Thursday, May 19, 2011
Strawberry, Mozzarella and Candied Pecan Salad
About a month ago Jeff and I had dinner at our friend Lauren & Fritz's house where Lauren made as simple yet amazing salad for us! It has since become one of my favorite lunches. I make a similar version to the one Lauren made and can't wait to share it with you today :) If you need to bring a dish to a cook-out or dinner this summer, this is the dish you should bring. It is bright, healthy and refreshing!
Before you make the salad, take a few minutes to make some candied pecans! Be careful though, these are addicting. I ate a ton of them last night while making them ;)
Ingredients (for candied pecans):
-While the pecans are baking, mix all of the ingredients together on the stove top and heat.
-Remove the mixture once heated and pour the pecans in. Pour out the coated pecans onto parchment paper and let sit for about 30 minutes.
- 1 1/4 cup of chopped or whole pecans
- 1 teaspoon canola oil
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 cup water
-While the pecans are baking, mix all of the ingredients together on the stove top and heat.
-Remove the mixture once heated and pour the pecans in. Pour out the coated pecans onto parchment paper and let sit for about 30 minutes.
Ok, let's get back to the rest of this salad...
Ingredients (for 1 serving of salad):
- 1 small grilled chicken breast, cut
- 4 small strawberries, sliced
- 5 balls of fresh mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 cup candied pecans
- mixed greens of your choice
- balsamic vinaigrette dressing
This is a sweet summer salad. If you are like my dad and cannot stand when anything sweet (like fruit or dried cranberries) is on your salad, then this might not be for you. The cheese and chicken make it super filling. Just be careful not to add too many candied pecans since they aren't the healthiest thing in the world!
Newman's is my favorite dressing, plus is it gluten-free. I pick up these packets at a local health grocery store because they are easy for me to take to work. It's better than carrying around an entire bottle of dressing in my purse (which I have done many times).
Can you tell which part of the salad is my least favorite? Don't worry, I ate a little bit more of the greens...but not much ;)
Newman's is my favorite dressing, plus is it gluten-free. I pick up these packets at a local health grocery store because they are easy for me to take to work. It's better than carrying around an entire bottle of dressing in my purse (which I have done many times).
Can you tell which part of the salad is my least favorite? Don't worry, I ate a little bit more of the greens...but not much ;)
3 comments:
Looks yummy!Cheryl
Delicious! My husband will love this! Thanks for sharing! :)
Oh, yeah! This is my kind of salad...beautiful and delicious~
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