Blue Cheese, Bacon & Pineapple Farro Goodness

I was in a mood for lettuce-less salad the other day and this is what came of that craving.

bacon, blue cheese & pineapple farro goodness | immaEATthat.com

I knew I was feeling vegetables after a weekend of tasty treats and a wee too much alcohol, so I started throwing together what we had leftover in our fridge and this is what was born.

We had bacon leftover from breakfast that day, so I threw that into the bowl.  Then added tomatoes.  I feel like we always have tomatoes on our counter and they are the one veggie that rarely go to waste in our house, they just seem to fit into so many recipes.

Then I checked out our cheese drawer and we had a mega pack of mozzarella cheese sticks.  I had a cheese stick craving the other week and bought a much larger pack than I should have.  SO MANY CHEESE STICKS.  We had sharp cheddar and blue cheese too, but the blue cheese sounded the most strong and bold flavored…so I went with that. 

Since I wasn’t feeling lettuce, I just added a couple large handfuls of cilantro.  Taste-wise, cilantro > than all lettuce.

bacon, blue cheese & pineapple farro goodness | immaEATthat.com

Hmmm.  What else.  Oh, yes.  The pineapple.  I buy my pineapple pre-cut because I’m the worst at slicing pineapples.  THE WORST.  I’ll totally pay the price for pre-sliced pineapple to save myself the headache of cutting one.  I had a single pineapple ring left, so I chopped that up and into the salad it went.  There was pineapple juice left at the bottom of the pineapple container, so I figured why not incorporate it into the dressing.  

bacon, blue cheese & pineapple farro goodness | immaEATthat.com

And I added in green onions.  Andrew hates green onions and I keep forgetting that.  I love them, so it’s hard for me to imagine someone not liking them.  I’ll just try to pretend green onions are quinoa when I’m making a dish Andrew will be eating, because quite honestly quinoa is not my favorite.

Then I added in a can of black beans and boom! Deliciousness!

So.  This recipe makes a great entree or side dish.  I think serving this with a piece of salmon would be rather fabulous.  

bacon, blue cheese & pineapple farro goodness | immaEATthat.com

Blue Cheese, Bacon & Pineapple Farro Goodness

Yield: you are allowed to listen to your body and have it tell you how much you need.

Total Time: 35 minutes (including time to cook farro)

Ingredients:

lettuce-less salad
2 cups cooked farro
couple strips bacon
1 can black beans, rinsed & drained
3 cups cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1 cup cilantro
2 green onions (white & green parts), sliced into 1/4" pieces
blue cheese

dressing
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons pineapple juice
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
salt/pepper

Directions:

In a large bowl, toss together all salad ingredients.  Pour in salad dressing and toss.  Serve.

bacon, blue cheese & pineapple farro goodness | immaEATthat.com

may this dish make all your lettuce-less salad dreams come true.