RECIPE: Millennium Chef's Salad

This is a quick and easy salad with a lot of flavor.




Millennium Chef's Salad
from Vegetables for Vitality
Serves 6

6 chicken tenderloins or 2 breasts
3 cps romaine or other dark green lettuce
3 cps baby spinach
6 oz thinly-sliced lean ham, cut into strips
1 roasted yellow bell pepper, cut into strips
1 roasted orange or red bell pepper, cut into strips
18 grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
3 oz goat or feta cheese, crumbled
Balsamic Vinaigrette

• Season chicken as desired, and then saute until done (about 5-7 mins on each side)
• Divide lettuce and spinach among plates.
• Divide sliced ham strips among plates.
• Divide pepper strips among plates (For roasted peppers, I cut each pepper in half and seed them. Lay cut side down on broiler pan and broil until skin blackens and blisters. Remove from oven and place in a paper bag and allow them to cool slightly and steam in the bag. This will help to loosen the skins. Peel the skins from the peppers and then cut into strips. NOTE: Be sure to use a broiler pan. Don't be like me and use a regular pan under the broiler. My cookie sheet smoked and started curling!)
• When chicken is cooked, cut it into strips.
• Top salads with chicken strips, tomatoes and feta cheese. Drizzle with vanaigrette.

Yum! Lots of flavor in this. I used chopped tomatoes instead of cherry or grape, and a little less ham than called for, but even Woodrow liked the dish, and he doesn't normally like ham or salads that much. However my romaine had gone pretty bad, so I just used spinach, so Woodrow remarked that the spinach flavor was a little strong. Much better with the suggested romaine instead of all spinach.

This has become one of my favorite quick dishes to throw together.