EASY CHICKEN SALAD RECIPEThis is a easy chicken salad recipe and reminds me of spring. Chunks of grilled chicken and juicy strawberries with a sweet red wine vinegar; it's wonderful. A handful of crunchy pecans tops it off.
STRAWBERRY CHICKEN SALAD 1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breast halves 3/4 cup pecans 2 TBS butter 1 TBS homemade brown sugar, packed 1/3 cup red wine vinegar 1/4 cup white sugar 1/2 cup canola oil 1 green onion, chopped 1 tsp ground mustard 1/2 tsp kosher salt 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper or to taste 2 heads bib lettuce, washed and ripped into pieces 1-1/2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced Lightly oil the grill grate. Grill chicken 8 minutes on each side, or until juices run clear. Remove from heat, cool, and slice. Meanwhile, place pecans in a skillet with the butter and brown sugar over medium-high heat. Cook pecans until fragrant, stirring frequently, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat, and set aside. In a blender, combine the red wine vinegar, sugar, vegetable oil, onion, mustard, salt, and pepper. Process until smooth. Arrange lettuce on serving plates. Top with grilled chicken slices, strawberries, and pecans. Drizzle with the dressing to serve.
Serve in salad bowls and offer the dressing in a pourable container so your family can add as much dressing as they want. You can also pour the dressing over the top of the salad, toss, and serve immediately. |
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SECRET #1
There are many way to prepare these strawberries, but I am going to give you my easy methods. When you are melting the chocolate over a double boiler, don't let the water touch the bottom of your upper pan. Heat until only 1/2 of the chocolate is melted, then remove from heat and stir gently until it is all melted.
The chocolate should actually be cool or tepid to the touch. If it's hot, chances are it will seize up and thicken. If it does that, no amount of heating or stirring will fix it.
If you don't have a double-boiler, use a saucepan - bring the water to a boil, and then use a stainless steel bowl to rest in the saucepan to melt the chocolate.
SECRET #2
Strawberries are grown with many pesticides, so rinse the strawberries first with a veggie wash, and let them drain on paper towels until they were thoroughly dry so the chocolate would adhere properly. Any moisture would have interfered with the chocolate adhering.
SECRET #3
Spike the strawberries! Fill a syringe with a sweet white dessert wine, and slowly inject the wine into the strawberries from near the stem (after you've done the dipping in chocolate.) You want to inject enough wine to saturate the berries, but watch not to add too much otherwise they end up becoming runny. These are always a hit when I bring them to dinner parties.
SECRET #4
Pierce the strawberries on the stem side with a toothpick. Holding the strawberry by the toothpick, dip into the chocolate mixture. Turn the strawberries upside down and insert the toothpick into Styrofoam for the chocolate to cool.
PERFECT Chocolate Covered Strawberries Recipes
A delicious twist on my favorite red velvet cake recipe. Yum.
HOMEMADE RED VELVET CHEESECAKE RECIPE
Ingredients
CRUST:
1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted
1-1/2 TBS white sugar
shaved chocolate bar
CHEESECAKE:
3 (8oz) pkgs cream cheese, softened
1-1/2 cups white sugar
4 eggs, beaten
3 TBS cocoa, unsweetened
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup buttermilk*
1 TBS pure vanilla extract
1 tsp white vinegar
2 (1oz) bottles of red food coloring
TOPPING:
3 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
shaved chocolate bar, for garnish
Directions
PREHEAT oven to 325 degrees. The cake is baked with a water bath to prevent cracking. Wrap a large pan with foil (big enough for the spring form pan to fit in).
Mix the graham crackers and sugar together and add the melted butter. Mix with a fork and press into a 9 inch spring form pan. Sprinkle the bottom of the crust with chocolate shavings from a candy bar.
Beat 3 packages of cream cheese with 1-1/2 cups white sugar until fluffy. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour into the prepared spring form pan and place in the center of the foil covered pan. Fill with water.
Bake for 10 minutes and lower oven temperature to 300 degrees and bake for 70-80 minutes. The cheesecake is done when the center is firm. Cool completely on a wire rack.
TOPPING:
Beat the cream cheese with the butter until fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract and mix until smooth and creamy. Spread evenly over the top of the cooled cheesecake. Garnish with the shaved chocolate bar.
*Buttermilk:
Place 1-1/2 tsp vinegar or lemon juice in 1/2 measuring cup and fill remainder with milk. Wait 15 minutes, stir, and it's ready for this recipe.