Best Salad On The Planet!

This salad is a recreation of a salad Aaron and I had out at a restaurant for dinner one night.  It was so incredibly good I decided to try to make it myself and share the recipe with all of you! Enjoy! xo

Fresh greens

Ingredients:

• Fresh greens (I like romaine)
• 1 oven roasted chicken breast
• 1 small can of pineapple chunks
• 1/2 cup of caramelized onions (saute about 1/4 of a thinly sliced red onion in olive oil and salt until golden)
• 1/2 cup of crushed cashews
• 2 slices of bacon, cooked and diced
• Honey mustard dressing
• Finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese 

Directions:

If you don't already have oven roasted chicken breast, season a chicken breast with olive oil, salt and pepper and bake at 375 until done.  Wait for chicken breast to cool then chop up into small pieces and put in a small bowl.  Dice the pineapple pieces even smaller than they already come, and add to chicken in bowl.  Add crushed cashews, bacon pieces and carmelized onions to chicken and pineapple mixture.  Chop greens (mixed greens or romaine) up to smaller pieces and add to a large bowl.  Pour chicken mixture into bowl with greens.  Add as much honey mustard as you like (don't over dress the salad) and toss well until everything is well coated.  Top with finely shredded sharp cheddar.  Serve and enjoy! 

Jamie's Blackened Chicken Caesar

I've been making this salad for years and have quite a few fans of it so I decided to post it up here and share it with the world! Enjoy! ;) xo

Chicken Ingredients & Directions:

• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 2 chicken breast halves
• olive oil

Preheat oven to 350.  Place the chicken either in a large ziplock or underneath saran wrap and tenderize until thin.  If you don't have a meat tenderizer, use a cup (that's what I do).  Mix all of the spices listed above in another large ziplock.  Add chicken one piece at a time to spice mixture and shake to coat.  Sear chicken about one minute per side in a little olive oil then transfer to a baking sheet.  Bake for about 20 minutes or until juices run clear.

Salad Ingredients & Directions:

• Half of a head of romaine lettuce chopped
• 1 lemon
• 3 cloves of minced garlic
• Parmesan cheese
• Half of an avocado
• Half of a red onion thinly sliced
• Croutons
• Your favorite caesar dressing (we light Newman's Light Caesar dressing because it's very low in calories)
• Fresh ground pepper

In a large bowl mix together lettuce, avocado, onion and croutons.  Pour dressing, juice of half a lemon, parmesan and garlic on top.   Toss salad well to coat, or cover bowl with a plate and shake until all ingredients are well coated.  Divide salad between two plates.  Top with a little more parmesan, fresh ground pepper and lemon wedges.  Slice the blackened chicken and place on top of salad.

Greek Salad

Ingredients:

1 8oz. block of Feta cubed

1/2 cup of pitted calmata olives sliced

1 cucumber - sliced and quartered

1 red bell pepper - diced

1 yellow bell pepper - diced

1 pint of cherry tomatoes - halved

1/2 of a red onion - sliced thin

2 teaspoon of dried oregano

1 teaspoon of dijon mustard

4 cloves of garlic - minced

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

2 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt

fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions:

Place all vegetables in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl mix together the oregano, mustard, garlic, red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Pour dressing over veggies and let sit for a while before enjoying! 

Braised Balsamic Chicken (From Allrecipes)

I'm posting this link to my site because this is a regular dish around our household.  Super healthy, very quick to make and so delicious I wish I could take the credit for it!! ;-) I serve it over rice.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/braised-balsamic-chicken/

Kathy's Brocolli Salad

I first tried this salad at my family's Thangsiving gathering.  I was skeptical at first because it looks like a big bowl of good health and I like to be naughty on the holidays, but I tried it anyway.  One of the yummiest things I've ever eaten! It's super healthful to top it off!  Thanks to my mom for this recipe. Enjoy! xo

Ingredients:

1 bunch brocolli
1 bunch cauliflower
1 cup grated sharp cheddar
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup cranberries
1/2 cup mayo (I like the lower fat olive oil mayo)
1/2 cup greek yogurt
3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon of honey
1/8 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper

Directions:

Finely chop the brocolli and cauliflower and put in a large mixing bowl.  Mix in cheese, sunflower seeds, cranberries and set aside. 

In a smaller bowl mix together the mayo, yogurt, vinegar, honey, salt and pepper then add this to the brocolli mixture and combine.