Blackberry Balsamic Grilled Chicken Salad with Crispy Fried Goat Cheese

This is my Wednesday company-is-coming dinner for this week. We had fresh, sliced peaches over Biscuit shortcakes with vanilla ice cream for dessert. Then we played the 1st year of our new game, Hogwarts Battle. Tasty food and very pleasant evening.

The chicken salad recipe was found through Pinterest and is available at http://www.closetcooking.com/2016/07/blackberry-balsamic-grilled-chicken.html. I made several modifications - using 1/4 cup seedless black raspberry jam instead of actual blackberries in the dressing/marinade (this to avoid crunchy seeds unexpectedly), and using coconut aminos instead of soy sauce in the dressing/marinade. The crispy fried goat cheese is really good.

This recipe makes 4 or so servings.

INGREDIENTS

Marinade/Dressing

1/4 cup seedless blackberry or black raspberry jam (or 1/2 cup blackberries)

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 Tbsp honey

1 tsp coconut aminos

2 tsp Dijon mustard

1 clove garlic, minced

Sal & pepper to taste

Goat cheese

8 oz goat cheese, sliced to 1/4" thick discs or formed into small balls

1/4 cup flour

1 egg, beaten

1 cup Panko breadcrumbs

Olive oil for frying

Salad

6 cups lettuce (I used Romaine, with some spinach mixed in)

12 oz thin or filleted chicken breasts

1/4 onion (red or Vadalia), sliced

1 avocado, peeled and sliced

1/4 cup walnut pieces

1 cup blackberries

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

Mix together Dressing/Marinade ingredients. Place chicken in plastic bag with 1/2 the dressing/marinade. Save the other half as the salad dressing. Marinate the chicken overnight in the refrigerator.

To make the crispy goat cheese, place the goat cheese in the freezer for about 15 minutes. This makes it easier to slice. Slice into 1/4" thick discs, or form into small balls. Dredge the goat cheese in the flour and coat in egg followed by breadcrumbs, Heat a thin layer of olive oil to medium-high heat in a skillet (I used a non-stick 10" one). Fry the prepared goat cheese until lightly golden brown before setting aside on paper towels to drain.

Grill the marinated chicken over medium-high heat until cooked and slightly carried, about 2-5 minutes per side. Set aside to cool, and then slice.

Assemble the salad: lettuce, avocado, onion, walnuts, blackberries, chicken, goat cheese, dressing.

Mustard Greens, Carrots, Cauliflower, and Lentils (Vegan)

We just returned from a 9-day vacation, and I both gained a lot of weight and got spoiled eating several unusual and delicious meals that were trigger-free. This is a recipe I found through Pinterest at grownandgathered.com.au http://www.grownandgathered.com.au/blog-archive-1/mustard-carrots-cauliflower-lentils that sounded like it might be good, somewhat unusual, trigger-free, and not too calorie-laden. I ended up bumping the oven temperature to 325 degrees F after an hour, and continued roasting about 30 minutes at that temp. Next time I would probably increase the time and/or temperature. Before serving, Jean asked if we like mustard greens. I didn't know. Now I do - Jean doesn't, Nancy doesn't but like these better than others she's had, and I like them okay, so will probably get most of the leftovers.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 head cauliflower

12-14 oz small carrots trimmed to leave 1/4-1/2 inch of green stem (I had about 6 oz of the small carrots with green tops, so I made up the rest with regular ready-to-eat baby carrots)

2-1/2 cups (loosely packed, or 120 g) mustard greens, coarsely chopped 

1-1/2 cups cooked green lentils

Mustard Dressing:

1 Tbsp yellow mustard seeds (didn't have, so used ground mustard)

2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp honey

1/4 lemon (peeled, seeded, and chopped)

Vinaigrette

2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Juice from 1 large lemon

Freshly ground salt and pepper to taste 

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

Make the dressing: Grind the mustard seeds with mortar and pestle until about 1/2 are ground and other half cracked. Mix all the dressing ingredients together.

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Cut cauliflower into roughly 1-1/2" florets and 1/2" thick pieces of stem. Add to bowl with prepared carrots. Add the mustard dressing and combine well. Spread in single layer on baking sheet. Roast approximately 1 hour, till veggies are soft and beginning to brown. This was either too low a temp or too short a time.

While veggies are roasting, whisk together vinaigrette ingredients and pore over mustard greens in bowl. Roughly massage the mustard greens, bruising them. Add the cooked lentils, toss, and set aside.

Once veggies are roasted, add them to the greens and lentils and serve.