"Salad" is not normally a word in my vocabulary. But, for this post, I'm making an exception. I was in the mood for something light but filling on a weeknight, so I stumbled upon this recipe on one of my favorite websites, Healthy Delicious. The salad was packed with flavor and I loved the fresh ingredients. It really hit the spot!
I cute some corners from the original recipe because I wanted to expedite the process, but also save some money where I could. Instead of fresh sweet corn on the cob, I bought frozen sweet corn and de-thawed, then marinated it. Instead of raw chicken, I bought pre-cooked chicken from Trader Joe's and just let it sit and marinate in a bowl before warming it in a skillet (see tip below).
Ingredients (marinade):
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tbs olive oil
1 tbs Dijon mustard
1 tbs brown sugar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 lemon, juiced
Ingredients: (salad):
2 cups sweet corn, thawed
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved
1 pint grape or Heirloom tomatoes
1 pint mushrooms
16 oz small, fresh mozzarella balls
1 bag mixed greens
Ingredients (dressing):
1/4 cup basil pesto
4-6 tbs apple cider vinegar
Directions:
Combine all marinade ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until combined. Coat corn, chicken, and mushrooms in the marinade but in separate bowls. Use most of it on the chicken, the rest split between the corn and mushrooms. Let the chicken marinate for at least 1 hour*.
In a cast iron skillet, toast the corn until it's just slightly charred, remove and set aside. Add mushrooms with marinade to skillet and cook until tender, set aside. Finally, transfer chicken to skillet and cook until center is no longer pink, 8-10 minutes. If using my tip below, simply use the skillet to warm the chicken, 3-4 minutes at the most. Transfer chicken to a cutting board and dice.
Combine dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until combined, adding more or less vinegar to taste.
To assemble salad, empty entire package of mixed greens in a large mixing bowl. Top with corn, chicken, tomatoes, mushrooms, and mozzarella. Dress the salad only when you are ready to serve.
*Tip: I was lazy and bought pre-cooked chicken from Trader Joe's (grilled chicken strips) and let them marinate for about 10 minutes, then heated them up in a cast iron skillet.
Recipe from Healthy Delicious.