Militant Recipes: The Militant's So-Cal Lo-Cal Chopped Salad!

This is what the Militant will be preparing for Thanksgiving dinner this evening:

THE MILITANT'S SO-CAL LO-CAL CHOPPED SALAD!

- 2 whole bunches, romaine lettuce
- 1/2 package of prepackaged fresh spinach leaves
- 1/2 red onion, sliced
- 5 mushrooms, sliced
- 5-8 cherry tomatoes (whole)
- 4-6 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1/2 cup sunflower seed kernels
- 1/2 bottle, red wine vinaigrette dressing
- 1 cup, large garlic croutons
- 3/4 cup fresh shredded parmesan cheese

Twist off romaine lettuce into bite-size pieces, place in large salad bowl. Place spinach leaves into bowl, rinse in cold running water, drain.

Add sliced red onions, sliced mushrooms and whole cherry tomatoes into bowl.

Roast sunflower kernels and chopped garlic in frying pan (do not add oil). Use wooden spatula to overturn sunflower kernels and garlic pieces to evenly darken. Remove from heat.

Using salad tongs, toss salad (hey hey, keep it clean, kids!) contents, add roasted sunflower and garlic. Sprinkle on vinaigrette dressing, parmesan cheese and croutons while mixing salad. Serve and enjoy!

This salad is great for any occasion! Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

UPDATE: This was a hit at the dinner table! The Miltant's family loved it, and the compliments by one of the Militant's unspecified siblings sealed the deal. The Militant admits he shopped for the ingredients at the last minute. He normally goes to Trader Joes for the ingredients, but since they were closed for Thanksgiving, he had to settle for the nearest Albert$on$. This salad ended up costing him $23. Oh well, it was all for a worthy cause.