaver has the time to wash the sand and dirt from each and every leaf. So, you can start by moving the spinach from the bag to the salad bowl and pat yourself on the back, because you’re halfway done. ( feel free to wash the spinach yourself, just to be safe..)

Hard boil 4 eggs.
Cook up 6 slices of bacon (turkey or pork – it’s your salad).
Open a can of water chestnuts.
Cut up the eggs and drop in the salad.
Crumble the bacon and do the same.
Cut the chestnuts into at least half and you guessed it, add it to the salad.
You could add some thinly sliced red onions too. In fact, we highly recommend it!

Just imagine for a moment, if you had the eggs boiled and bacon cooked ahead of time, this salad would go together in a flash! Just something to think about....

Our families have always made their own dressing for this salad, which is super easy and super fast – just like the rest of the recipe. I suppose you could always buy your salad dressing from the store and if that is the route you choose, French would probably be the closest thing to what we are going to create ourselves.

For the homemade dressing you’re going to need:

1/2 Cup Sugar
1/2 cup Oil
1/3 Cup Vinegar
1/3 Cup Ketchup
One Tablespoon Worcestershire

Mix together and shake, shake, shake.
___________________________

Two Quarts Fresh Spinach
4 eggs
6 Bacon Strips (Turkey Bacon works too)
One Can Water Chestnuts, sliced
Some Very Thinly Sliced Red Onion (optional)
Some Fresh Bean Sprouts (optional)

This has been taste tested on children and adults alike, so if your child likes spinach, then you’ve got yourself a winner here!

Coming Soon... Sloppy Joe....Slop..Sloppy Joe... AND Our Greatest and Most Exciting Discovery Ever! (seriously!)