Spinach Artichoke Salad in a Jar

I whipped up this salad on a whim one day when I had to rush home (taking an early lunch break) because I completely forgot there was a potluck at work. There were already plenty of sweets at the potluck, so I was thinking I should throw together a quick salad. I pulled a few things out of my fridge … some deli meat, a partially used jar of artichokes, half an avocado that needed using, some feta cheese. I was pleased to discover I also had some of those lovely sweet little cherry tomatoes on hand, too.  Five minutes later I had a big ol’ salad … I grabbed some dressings from my fridge and took it to work for the potluck and, even though it was salad, people (besides me) ate it! (That never happens at a potluck, does it?)

Anyway, this salad  was SO good (in my opinion) that I decided I needed to make it again. And again … and then again … and then for my yoga sisters (because we have this thing where I make them salad and they buy me beer–it’s pretty awesome). When I made this salad for them I kicked it up a notch by marinating the feta and putting the salad in the jar. All four of my yogi salad sisters wanted a salad this week, so I made these up for them on Sunday … even though they wouldn’t be delivered until Wednesday night … yeah I’m brave.

The bad news is I ate two of the salads before I got to yoga on Wednesday. The good news is I still had ingredients to make more! The two salads I made on Sunday still looked great on Wednesday when I delivered them … there is only one change I would make: if you are using marinated feta cheese in this salad, put the cheese on the bottom of the jar (just after the tomatoes), NOT on the top. The olive oil disturbs the greens that it touches. Not a big deal, but if you want pristine greens, put the feta in before the spinach.

Personally, I’ve made this salad for myself at least five times so far, and I really love it with Sriracha Ranch Yogurt dressing, but some of my friends wanted a simple vinegar & oil dressing, so I made use of the juice from the jar of marinated artichokes along with a bit of feta to make a simple vinaigrette. Adding simple thin-sliced deli meats makes it easy to get a little more protein in the salad. You can certainly make it without meat if you prefer.

Spinach Artichoke Salad in a Jar

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Total Time: 10 minutes
• Yield: as many as you like!

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Ingredients

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For the artichoke feta vinaigrette:

• 1/4 cup artichoke marinade (the juice from marinated artichokes … or more!)
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 – 4 Tablespoons olive oil (I used the oil from the marinated feta)
• 1 – 2 cloves garlic
• 2 Tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons white wine

For the salad:

• Avocado, chopped (optional)
• 2 – 3 Tablespoons of dressing
• Marinated artichoke hearts, chopped
• Thinly sliced red or sweet onion (optional)
• Fresh, sweet cherry tomatoes
• Marinated feta cheese (recipe here)
• Fresh spinach or half & half mix (half spinach/half mixed greens)
• Thin-sliced lean smoked turkey, ham, and/or salami (optional)

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Instructions

1. Toss the avocado in the dressing to coat and put it at the bottom of the jar with the dressing. Add some chopped artichokes.
2. Put several tomatoes in, then a few chunks of feta cheese.
3. Now pack the greens in to fill most of the way and add the meat at the top (if using).
4. Put the cover on the jar and refrigerate. Will keep for 5 – 6 days.

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Notes

RECIPE SOURCE: http://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/

© Copyright 2015, Sumptuous Spoonfuls. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to publish any of my images, please ask first. If you want to republish this recipe as your own, please re-write the recipe in your own words or link back to this post for the recipe.

This recipe was shared at Munching Monday, Simple Supper Tuesday, Tuesday’s Table, Gluten Free Friday and Hearth & Soul Bloghop.