Baby Spinach Salad with Goat Cheese and Roasted Sweet Potatoes

I was trying to get away from recipes with spinach because I've noticed that I'm quite obsessed with it, but when I went to make this salad I couldn't help myself- spinach is just the best leaf of choice. This was dinner one night recently after a very busy day of work and it just hit the spot. Candied pecans are one of my favorite accessories in salad- they are crunchy, sweet and nutty and will cost you a pretty penny but they are well worth it. As for goat cheese, I have a love/hate relationship with it. It's just one of those ingredients I feel you need to acquire a taste for, and for me it takes a long time to acquire a taste for something that often tastes like you are licking a dirty goat (sorry for the visual)-but it's an ingredient I really want to like so I keep trying it over and over again. I did find one brand though that tastes less goat-y and that is the Gad brand and that is what I used here.


6 cups baby spinach
1/4 cup craisins
1/4 cup candied pecans
1 small red onion, sliced
1  sweet potato, cubed and roasted
Goat cheese, crumbled

Dressing:
1/3 cup Balsamic Vinegar
2/3 cup oil
2 packets Splenda (I would usually use sugar but this just worked really well)
2 Tbl maple syrup
1/8 tsp mustard powder
salt and pepper