Crispy Chicken Salad

On Saturday, we spent the day at the beach. I wanted something easy to do for dinner and something relatively healthy. I chose a salad which I would serve chicken over. For the chicken, I settled on some chicken tenders I had seen on Lani's blog. These were perfect over salad. I used romaine, a cucumber, a tomato, shredded cheddar, hardboiled eggs and crispy turkey bacon to round out the salad...oh and light ranch dressing. I served some good ol Jiffy cornbread with it and it was delicious, filling dinner.

Honey-Pecan Crusted Chicken Tenders

salt

pepper

boneless, skinless chicken tenders

1/4 cup honey

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

3/4 tsp paprika

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1 1/4 cups finely crushed cornflakes

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400. Sprinkle salt and pepper over chicken. Combine honey, mustard, paprika and garlic in a small bowl. Combine cornflakes and pecans in a shallow dish (I crushed up the cornflakes and pecans together in my mini food processor). Brush both sides of chicken with honey mixture; dredge in cornflake mixture. Place chicken on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Lightly coat the chicken with cooking spray. Cook at 400 for 15 minutes or until done.

Mmmm...how I love salads!

This salad was a last minute throw together on our 'fend for yourself' dinner night. It was so quick and easy and it was delicious. The only new addition to this from my other salads was crispy crumbled bacon, which I wasn't sure how it would go with the strawberries.... well, it was awesome. So, here is what I did.

Strawberry Salad

romaine or spring mix

crumbled goat cheese

pecans (broken into smaller pieces)

craisins

strawberries (I cut up about 3 large ones for my personal salad)

bacon (made 2 slices)

good seasons italian (or balsamic viniagrette)

Salad + Scallops = Super!

This is a quick, easy dinner. Mike talked me into a nap and out of the gym when I got home from work so it's a good thing that we had a nice light dinner.

Scallops Salad

Greens (I had romaine on hand)

Goat Cheese, crumbled

Craisins

Pecans, chopped

Scallops (pan seared for about 5 minutes in a little olive oil and white wine vinegar, with salt and pepper)

Dressing (we used the Good Seasons Italian)

** I would like to have added grape tomatoes, but we didn't have any! :-)

That's a negative on the red peppers...

As soon as I saw the recipe for this Chicken Orzo Salad with Goat Cheese in my new issue of Cooking Light, I knew it was going on the 'to make' list. Because it was my first time making it, I stuck to the recipe pretty closely. I was really excited to get home from the gym and make this meal. We thought it was pretty good, but not a favorite. I definitely think I will make it again but I will probably change a few things...like not using red pepper or onion. Although I really like the taste of red peppers, they just don't sit well on my tummy. So, they will be nixed next time for sure. I sauteed the red pepper and onion because I felt the raw ones would be too harsh for my sensitive self. :-) I think I would add a little something to the dressing too. I saw where Lani added dijon mustard to the dressing mix..so that's a thought. Last night, I also thought it would be good to add a little brown sugar to the dressing. I think this dish could use a little more texture so adding some nuts also sounds like a good idea.

We gave it a 6 out of 10...but I think adding/changing some things could definitely make it an 8. Different strokes for different folks...give it a try, you might love it. And it sure made for some yummy looking pictures. Here's the recipe with the few changes I made: (source: Cooking Light)

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups uncooked orzo (rice-shaped pasta)
3 cups chopped grilled chicken breast strips (such as Tyson) (I sauteed 3 chicken breast cutlets) 1 1/2 cups trimmed arugula (used spring mix)
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup prechopped red onion
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon extravirgin olive oil
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
6 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) crumbled goat cheese

Preparation:
1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain well.
2. Combine pasta, chicken, and the next 6 ingredients (through oregano) in a large bowl; toss well.
3. Combine vinegar, oil, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle vinegar mixture over pasta mixture; toss well to coat. Sprinkle with cheese.

Yield:
Cooking Light says 6 servings but I say 4!

Nutritional Information:
CALORIES 295(23% from fat); FAT 7.7g (sat 2.9g,mono 2.8g,poly 1.1g); PROTEIN 24.4g; CHOLESTEROL 55mg; CALCIUM 40mg; SODIUM 788mg; FIBER 2g; IRON 2.4mg; CARBOHYDRATE 32.1g

Cran-Mandarin Salad....with Chicken

Dig In!

All of the pretty ingredients before tossing it al together.

I first had this salad at our recent Tampa Cooking Club night about a week ago. Amber hosted and she served this salad alongside Tuna topped with Mango Salsa and orzo. I was hooked! So, I made it 2 days later for dinner at a friend's house. And now another 2 days later, I made it again. Yea, it's that good! Tonight it was just me eating, so I just made a small amount. It seems to be even better when you make it as a big salad and toss it all together. Here is what I used for the big salad and then I just scaled it down for a personal sized one. Oh, I also cooked up some chicken breast cutlets in a saute pan with garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika to throw in there. The salad is just as delicious withuot the chicken. The pictures do this salad no justice because you can't see all the yumminess that is tossed around in it. And I think it turns out prettier when you actually chop up the lettuce, but I was too lazy this time.

Romaine or bibb lettuce, chopped
Green onion, finely chopped (I used 3/4 of a bundle)
Celery, finely chopped (I used 4-5 full stalks)
Crumbled goat cheese
Craisins
Grape tomatoes, quartered

Candied Pecans, finely chopped

1 can of mandarin oranges

For the dressing:
1/8 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1/8 cup of balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp of brown sugar
A few drops of hot sauce (we like a few more!)

Candied Pecans:
In a sauce pan, melt 2 tbsp of butter/margarine over low to med heat; add 1/2 cup of chopped pecans and 2 tbsp of brown sugar; stir for a few minutes until well coated; remove and cool completely. Yum!

Food Bloggin'

Ok, here goes...my first food post. While searching all of the WC nestie's blogs, I came across these Crunchy Little Devils on Amber's blog, Amber's Delectable Delights, and I knew right away that I was going to try them. I also immediately knew how I would serve them... over a salad! Always a fan of fried chicken salads, this was going to be my new, healthier version. I made them last night and they were delcious....Mike and I really enjoyed it. I threw them on a bed of romaine with hardboiled eggs, cheddar cheese, cucumbers, tomatoes and some light ranch dressing. As a side note, I did use quite a bit of the hot sauce mixture because that's how we like 'em. And I made some Pillsbury Honey Butter biscuits too...Mike is not a big bread person but he does love these. Yum! Please excuse the pictures...I obviously have some practicing to do in that area.