Category Archives: Salads

Chicken Salad with Strawberries and Red Onions

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Chicken Salad with Strawberries

Chicken Salad with Strawberries and Red Onions.

Have I ever told you that I live five minutes from where I work?  OK, during a snow storm, it’s probably seven. And if I hit the stop light at Highlands Ranch Parkway, that will add an extra minute to the calculations.  How far do you commute to work?

This was an easy dinner because I came home at lunch, put two small boneless/skinless chicken breasts in the crockpot at about 11:30. I ate lunch, made the dressing for salad, spent time on social media and was back at work by 12:30 (ish).

With the crockpot set on high, the chicken breasts were done when I left work at 5:25, arriving home at 5:30. (Yay for the green light at Highlands Ranch Parkway.)

Placing the chicken breasts on a cutting board to cool while I assembled the rest of the ingredients, dinner was on the table at 6:20. Actually it would have been on the table at 5:45 but a glass of wine with feet propped up on the coffee table delayed the process. Priorities.

Easy Chicken Salad with Strawberries

Fresh and healthy with chicken, strawberries, celery, red onion, and raisins all piled on top of butter lettuce. Let’s take a look:

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Chicken Salad with Strawberries
Author: 
Recipe type: Salad
Cuisine: American
Serves: 2
 

Ingredients
  • 2 cups chopped roasted skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 2 breasts)
  • 2 cups quartered small strawberries (about 1 pint)
  • ⅓ cup finely chopped celery
  • ⅓ cup sliced red onion
  • 2 tablespoons golden raisins
  • 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • ½ teaspoon paprika
  • ⅛ teaspoon salt
  • ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
  • 4 cups butter lettuce

Instructions
  1. Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Combine sesame seeds and next 6 ingredients (sesame seeds through pepper) in a small bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Pour over chicken mixture; toss well to coat. Cover and chill for about 30 minutes. (I didn’t do this step) Serve over salad greens.

Chicken Salad with Strawberries…It’s What’s for Dinner.

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Grilled Asparagus and Steak Salad with Hoisin Vinaigrette

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During the summer months, I cannot get my fill of lean meats, greens and fresh homemade vinaigrettes.  Here’s another recipe for a flavorful dish with an exciting new dressing.  Don’t let the length of this recipe scare you away, this salad packs bright flavor with minimal fuss.

Grilled Asparagus and Steak Salad with Hoisin Vinaigrette (Another great find from Food and Wine Magazine)

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Linda’s Tree House Salad, David’s Grilled Lamb Chops and The Winery at Holy Cross Abbey

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Pull up a chair and sit back and relax, we’ve got a lot to cover in this post.

From now on, I think I’m going to let our friends Linda and David be my recipe “finders”. Everything passed on from them has been outstanding. Let’s take a look at some great finds, compliments of our friends. This most recent story starts with David being asked to be a judge at a car show in Canon City, CO. They asked us to keep their dog, Sassy, for their overnight stay that Saturday. 

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Grilled Chicken Wilted Salad

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During the week I try to plan lots of light-meal salads for dinner. They’re salads that contain lean meats, lots of greens and vegetables tossed into a single dish meal with a lively vinaigrette. Not only are they delicious and healthy, they also make way for weekends filled with cheeseburgers, Italian sausage laden pasta dishes, bacon and egg breakfasts and dare I mention…ice cream topped cinnamon bun bread.

This Grilled Chicken Wilted Salad is one of my favorites. It comes together in about 30 minutes and can practically be made one-handed without having to put down your after work/before dinner glass of wine.  The combination of flavors here are striking thanks to the warm dressing, Kalamata olives and rosemary dusted chicken tenders.  And with the techniques of tossing the chicken and onion in olive oil before cooking and finishing by steaming the whole dish covered with a plate, you end up with a nice texture and wonderful warm flavors. Let’s take a look:

Grilled Chicken Wilted Salad

  • 1 lb chicken tenderloin
  • 1 medium onion, halved lengthwise, cut into thin wedges (this might be the only time you’d have to set down your wine)
  • 3 Tbs olive oil
  • 1 Tbs snipped fresh rosemary or 1/2 tsp. dried rosemary, crushed
  • 3/4 tsp coarsely ground black pepper, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 cup cranberry or pomegranate juice
  • 2 Tbs red wine vinegar
  • 2 6-oz. pkg. baby spinach leaves
  • 1/4 cup sliced pitted Kalamata olives
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts or slivered almonds, toasted

Heat indoor electric grill or grill pan over medium heat.

In a bowl combine chicken and onions. Toss with two tablespoons of the olive oil, rosemary, and 1/4 teaspoon each pepper and salt.

Grill chicken and onions on grill rack or in grill pan for ten minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink, internal temperature reaches 170 degrees F, and onions are tender, turning once. 

Meanwhile, for dressing, in a saucepan combine juice; vinegar; and remaining olive oil, pepper and salt. Bring  juice mixture just to boiling; remove from heat. Place spinach, olives, pine nuts, chicken, and onions in an extra-large salad bowl; toss to combine. Pour warm dressing over salad mixture. Toss lightly. Cover salad with a large plate for one to two minutes or just until spinach is wilted. Remove plate. Serve immediately. Makes six servings.

Grilled Chicken Wilted Salad…It’s What’s for Dinner.

One Year Ago: Ranch Grilled Chicken Tacos

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Linda’s Strawberry Spinach Salad Recipe

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With temperatures in the 80′s on Saturday and snow on Sunday,  it’s officially Springtime in the Rockies, which has inspired me to post this change of seasons, simple and fresh salad recipe. 

One of my favorites, it comes from my friend Linda.  This is the same Linda that brought us Linda’s Moist and Delicious Corn Bread recipe. I love the tangy dressing on this quick fix salad and it’s a staple all summer long, whether alongside a cheeseburger off the grill or a dish of pasta from the stove-top.  With an all-star line-up of ingredients of seasoned rice vinegar, Tabasco and sugar for the tangy tart vinaigrette combined with the fresh crunch of the crisp spinach, sweet plump strawberries and salty sunflower seeds, you’ve got one great combination of flavors. 

Let’s take a look.

Linda’s Spinach and Strawberry Salad:

2 Tbs seasoned rice vinegar
1/4 Cup olive oil
2 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs Tabasco sauce
2 Whole green onions — chopped
3 Tbs sunflower seeds
1 Pint strawberries — sliced
1 Bunch baby spinach — (12 oz)

1. Rinse spinach, add strawberries and sunflower seeds.  Add dressing.

Speaking of friends, look at this little gadget Cauleen gave me for Christmas. It makes whisking up a vinaigrette a breeze. Just add ingredients  and squeeze the handle which activates a stirrring spiral  inside the carafe and voila. It even comes with a little pouring spout for use at the table. Recipes for classic vinaigrettes are printed on the outside along with measurement lines for ingredients. L-O-V-E love this thing.

Linda’s Strawberry Spinach Salad…It’s What’s for Dinner.

One Year Ago: Shrimp and Grits

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Mexican Dinner Menu: Mexican Christmas Eve Salad

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When researching salad recipes for my Mexican Christmas dinner, this colorful Christmas Eve Salad jumped out with festive enthusiasm in almost every search result.  Each recipe was a little different but the list of ingredients usually included lettuce, beets, oranges, bananas, jicima, pomegranate seeds, peanuts and even small hard candies.  A pinata in a bowl if you will.

 

I really couldn’t find much of a history, or where this recipe originated,  just the reoccurring theme of beets and fruit, served in a glass bowl and is a traditional salad during the holidays in Mexico and in the Southwest. All in all, you couldn’t ask for a more eye-catching dish. With the glass bowl and layering of colorful ingredients,  it almost reminded me of an English trifle. It was promptly placed on my menu and all I had to do was pick through the array of ingredients and decide upon a creamy or vinaigrette dressing. Yes, there were as many versions of dressings as salad ingredients. I chose a creamy. Let’s take a look.

Mexican Christmas Eve Salad (my version):

  • 2 red beets, roasted peeled and sliced
  • 2 golden beets, roasted peeled and sliced
  • 1 small jicima, peeled and sliced
  • 1 navel orange, peeled and sliced
  • 1 head romaine lettuce, coarsely chopped
  • Seeds of one pomegranate
  • 1 handful chopped peanuts
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Layer all ingredients in a glass bowl lightly salting and peppering as you go.

I decided on a creamy dressing recipe that I found on one of my favorite blogs, Homesick Texan.

For the dressing:

1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream (Mexican brand if you can find it)
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon orange juice
1 canned chipotle chile, minced
Salt and black pepper to taste

The results:

  • A salad that you practically had to wear sunglasses to look at
  • A salad that was a little hard to dish up, I would chop next time instead of slice
  • A salad that was incredibly festive on my Mexican Feast table
  • The creamy dressing was absolutely delicious, especially using a Mexican style sour cream
  • A delightful concoction that has now found a place in my recipe database (minus the hard candies)

Mexican Christmas Eve Salad…It’s What’s for the Holidays.

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Flashback To Old College Taco Salad Recipe

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The last time I made this I was wearing bell bottom jeans which had been split at the hem to insert a flowered cloth panel to make them even more bell bottomed, a tie-dyed t-shirt that I dyed myself and Cat Stevens was playing in the background “Ooo baby baby it’s a wild world”.

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