Kale and Quinoa Confetti Salad with Bacon

1 fresh kale bunch about 4 cups chopped
1 small head cauliflower chopped into bite-size pieces
½ red bell pepper diced
½ yellow bell pepper diced
½ orange bell pepper diced
10 oz. cherry tomatoes halved
4 stalks celery diced
2 large carrots sliced into rounds
1 lb asparagus chopped
3 cups cooked quinoa cooled (I mixed red and white, but choose your favorite varieties.)
6 Wright bacon rashers crisp chopped and cooked
½ cup red wine vinegar
1 cup olive oil
¼ cup sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Fry or bake your Wright Brand Bacon, until crisp. Drain and set aside to cool. (Wright Brand Bacon is a Tyson product and my absolute favorite bacon in the world! I love the thick, meaty slices and smoky flavor!)
Wash the kale. This is one of those instances where you want to carefully rinse each leaf, as they often have bits of dirt, gravel, or sand, at the base, where the leaf meets the stem.
Once the kale leaves are clean, pull the leaves off the thick stem and vein that runs down the center of the leaf. That center stem/vein is tough and not good in the salad. You want just the leafy part of the greens.
Cut or tear the kale leaves into bite-sized pieces and add them to your salad bowl.
Chop or dice the other veggies for the salad and add them to the bowl with your kale.
Add the quinoa and stir to combine.
Chop the bacon and add that to your salad.
I like to use my blender to mix vinaigrettes. It helps the oil and vinegar to emulsify and blends the flavors, well. Place the vinegar, oil, sugar, salt, and pepper in the blender pitcher and blend on high until well mixed.
Start with about 1 cup of the dressing. Pour it over the salad and toss. Add more, to taste, depending on how much dressing you prefer.
Chill the salad until ready to serve.

homemade