Tropic of Mom's pepperoni salad

Whenever I run out of ideas for what to make for dinner (which is about every week), my husband usually suggests, "How about that nice, big dinner salad you make?"

He's referring to actually not just a salad, but variations on a salad that I made once for a dinner party we attended -- a salad that my husband has, thankfully, never gotten tired of. It's really one of the only ways he eats vegetables.

I love the big dinner salad because it's quick and easy -- and healthy! There's really not much of a recipe to it. And there's not much cleanup involved. Because I make it different each time, it never gets boring. You can add to it, or take away an item from it, and the salad still tastes great. The basics? Lettuce, fruit, cheese, nuts and meat. It's like a fancy restaurant salad, but without having to wait for a table or deal with a rude waiter.

Tropic of Mom's Pepperoni Salad
(aka the non-recipe dinner salad)

Ingredients

• about four cups of greens per person (your favorite type of lettuce, or fresh spinach, or whatever you like)
  
• pepperoni (I used Hormel turkey pepperoni, but you can use any kind, or even sliced chicken breast, steak strips, small meatballs, vegetarian meat substitute -- be creative!)
  
• diced or dried fruit (I used one handful of Craisins per person)
  
• cheese crumbles or cubes (feta cheese, Kraft crumbles or your own favorite cheese cut in cubes, about 3-4 tablespoons per person)
  
• nuts or seeds (sunflower seeds, cashews, walnuts, pecans, etc., about 2 tablespoons per person)
  
• grape tomatoes, slices of cucumber or pepper, corn, peas or beans (whatever vegetable you like)
  

Directions
Place your greens in the bowl first. Then sprinkle the rest of the ingredients on top, and toss. Or don't, and place your ingredients just so on top of the salad all artsy-fartsy like. It's up to you. Drizzle with your favorite salad dressing. Serve dinner salad with a nice bread, roll or croissant. Enjoy!