I made myself a list of dinners to make to keep our meals less boring around here. I get tired of the same old dinners all the time and thought why not do things a little different, break up the monotony. This past year with the quarantine going on, social distancing, locked in and restaurants being closed, we eat all of our meals at home now and don't have the variety that restaurants have to offer. I use to enjoy taking a night off of cooking dinner and going out to eat with the hubby on a Friday or Saturday night. That doesn't happen now, but hopefully we can get back to that soon.
Cooking all your meals at home takes a lot of creativity so it doesn't get boring. I have never been the cook that has to have a pasta meal on Sunday, just because it's Sunday. I like variety, it is the spice of life in my world. I let my taste buds guide me to what I will make for dinner when I get up in the morning. I go to my freezer pull out what I want and plan what sides, if any, I'll prepare to go with my meal. I'm lucky in the sense that my hubby will eat anything I put in front of him, he's good that way, hahahaha! Once, we had breakfast for dinner, he thought that was exotic.
Last night I made this Spinach Salad with Apples, Cranberries, Grilled Chicken and Bacon for dinner. It was easy, and what I thought would be good in it I had in the fridge or pantry. I put it together in just a few minutes and it was not only filling it was very tasty.
Recipe Below.
I started layering all my ingredients in a bowl. I tossed in a little spring mix with my spinach, I'm crazy that way.
Cranberries, candied walnuts and a fresh Gala apple.
I used this Chicken as a shortcut, just heated it up in a frying pan.
One bag was good for two nice sized salads.
Add the chicken and feta cheese, because feta is always good.
And bacon, because that too always makes everything better. I crisp this up in the microwave for added crunch.
Add the chicken.
And I used this gem of a dressing I found at Shady Maple an Amish grocery store. You could probably make your own, although I don't have the amounts of the ingredients, you would have to use your taste as your judgement. The ingredients are - apple cider vinegar, sugar, water, crushed red pepper, apple sauce, cinnamon, salt and apple juice. Shake in a bottle or whisk it all together, season to your taste. Feel free to use any of your favorite dressings, a honey mustard or balsamic vinaigrette is good with it too.
My salad topped with dressing and plain crispy wontons. It was delicious!
Spinach Apple Cranberry Salad for 2
Ingredients
1 9 oz. bag Perdue short cuts chicken strips
1 small bag fresh spinach
1 small box spring mix greens
1 large Gala apple
2 teaspoons lemon juice
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup glazed walnuts - or nut of your choice
1 cup feta cheese
1/4 cup bacon crumbles- crisp up in the microwave
Salad Dressing of your choice
1 cup crispy tortilla strips
Instructions
In a frying pan over medium heat, warm up the chicken strips and break them into smaller pieces as they heat. Set aside.
Divide the spinach between two large bowls. Toss some spring mix with the spinach in each bowl. Cut the apple in half and core it, cut into chunks and toss with the lemon juice. Divide the apple, cranberries, walnuts, chicken, feta cheese and bacon between the two bowls. Pour on the dressing and top with the crispy tortillas. Enjoy!
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