So in my house, pretty much anything bacon gets the thumbs up, and this salad is no exception! I borrowed this recipe from Lynette's famous blog (thanks Lynette!)
I recommend adding some grated smoked gouda cheese, which seemed to go really well with the apples and bacon. We had it with the super-easy peasant bread.
3 cups cinnamon swirl bread, cut into 1" cubes
6 strips bacon, diced
1/3 cup apple juice concentrate
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste
1/4 cups pecans or walnuts, chopped, toasted
2 cups apples (your favorite variety) thinly sliced
2 head butter lettuce, torn (or mixed greens)
Pre-heat oven to 500ยบ. Put a pat of butter in a 9x13 pan, stick it in the oven just till it melts. Add bread cubes, stir to coat, and bake until toasted, about 5 to 7 minutes, stirring often. Transfer croutons to a bowl and set aside. (I didn't have cinnamon swirl bread so I used white bread dusted w. cinn.)
Saute bacon until crisp, then drain on a paper towel lined plate. Pour off and reserve 1 tablespoon drippings.
Whisk drippings, juice concentrate, oil, vinegar, cinnamon, mustard, salt, pepper, and cayenne together in a bowl. Stir in pecans (or walnuts).
Toss apple slices, lettuce, bacon, and croutons with vinaigrette in a large bowl to coat, sprinkle with salt.
*Cook's Note: Whenever I make a tossed salad, all the good fixin's land at the bottom, so to serve it I toss in one bowl, then dump it into a second to get all that good stuff on the top!
