Yummy Two-Minute Apple Salad

I make this salad quite often. It's one of my favorites, not just because it's so easy, but because it's truly delicious. I didn't have any pears today, so I used a variety of apples--Golden Delicious, Gala and Royal Gala.

If you have all the ingredients on hand, this literally takes two minutes. I almost always have fresh lemons in the fridge (they last forever...and I read this great tip in an old issue of the Rachael Ray magazine that said to zest the lemon, let the peels dry, then store that zest in a canning type jar, to keep it on hand for whenever you need lemon zest).

I've run the recipe before on the blog (it's on the left, under favorite recipes on this blog) but it's so stinking easy, I posted it again here:

Two-Minute Apple Salad (aka Apple-Pear Salad)

Dressing:

1 Tablespoon honey

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

dash salt

Salad:

3 apples, cored and sliced

1-2 pears, cored and sliced

1 bag salad mix (or 1 head lettuce)

1/4 cup candied walnuts (or you can use any kind of nuts you want--okay, technically if you have to make the walnuts (recipe below) this takes longer than two minutes, but read the note on storing them in the freezer)

Whisk the dressing ingredients together in a large bowl. Add the apple and pear slices and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for one hour. Serve over the salad mix and top with candied walnuts.

Candied walnuts are really easy--just roast the walnut pieces in a small nonstick pan for a minute or two. Then toss with butter and sugar and a dash of salt. You can roast them in the oven if you happen to have the oven on, but you have to keep a close eye on them because they burn easily. Most of the time I just let it cook in the pan, then drain them on a paper towel. I store the extras in the freezer, and pull them out to add to baked apples or this salad. If you don't have walnuts on hand, you can make candied pecans or use chopped honey roasted peanuts. Whatever nuts you want :-)

Shirley