Ham, Avocado, & Blue Cheese Salad

with Toasted Pinons and Avocado Ranch Dressing

Do you still have ham left over from Easter dinner? I do … a LOT of it. Dad gave me more than I really thought I could handle. And I talked him into giving me one of the smaller ham bones. So soon there will be soup!

But not today. Today is salad day. I love a good salad. And what better way to use up leftover ham than to toss it in a salad, right? … Okay, there are tons of other great ways to use ham, but this is one of the best options, in my humble opinion.

Ham, Avocado & Blue Cheese Salad

on Mixed Greens with Toasted Pinons and Avocado Ranch Dressing

• Mixed organic greens
• Cooked ham, sliced or diced or just torn into chunks
• Red onion, sliced
• Avocado slices
• Pine nuts (pinons), toasted
• Blue cheese crumbles
• Avocado ranch salad dressing (recipe here)

Directions:

1. Make the salad dressing. Go here for the recipe.
2. Make a nice big bed of greens on your salad plate or bowl.
3. Toast the pine nuts in a 300 degree oven for about 5 minutes (watch them closely!) or until they just start to turn brown. Just be careful to watch them carefully so they won’t burn. If you have a toaster oven that toasts nicely without burning things (unlike mine), you can put the nuts on a toaster oven pan in your toaster oven and set it on toast (medium setting) and they will be perfectly brown. Or you can toast them in a skillet pan over medium heat.
4. Sprinkle the ham, red onion, avocado, pinons and blue cheese crumbles over your beautiful bed of greens.
5. Drizzle with avocado ranch dressing. If you happen to have a wild violet or a viola, invite it to sit on top of the salad to make a pretty garnish. Then chow down and feel how much your body (and your taste buds) love you.

This recipe was shared at Newlyweds Recipe Linky, Melt in your Mouth Mondays and Fit & Fabulous Fridays.