Blueberry Fields Salad

{Photo courtesy of Southern Living}

This time of year, I find myself obsessing over spring mix salad topped with fresh fruit and tangy vinaigrette dressing. There's a million different varieties. You can take a simple approach by grabbing a bottle of vinaigrette dressing at the grocery store and tossing it in your salad with nuts, cheese and berries of your choosing. But I find bottled vinaigrette difficult. It's hard to find a good one.

The real home run comes when you make your own vinaigrette, which is very simple.

This Strawberry Salad is my absolute favorite. Make it and you will find yourself obsessing over its wonders. This is the only salad I've found to have such powers!

But this Blueberry Fields Salad is a close second. The vinaigrette is a little more tangy than the dressing used on the strawberry salad, but it pairs deliciously with crumbled cheese and nuts. And it's really pretty when it all comes together. This salad recipe uses some precise measurements, which I follow for the dressing, but otherwise, I find it suitable to throw caution to the wind and just toss the rest of the ingredients together.

Blueberry Fields Salad

1 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup blueberry preserves
1/3 cup olive oil
2 (5.5-oz.) packages spring greens and baby spinach mix
2 cups fresh blueberries
1 small red onion, halved and sliced  (I skipped the onions)
1 cup crumbled blue cheese (I used feta ... pasteurized for my pregnant self)

• Heat walnuts in a small skillet over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, 5 minutes or until toasted and fragrant.
• Whisk together balsamic vinegar, next 2 ingredients, and salt and freshly ground pepper to taste in a small bowl.
• Combine walnuts, spinach mix, and next 3 ingredients in a large bowl.
• Drizzle with desired amount of vinaigrette, and toss to combine.
• Serve immediately with remaining vinaigrette.