Chicken Salad Platter

Chicken Salad Platter

Chunks of Grilled Chicken, juicy Nectarines & creamy Avocado resting on a bed of shredded lettuce!  Add a few whole Pecans, some shredded Red Cabbage & Carrots with Feta Cheese resting on top.  Now that is colorful!  Now that is so nutritious & yummy, too!

Then Raspberry Balsamic Vinaigrette drizzled on top.  This is definitely my kind of Salad Platter for dinner.  It's been HHH lately, so after enjoying Grilled Chicken, Grilled Zucchini & a microwaved "Baked Potato" one night at dinner, a cold Chicken Salad Platter the next evening is oh so good!

The OXO salad dressing shaker is filled with:

Raspberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

• 1/4 Cup Balsamic Vinegar

• 1/2 Cup Olive Oil for salads

• 2 teaspoons Raspberry Jam or Jelly

Then, shake, shake, shake & shake that container again!
Repeat & repeat again until the Jam/ Jelly is dissolved.

If I had cold Grilled Zucchini left, I'd add it to the Salad platter, too! This is a great refreshing nutritious dinner on an HHH night!

Yummy!
Enjoy!

Lowering LDL Cholesterol!

Dinner Salad Platter
with Chunks of Avocados & Pears

For a very long time (years) I've been very conscious of eating more healthy foods.    Using Olive Oil while cooking & drizzling Balsamic Vinaigrette containing Olive Oil over veggie salads has been my thing.  Canisters of Oats are replaced often with newly filled canisters.  We like Oatmeal Cookies, Creamy Oatmeal at breakfast & also Apple Crisp with the oat topping.  Peanuts & Pecans are great snacks, here.  Fresh salads at dinner are enjoyed.  Seafood grilled or baked is so good!  Very rarely do I bake a dessert that contains more sugar than flour (or an equal amount) in the recipe.  These past few months I've learned about the benefits of adding Avocados & fresh Pears into our diets.  Both also help with lowering bad (LDL) cholesterol.

Avocados are definitely not grown here in New England.  But hey, if eating Avocados helps in lowering the bad (LDL) Cholesterol, I'm definitely in.  They ripen quickly while sitting on the kitchen counter.  Pears can be ripened in a couple of days by placing in a closed brown paper lunch bag & also placing on the counter.

During the winter season the tomatoes purchased in the produce departments of grocery stores are not juicy & tasty as they are in the summer.  In the summer we have locally grown tomatoes to enjoy!  I've learned that Pears are a tasty substitute in a salad!  

So, there are 2 new additions to any dinner salad or dinner salad platter that we enjoy- chunks of Avocados & chunks of Pears.  This coming week promises to bring warm grilling weather, so chicken will be grilling one evening!  Any extra grilled chicken will add to a dinner salad platter with chunks Avocados & Pears the following night!  The dressing?  Oh, Raspberry Balsamic Vinaigrette, of course!

Raspberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Olive Oil for salads & marinades
1/4 Cup Balsamic Vinegar
Dash Black Pepper
1 Tablespoon Raspberry Jam or Jelly

***Salad Dressing Mixing/ Shaking Container

Method:  

1.  Place Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinegar in shaker container.
2.  Add dash of Black Pepper.
3.  Add 1 Tablespoon Raspberry Jam or Jelly.
4.  Place cover on container.
5.  Shake, shake, shake & shake again. 
6.  Drizzle over salad.

***After adding Raspberry Jam or Jelly, shake container until Jam or Jelly is dissolved.

After dinner this Raspberry Balsamic Vinaigrette is stored in my fridge.  About 1/2 hour before using again, I place the salad dressing container on my counter.  It will come to room temperature.  All it needs will be a few shakes & it will blend together to be enjoyed again.

Enjoy!
Yummy!

     

Festive Chicken Salad Platter

Festive Chicken Salad Platter

Cold Salad Platters are the best!  They taste especially good when it's the beginning of December in New England & you've enjoyed grilled Chicken the day before.  December could bring any surprising weather for us, but Saturday brought temps in the low 50°'s F & we enjoyed grilled chicken for dinner.  There were a few slices remaining- Yum!

At this time of year when the produce purchased in grocery stores is not as fresh or tasty as our local summer produce, a ripened Pear tastes so good!  One was in our fridge!     

It was perfect timing for a cold salad platter the next day!  It was just e-a-s-y!  Salad Greens served with chunks of grilled Chicken & also fresh Pear chunks.  A few unseasoned cooked Green Beans were added in.  Colorful Craisins,  yummy Pecans & a little Feta Cheese was sprinkled on top.  Balsamic Vinaigrette drizzled over it.  This dressing has become our fave. 

What a yummy dinner salad!  It was made from "leftovers" & staples in my pantry & fridge!    
  
We may be enjoying these two entrees again this month.  If it's comfy outdoors to grill during the dinner hour, we surely will.

Balsamic Vinaigrette  

Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Olive Oil for salads & marinades
1/4 Cup Balsamic Vinegar
Dash Black Pepper

Optional:  1 Tablespoon Raspberry Jam or Jelly

***Salad Dressing Mixing/ Shaking Container

Method:  

1.   Place Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinegar in shaker container.
2.   Add dash of Black Pepper.
3.   Optional:  Add 1 Tablespoon Raspberry Jam or Jelly.
4.   Place cover on container.
5.   Shake, shake, shake & shake again. 
6.   Drizzle over salad.
7.   Enjoy!

Note:  If adding optional Jam or Jelly, shake container until Jam or Jelly is dissolved.

I store my Balsamic Vinaigrette in my fridge.  About 1/2 hour before using again, I place on my counter,  so it comes to room temperature.  Shake, shake, shake until blended together & enjoy again. 

Enjoy!
Yummy!