Pomegranate Almond Salad

This salad is a refreshing and festive dish. The pomegranates with the green lettuce make a great Christmas side...and it is SO GOOD!!! (Don't judge it by this picture, I had Eric hurry and take a picture of it during Thanksgiving after it was half eaten.) It is one of my favorite salads, especially during the holidays when I am sick of all the heavy and rich foods.

Pomegranate Almond Salad

• 3 heads of Romain lettuce, chopped
• 1 large can of mandarin oranges, drained and patted dry to get most of the liquid off
• 1/2 cup thin sliced celery
• 3-4 green onions chopped ( I leave these out)
• 1 cup candied almonds - put 3 Tbsp sugar and almonds in pan. Cook on high, constantly stirring. The sugar will liquify, coat the almonds, and the almonds will get toasty. Spread on wax paper and let dry.
• 2 pomegranates - an easy way to get the fruit out is to cut the pomegranate in half and soak in water...it loosens the membranes so that the fruit pops right out.

***add all ingredients and top with dressing right before you eat the salad. If I am taking it somewhere I will just put everything in baggies/containers and toss it all together before we eat. Otherwise it will get soggy and gross...you have to eat it when it is fresh!

Dressing:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 3/4 tsp pure almond extract
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper

Make this dressing the day before. Heat all ingredients on stove until sugar dissolves then store in fridge.

Enjoy!