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Simple Recipe: Summer Salad With Grilled Chicken, Bacon, Chipotle Lime Vinaigrette

Photo Credit: BuffyAndGeorge.com
Photo & Recipe Credit: BuffyAndGeorge.com

Combine the best of light, summer eating – Salads and Grilled Meats — and you have this wonderful recipe from BuffyandGeorge.com! (GREAT website with some wonderful recipes!)

This salad makes a perfect cold meal in the summer, AND you get to keep the kitchen cool in the summer! (Well, except for the bacon that you cook in the house! But that doesn’t count!)

Quick Cooking TIp: Pound the chicken breasts to about 3/4 inch thickness for even grilling and faster cooking time.

Ingredients
  • 5 oz package of mixed salad greens
  • 2-4 chicken breasts (depends on how hungry you are)
  • 6 pieces of bacon, fully cooked
  • 1 cup strawberries, sliced
  • ½ English cucumber, sliced in half moons
  • ½ cup mixed nuts and seeds (cashews, sliced almonds, pumpkin seeds & sunflower seeds)
Vinaigrette Ingredients
  • zest and juice of one lime
  • 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp chipotle chili powder (more if you like it hot)
  • 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
  • 1 tsp honey
  • pinch of salt and pepper
  • ½ cup olive oil
Instructions
  1. Pound the chicken breasts with a meat mallet so that they are a more uniform thickness. Lightly coat the chicken with a little vegetable oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook on the grill until cooked through.
  2. Whisk the lime juice and zest, vinegar, mustard, chipotle powder, honey, salt and pepper together in a glass bowl or measuring cup. Slowly add the olive oil while whisking constantly until the dressing is fully emulsified. You could also add everything to a mason jar and shake vigorously until mixed.
  3. Cut the cooked chicken and bacon into bite sized pieces. Toss the salad greens with half the vinaigrette (use more if you like a lot of dressing). Serve the dressed salad topped with chicken, sliced strawberries, cucumber, bacon and smattering of nuts & seeds.
Any extra vinaigrette, chicken and bacon can be put in the fridge for salads another day. Or you can use the vinaigrette as a marinade for chicken or steak!

Recipe: Crockpot Ropa Vieja

 

Crockpots are the ultimate in easy cooking!  Ropa Vieja is a cuban dish that is so versatile ~ You can serve it over yellow rice, you can stuff it in Tacos or Burritos, or you can make sliders out of it.  It is great to serve to a crowd, so you can keep your holiday entertaining simple!   When I make this dish, I tend to be generous with the spices.  I’ve listed lower spice amounts here, but feel free to play with the amount of spices yourself, based on your personal taste!

(FYI – Ropa Vieja is Cuban for “Old Rags” because it is shredded!)

Crockpot Ropa Vieja
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Ropa Vieja is a cuban dish that is so versatile ~ You can serve it over yellow rice, you can stuff it in Tacos or Burritos, or you can make sliders out of it. It is great to serve to a crowd, so it is great for football games, holiday, or just entertaining for a crowd!
Author:
Recipe type: Slow cooker/Main dish
Cuisine: Cuban
Serves: 8 servings
Ingredients
  • 2 lb. Pork Tenderloin OR 4-6 Boneless Chicken Breasts
  • 1 cup Mojo Sauce/Marinade (find it in ethnic or mexican food aisle of grocery store)
  • 1 cup Chicken Broth (add more if you would like more liquid)
  • 2 T. Minced Garlic (add more or less to taste)
  • 1 tsp. cumin (add more to taste)
  • 1 T Chili Powder (add more to taste)
  • 1 Vidalia Onion, chopped
  • 1 can Rotel tomatoes with green chilies
  • Optional Ingredients (If you like smokey flavor):
  • ½ tsp. Smoked Paprika
  • 1 or 2 smoked chipotle peppers, finely chopped (Found in the mexican food aisle in a can)
Instructions
  1. NOTE: The ingredients list is for a milder version of this recipe. If you love spiciness, increase the garlic to 4 T.; cumin to 1 T; Chili powder to 2 T. I recommend playing with the ingredients based on your taste!
  2. Place chopped onions in bottom of crockpot; lay meat over the onions.
  3. Pour chicken broth and mojo sauce/marinade over meat.
  4. Add spices, can of Rotel, and any remaining ingredients.
  5. Cover and cook on high for four hours, or low for 8.
  6. When it is finished cooking, use two forks and gently shred the meat right in the crockpot and mix it well into the juices. (Learn from my mistake - use oven mitts when shredding - the steam is extremely hot!)
  7. Serve over yellow rice and sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Or serve it up as taco meat/burrito meat, or as sliders on mini rolls. I love to use green Tabasco sauce (it is milder) as a condiment with this.

 

 

 

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