Strawberry Spinach Salad

It seems like every nice restaurant has a take on this salad. Strawberries have been way cheap recently so I made this last night to use them up before they went bad. We try to do a main salad for dinner probably once a week. Instead of putting everything in a big bowl, I just put out all the ingredients salad bar style- in individual containers. That way, we can pick and choose what we want on it AND leftovers taste better b/c they haven't sat together and gotten soggy! Also, you can prep everything during the day, and when it's dinner time, everything is ready to go!

1 bag fresh spinach

1/2 pint strawberries, sliced

reduced fat Feta cheese crumbles

Spiced Pecans (see recipe below)

Sweet Onion Balsamic Vinaigrette (see recipe below)

Simple Pan Chicken (see recipe below)

Spiced Pecans (healthy!!)

Most versions of these are loaded with salt, sugar, and fat b/c they are usually coated in butter to get the spiced to stick! I came up with this version to satisfy the taste, but not have all the calories. You could use it on almonds or walnuts, too. By toasting them in the oven instead of sauteing on the stove, you get this nice toasty flavor. 

Michael's PawPaw has a pecan tree and he is always sending us fresh, home grown pecans. I constantly have a stash in my freezer. If I know I need some, I just set a few out on the counter for an hour or so and they are good to go! 

1 cup pecan halves

I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray

3/4 tsp garlic salt

2 tsp Splenda

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp curry powder

1/4 tsp chili powder

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper powder

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground ginger

1. Heat oven to 350. 

2. Place pecans in a ziploc baggy. Spray with 4-5 sprays of the butter spray. Close bag and shake to coat evenly. 

3. Mix all dry ingredients together in a small bowl. Sprinkle over pecans and shake bag again to coat evenly. 

4. Spread out on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake about 7-10 mins, shaking pan every 2-3 minutes. 

5. Allow to cool on pan about 10 minutes or so, then chop coarsely. 

Sweet Onion Vinaigrette

1/4 c minced onion

1/3  c olive oil (or your favorite oil)

1/4 c sugar free pancake syrup

1/4  c balsamic vinegar

2 TB dijon or spicy mustard

1. Place all ingredients in food processor or Magic Bullet and mix until blended! Can store in the fridge for 3-4 days. 

Simple Pan Chicken

I learned this method of cooking chicken from this book. In my opinion, it's the best method for cooking chicken if you are serving it on a salad. It gets the outside nice and crispy like you pan seared it, but it keeps the moisture in b/c it's partially poached as well. You can experiment with different seasonings, but this version is simple b/c of all the great flavors in the salad.

chicken breasts

garlic powder

Lowry's seasoning salt

1/2 tsp oil per chicken breast

1/4 c water

1. Place a skillet over 'almost high' heat and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, chicken breast between 2 pieces of plastic wrap and pound with a meat cleaver to thin out evenly. If you don't have a meat cleaver, you could use a rolling pin. 

2. When skillet is hot, add oil to pan- 1/2 tsp per chicken breast. Swirl to coat.

3. Remove plastic wrap from one side of chicken. Sprinkle evenly with garlic powder and seasoning salt. 

4. Place chicken, seasoned side down, in the hot skillet. DO NOT MOVE for at least 3 minutes. 

5. When you can see the edges turing white from the other side, turn chicken over. Add water to pan, turn skillet to medium, and cover. 

6. Allow chicken to cook about 5-7 more minutes (add more water to pan if necessary).

7. Remove from pan and let cool for 5 minutes before slicing.