Friday, October 11, 2013

Fall-Inspired Chicken Walnut Salad

What you need:
2 lbs Chicken
10 oz Mixed Field greens
3/4 cup Dried cranberries  
4 oz Gorgonzola
1 Small Red onion
1 cup Chopped walnuts

What you do:
Sauté seasoned chicken on medium heat until thoroughly cooked.  Allow chicken to rest 5 minutes prior to cutting.



Add dried cranberries, Gorgonzola, thinly sliced red onion, chopped walnuts, and diced chicken to
the field greens. Dress with balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

Yields 3-4 large salads.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Balsamic Vinaigrette

This is our households go-to salad dressing. It pairs perfectly with a Fall-inspired Chicken Walnut Salad with Gorgonzola, Red Onion and Dried Cranberries or as a simple marinade for beef or chicken.


 What you need:
1 cup EVOO
1 cup Balsamic vinegar 
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp Non-parteil capers
1 small Garlic clove minced (or 1 Tbsp dried minced garlic)
Salt and pepper to taste 

Variations: Add a Tbsp of honey for sweeter dressing.

What you do:
Use a magic bullet or Vitamix to blend the ingredients for about 30 seconds or until dressing is smooth.

Note:
This is a very concentrated dressing and a little goes a long way. For a large salad, I would use approximately 2 Tbsp of dressing. Store extra dressing in a mason jar and refrigerate.