Dijon Fruited Salad

The original recipe comes from my sister Ruth's mother-in-law, Adrienne.  She served it at Ruth's bridal shower and I ate three plates of this salad (I think everyone else at my table did as well!)  It was SO good.  Adrienne says that the salad was originally made without chicken; the recipe that I have includes 2 lbs of cooked diced chicken, which I generally leave out, but if you're a meat-eater and you want this to be more substantial, I would recommend baking a couple of chicken breasts (350 for 35 minutes), then dicing and adding to the salad after the chicken has been chilled. 

Dijon Fruited Salad


Dressing (prepare and refrigerate overnight; I toss everything in a pint jar and shake vigorously):
1/2 c. sugar
1/3 c. lemon juice
2 T. Dijon mustard
1 T. poppy seeds
3/4 c. oil
1/2 t. salt
2 T. finely chopped red onion



Salad:
2 heads chopped romaine lettuce
2 unpeeled diced red apples
2 unpeeled diced pears (rinse diced fruit in lemon juice to prevent browning)
1 1/2 c. cashews
1 c. dried cranberries
1 c. shredded mozzarella (I generally leave this out these days...but it's really tasty.  :-)
**2-3 diced avocadoes
**1 lb sliced strawberries

**not in original recipe but extremely tasty additions!!