Would it be a cliché to say “yum” on a cooking website? If so, I’m in big,big trouble.
And furthermore: Yum.
I made this deliciously simple salad after church yesterday, and since I was ravenously ravenous, I decided to introduce some carbs into the picture and make the salad into a wrap. It was so utterly delightful, especially after the ridonkulously hot weekend of soccer, soccer, and soccer. With a little soccer thrown in. It was fresh, crunchy, with a nice combination of protein and fruit and greens…oh, and goat cheese.
Oh, and a few other things, too.
Here’s how I made it!
Throw a couple of chicken breasts into a ziploc bag and use a rolling pin to pound the thicker areas of the chicken until they’re a uniform thickness.
Then, either whip up your favorite balsamic vinaigrette yourself…or grab a dang bottle of Paul Newman’s (or whatever kind of vinaigrette you like) out of your pantry. Because sometimes life is too short to make your own vinaigrette.
Now that’s deep, Ree.
Drizzle a little dressing into the bag with the chicken…
Then seal the bag, squeeze out the air so the dressing is totally coating the chicken, and marinate it in the fridge for an hour or two.
You can use any vinaigrette you want: Raspberry vinaigrette would be lovely!
After it’s marinated, cook the chicken on a grill pan (or outside on the grill if you haven’t been at soccer games all weekend).
A couple of minutes into cooking, rotate the chicken 45 degrees so it’ll have pretty, fancy grill marks.
Do the same on the other side.
Then, when then chicken’s totally done in the middle, remove it to a board…
Slice it on a diagonal in one direction…
Then again in the other direction.
Next, grab some lovely, juicy strawberries.
Hull them, then cut the strawberries into quarters.
Keep going until you have a nice pile.
And here’s why I like quartering the strawberries: If I were to simply slice them, each slice wouldn’t wind up with much surface area. This way, you see some of the beautiful strawberry skin with each piece of strawberry.
That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.
Crumble up some goat cheese and try not to eat one of the crumbles.
Goat cheese inhabits my dreams.
Next, slice up some green onions…
Then grab a few pecans…
And chop ‘em up.
Last thing: Pour the salad greens into a big ol’ bowl.
Now you’re ready to assemble the salad, honey baby!
First, toss the greens in a little salad dressing…
Then add the strawberries…
The chicken…
The green onions…
And the goat cheese.
Mmmm. Luscious!
Now, you can toss it all around and serve it like a normal salad…
Or you can make wraps! Start with a flour tortilla. I used whole wheat.
Lay a generous amount of salad all across the middle.
You may have to “style” it a little and make sure you have even amounts of strawberries and chicken throughout.
I put a little more goat cheese across the top because goat cheese is my life.
Roll up the wrap as tightly as you can. You can also roll it like a burrito, where you tuck in the sides, but I like the purty stuff to be visible on both ends.
Use a really sharp knife to slice it in half…
Then serve it with chips and/or fruit.
Food like this makes me happy. Try it this week! And you can add in some blueberries if you have some…or even some diced mozzarella. I’ll do that next time!
Here’s the handy dandy printable.
Ingredients
- 2 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
- 1/2 cup Bottled Balsamic Vinaigrette
- 1 whole Package (12 Ounces) Mixed Salad Greens
- 12 whole Medium Strawberries, Hulled And Quartered
- 4 whole Green Onions Sliced (white And Light Green Parts)
- 1/4 cup Pecans, Chopped
- 4 ounces, weight Goat Cheese Crumbled
- 6 whole Large Whole Wheat Tortillas
Preparation Instructions
Place the chicken breasts in a large plastic storage bag. Seal the bag, leaving a small opening, then use a rolling pin to pound the breasts until they're a uniform thickness. Pour in half the balsamic vinaigrette, then seal the bag and marinate in the fridge for 1 hour.
After the chicken has marinated, grill it until it's done in the middle, about 5 minutes per side. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly. Dice up the chicken when it's cool enough to handle.
Add the salad greens to a large bowl. Add half of the remaining dressing and toss it to coat the greens. Add more if it needs it. Add the strawberries, chicken, green onions, and pecans. Toss it gently a few times until it's all combined. Top with crumbled goat cheese and toss a couple of times.
Place an equal amount of salad down the middle of each tortilla. Roll up, then slice in half.
Serve wraps with chips and extra strawberries.
