Strawberry & Spinach Salad with Pecan Encrusted Chicken

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balsamic, cannellini beans, chicken, dinner, dinner salad, entree salad, gorgonzola, honey balsamic, light fare, lighter fare, lunch, postaday2011, salad, side dishes, spinach, strawberries, vinaigrette, white kidney beans

Extra strawberries? Perfect for one of my favorite salads. When I waited tables in grad school, the restaurant had an entrée salad similar to this recipe. Of course, I always was adding and omitting things to make it my own.

Strawberry Spinach Salad with Pecan Encrusted Chicken

Ingredients:
pecan encrusted chicken, baby spinach, strawberries, gorgonzola cheese, cannellini beans, honey balsamic vinaigrette

Directions:
Arrange spinach on place and added sliced strawberries and cannellini beans. Sprinkle with gorgonzola. Slice chicken breast and place on top of salad. Drizzle with vinaigrette.

This time I didn’t have enough time to marinate my chicken breasts overnight. So I rubbed them with maple syrup and allowed them to sit 15 minutes (okay, I was starving, so that is pushing it) and dipped them straight into the flour, skipping the milk…

Vegetarian Version:
Skipped the chicken and opt for  plain or candied pecans… mmm…

Strawberry Spinach Salad

What is your favorite entrée salad?

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Fav’ House Salad

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artichoke hearts, cherry tomatoe, cherry tomatoes, dinner salad, entree salad, food, foodie, fresh tomatoes, hearts of palm, kalamata olives, light fare, light lunch, lighter fare, mozzarella, olives, postaday2011, recipe, salad, side dishes, spring mix, vinaigrette

Yes, I am a judgmental person when it comes to food. I believe the house salad sets the tone and taste for the expected meal. First of all, I do not like blasé iceberg lettuce. And adding shredded carrots, cucumbers and sliced tomatoes does not make the salad interesting either. And croutons? Please! They are only admissible when made fresh for a crock french onion soup. However, there is one restaurant I enjoy dining at that makes a fantastic house salad!

Fav' House Salad

Ingredients:
spring mix (no romaine, no iceberg), kalamata olives, hearts of palm, artichoke hearts, cherry tomatoes, fresh mozzarella

Directions:
Assemble ingredients on a chilled salad plate and serve with dressing.

Of course you can get any dressing you desire, however their house dressing is a perfect complement to the salad. Their tangy vinaigrette is simple and cleansing to the palette. They serve their house salad with fresh brick-oven focaccia. Double the salad size to make it an entrée salad.

Do you have a restaurant favorite?

Spinach, Star Fruit & Pistachio Salad

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bleu cheese, carambola, chicken, chicken salad, cooking for two, entree salad, food, foodie, fruit, lunch for two, pistachio, postaday2011, recipe, red bell pepper, side dishes, spinach, star fruit, vegan, vegetarian

The other night Hubster and I stopped by a grocery store that we don’t normally get to. I was amazed when I spotted a few fresh star fruit, since I haven’t be able to find them in this area since I moved here. I ran over to them and started squeezing them to check their firmness, Hubster looked completely confused and asked what the are. After I replied, the 5-year-old boy in him came out. “They can’t ever taste good if I’ve never seen them in the grocery store before. That’s the ugliest fruit I’ve even seen, they don’t even look good.” I then held up an Ugli fruit for him to view… conversation was derailed.

This day, I did something simplistic and used them in a salad. Two variations, a light vegetarian salad for me and a non-vegetarian entrée salad for him. His final verdict on the fruit? Tastes okay, like a fruit. 🙂 I think star fruit tastes like a light citrusy pear.

Vegetarian & Vegan Version
Spinach, Start Fruit & Pistachio Salad Ingredients:
1 star fruit (sliced), sliced red pepper, pistachios, baby spinach leaves, sesame ginger dressing

Spinach, Star Fruit & Pistachio Salad Directions:
Arrange mixed greens on plate and top with chicken, star fruit, peppers and pistachios. Drizzle with dressing.

Spinach, Star Fruit & Pistachio Side Salad

Meat Eaters Entrée Salad Variation
Ingredients:
1 Spinach, Star fruit and Pistachio salad from above, 1 chicken breast, teriyaki sauce, bleu cheese crumbles, raspberry vinaigrette dressing (in place of sesame ginger dressing)

Directions:
Marinate chicken in teriyaki breast and grill. Slice chicken and arrange on salad. Sprinkle with bleu cheese and drizzle with dressing.

Chicken, Spinach, Star Fruit & Pistachio Entrée Salad

I prefer this with sesame ginger dressing, Hubster enjoys his was raspberry vinaigrette, you combo might be different…

What recipe do you make two different variations, for you and your spouse/partner?

Classic Cobb

Tags

classic salad, Cobb salad, entree, entree salad, lunch entree, salad

A Cobb salad is a classic choice for an entrée salad (although strange to crave in the winter). I saw ripe avocados at the supermarket and had to make a Cobb salad.

Classic Cobb Salad

Salad Ingredients:
Romaine lettuce, sweet butter lettuce, grilled chicken breast, avocado, tomato, hard-boiled egg, bleu cheese, crispy bacon (I used turkey)

Salad Directions:
Many people dice and chop the ingredients and layer them to create their salad. I prefer my ingredients in larger slices and wedges before I layer them. Drizzle with Cobb dressing right before serving.

Dressing Ingredients:
1/6 c. red wine vinegar, 1/2 Tbs. Dijon mustard, 1 tsp. sugar, 1/3 c. olive oil, salt and pepper

Dressing Directions:
Mix ingredients together right before serving.

*I took the photo before I tossed on the bleu cheese crumbs and dressing.