Spinach and Strawberry Salad

Leslie shared her salad with me awhile back. Strawberry in a salad seems weird, yeah. BUT IT WAS ONO.

 
Here's the recipe from Les:

1/3 C cider vinegar
3/4 C sugar
2T fresh lemon juice
1t salt
1C vegetable oil
1/2 small red onion, chopped
1 1/2 T poppy seeds
1t dry mustard
1/2 t paprika

2 bags fresh spinach
1/2 container fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 cups strawberries, stemmed and sliced
1 C chopped pecans
shredded cheese (I used the 3 cheese mix - mozzarella, provolone, and feta? oops! sorry, I forget what the last cheese was!)

For the dressing, combine the vinegar, sugar, lemon juice, and salt in a small, non-reactive saucepan and heat over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, stirring frequently. Remove pan from heat and let cool to room temperature. When cooled, whisk in the oil, poppy seeds, dry mustard and paprika until thoroughly combined. Set dressing aside. In a salad bowl, combine the spinach, mushrooms, strawberries, cheese, and pecans. When ready to serve, add some of the dressing, and toss gently. Serve the remaining dressing alongside the salad so diners may add more, if desired.