As a teacher when summer comes I am excited about the extra time I have each day for 10 weeks. It is really thrilling and sometimes I have to remind myself that every day is precious and valuable; because you know I have my days of total laziness. With extra time for fun activities also comes extra time to shop at produce markets and experiment with light and fresh recipes. I have a favorite “summer salad” and a new bacon and chicken vinaigrette salad recipe as well. My summer salad is basic with a few ingredients that anyone can throw together and the chicken vinaigrette has more ingredients and involves using the stove! I used the Sautéed Chicken with Warm Bacon Vinaigrette recipe from Cooking Light Ultimate Chicken Cookbook but made changes to the recipe to make it my own.
Summer Salad
- 1 bag pre-cut Romaine lettuce
- 2 oz. Feta cheese
- ½ pint Strawberries
- ¼ cup Walnuts
- Ken’s raspberry walnut vinaigrette dressing
- Cut the tops off of the strawberries, wash and chop or slice into quarters; set aside.
- Place the romaine lettuce into a serving bowl, top with crumbled feta cheese, walnuts and chopped strawberries
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Once ready to serve top with desired amount to vinaigrette. Enjoy!
Chicken and Bacon Vinaigrette Salad
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 (6 oz) skinless, boneless chicken breasts
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 3-5 slices of applewood –smoked bacon
- ¼ cup chopped green onion
- 1 clove minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1/3 cup chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- Lettuce
I changed the recipe from using the vinaigrette as a dressing to using it as a marinade for my chicken. I also served by salad with fresh mango and mandarin orange fruit salad. Here’s what I did.
- Cook the bacon and save the fat. I made the bacon at breakfast and served up a hearty big breakfast. Then I made the salad for lunch/dinner. I didn’t feel that you need much bacon on the salad.
- Make the vinaigrette. Add garlic and green onion to pan with bacon fat, sauté for a few minutes. Stir constantly adding the vinegar, broth, syrup and mustard. Cook for 1 minute continuing to stir. Remove from heat.
- Place chicken in large glass bowl. Salt and pepper the chicken then add the vinaigrette to the bowl. Let sit for 20-30 minutes. Save some vinaigrette if you want to use it as dressing. After marinating the chicken, place the oil in a pan at medium high heat and add chicken. Cook about 6 minutes each side, remove from pan and let chicken rest.
- Prepare lettuce (I’m a huge fan of already cut lettuce!) add topping of your choice. I added green onion, red pepper, sharp cheese, bacon, and chopped chicken. Top with the vinaigrette or your favorite dressing. ENJOY!
What’s your favorite summer dish or salad? We would love to have you share.
be fit, have fun
© 2012 – 2014, A Sweet Guest. All rights reserved. Love it? Please share, pin, tweet or email but do not use my work without permission.
Leave a Reply