picture from free clip art web site, http://clipart.m-y-d-s.comWe've been eating out too much lately and decided to cut down so I've been making a meal out of fresh summer veggies and a protein. The bonus is, the salads only take about 30 minutes to put together, including cooking the chicken. Today's salad was one of the best so I thought I'd share it with you (I should have taken a picture it was so pretty but we gobbled it down so fast I barely had time to write the ingredients before I forgot them. This salad picture is from free clip art web site, http://clipart.m-y-d-s.com.
NOTE: everything I put in the salad is part of my vegetable crisper or "salad shelf". We eat just about the same salad often but I vary the protein and the seasonings. Here's tonight's salad, it was exceptional, especially the chicken:
INGREDIENTS
8 ounce skinless chicken breast
McCormick Perfect Pinch Rotisserie Chicken Seasoning (found in the spice section of your grocery store)
Salt and pepper
Olive Oil
Chardonnay Wine yeah I know I used it in the chili too, I have this bottle, might as well use it :-)
No Stick Cooking Spray
Iceberg lettuce--I sometimes add baby spinach as well
Wash the lettuce and set in refrigerator wrapped in a paper towel or return to plastic bag you bought it in at the store, leave it there for at least 30 minutes to help crisp it.
6 Vine ripened cherry tomatoes
1 each sweet yellow and red peppers
1 bell pepper
2 stalks Green Onions
10 Seedless Green Grapes
2 Tbls Green salad olives
1/4 cup Craisins
1/2 cup Parmesan flavored croutons
NOTE Everything is cut into bite size pieces.
Directions:
Cut chicken into small bite size pieces and sprinkle with Rotisserie Chicken Seasoning and salt and pepper (not too much salt, the seasoning has salt as well)
Pour a little bit of Olive Oil in your non stick fry pan, put on high heat
Add spiced chicken pieces and stir. Continue stirring until chicken is pretty much cooked through, then turn down the heat. Be careful you don’t want it to be overdone or the chicken will become tough. If necessary as you stir the chicken add cooking spray to the pan to keep the chicken from sticking. Sprinkle more seasoning on the chicken as you stir and it cooks. Add about 1/4 cup wine to the pan and turn heat off. The chicken will continue to simmer and cool down in the wine and seasoning while the stove cools down.
While the chicken is simmering and cooling in the wine, prepare your veggies.
Wash the veggies in cold water and set aside.
Tear lettuce into small pieces and put in salad bowl (Not too much, you can add more later if you need to.)
Chop your veggies into small pieces and add to salad bowl
Cut grapes in half if they are large
Add a couple tablespoons of green olives to the bowl
Sprinkle in the Craisins
Add your chicken pieces
Toss the salad then cut the croutons in half and sprinkle around on top
I don't put salad dressing on the salad until we are ready to eat. I like one kind, my friend likes another so we each add our dressing individually. Nothing else is needed for this dinner, you have your protein, your fruit, your vegetables and the croutons are your bread (unless you aren't watching your starchy carbs of course).
