Avocado Bacon Parmesan Salad with Tangy Avocado Dressing

I hang my head as I write this post because I am breaking one of the cardinal rules I set for myself - I am pilfering an image. It's extra shameful because I actually have my new lens and I probably could have taken a half decent picture, but I kind of forgot and then when I remembered all that was left of this salad were a few little scraps stuck on the salad tongs (which I promptly ate). So, please forgive.

So ... salads. For the first 26 years of my life all a salad was to me was iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, croutons and ranch (maybe carrots if my mom was feeling sassy). Well, actually, in her defense she did once make a snickers salad, which she was ridiculed for and vowed to never make again. Anyway, I always thought salads were kind of blah.... and I would be rather insulted when people would ask me to bring a salad to a function, because I thought they didn't trust me to actually bring something important. But then in Texas a good friend made a salad that had apples in it. And avocados, and mandarin oranges, and nuts. And she made her own dressing. It was one of those defining moments in life where I realized that salads don't have to be boring. And now making salads is kind of my thing. I'm always on the lookout for new recipes to try, always throwing in a few more veggies, new types of nuts, and making my own dressings. Don't get me wrong though, there is still a place in my heart for iceberg and ranch!

I took this salad to a family party on Saturday. It was the first time I had left my house since becoming deathly ill earlier in the week, and it was lovely. Good food, good friends, horses, s'mores, mosquitos. Ah, sweet, sweet, summertime!


Avocado Bacon Parmesan Salad with Tangy Avocado Dressing
by Natalie @ Perry's Plate

For the salad:
1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and sliced
6 ounces of bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/3 cup fresh Parmesan or Romano cheese shavings
12 ounces of salad greens

For the dressing:
1/2 of an avocado, peeled, pitted and cut into large chunks
1 green onion, sliced
3 T sour cream
3 T mayonnaise or plain yogurt
1 T apple cider vinegar
1 T agave nectar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
salt and pepper, to taste

To prepare the dressing, place all dressing ingredients into a small food processor and blend until smooth. Adjust salt and pepper as needed.

Toss dressing with salad greens and top with avocado slices, bacon crumbles, and cheese shavings.