3 heads romaine lettuce See how to cut and remove stalk

2 cups chopped fresh spinach optional

1 Tablespoon dried basil or fresh!

1 teaspoon garlic powder or more/less if you prefer!

½ cup shredded cheddar cheese For best results, shred your own block cheese

1 roma tomato chopped

3-4 Slices cooked bacon chopped

2 boiled eggs chopped

¼ cup celery chopped

¼ cup carrots chopped

1 radish chopped

1 stalk green onions chopped

1 tablespoon sunflower seeds hulled

Slice romaine leaves off of white stems, (discard white stems) and chop lettuce into small pieces and pour in large serving bowl. If also using fresh spinach, chop and add to romaine in bowl.

Next layer on your favorite toppings, such as chopped tomato, bacon, eggs, radishes, green onions, celery, carrots, sunflower seeds and cheddar cheese.

Sprinkle the garlic powder and the dried basil on top.

Serve with choice of dressing. (Our favorite is to make the Hidden Valley Buttermilk Ranch dressing, with the seasoning packet, buttermilk and mayo.)

Notes

TIPS to make this the best side salad:

Use romaine and fresh spinach for an amazing texture and taste!

Cut the romaine/spinach in to small, bite-size pieces, and cut out the white stem

Chop the toppings in to small pieces as well

Don’t forget the herbs and spices: basil and garlic powder

We love using Hidden Valley Buttermilk Ranch for dressing (The packet that you make with mayo and buttermilk) and making this before starting the salad so it can sit in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, according to package directions.

If you want to make this ahead of time, chop up the toppings and store them separately so the toppings don’t make the lettuce soggy.

Topping Ideas:

carrots

radishes

green onions

tomatoes

cooked bacon

hard-boiled eggs

celery

sunflower seeds

shredded cheddar cheese

*adapted from https://fantabulosity.com/