Summer Salads | Part 2 - Warm Bacon, Fennel and Spinach Salad

This one is for YOU Stephanie Taylor Moss! You must let me know if you try something like it sister sledge!! I just know you'll add in a little gumption of your own...

A Warm Bacon & Fennel Spinach Salad

8 oz cremini mushrooms (Sandhill Family Farms)
1 onion
1 fennel bulb (SFF)
1 package locally raised (antibiotic and nitrate free) bacon (SFF)
fresh parsley
2 garlic cloves
3-4 healthy handfuls of spinach
sea salt
pepper

Cook the bacon. Meanwhile, slice the fennel bulb and dice stalks thinly. Reserve some fronds (fronds = the dill look-a-like parts of the fennel - It's true, I had no idea what fronds were a few years ago). Dice or slice the onion. Mince the garlic. Slice the mushrooms. Strain the bacon on paper towel and leave some of the bacon fat in the skillet. Add the fennel, onion, mushrooms and garlic to the skillet and cook low and slow (don't forget to season with salt and pepper!) until evenly cooked and just starting to caramelize (about 30 minutes). Chop up some fresh parsley and add in with about 5 minutes left to cook. Take off heat and sprinkle in some fennel fronds.

I tossed this warm mixture in with baby spinach and it was the first time I have gotten Abbie to give me a thumbs up on spinach salad (I guess it was all about the bacon baby). Mac was having a bad day with his retainer... And Chris, well, he does not eat mushrooms. Crazy charlie. I LOVE mushrooms!

To the mullies,
xoxoL