How to Turn a Salad into a Meal

If you’re anything like me, then you can never have enough salad!  I’m a huge salad lover but I have to admit that most of the time it leaves me feeling hungry and looking for more. 

So one day, I decided to throw some things together and came up with this tasty and easy-to-make recipe.  I initially made it just for myself, but in my family ended up eating most of it.  Since then, I’ve prepared this meal for my family a number of times.  My younger brother hates chicken with a passion and won’t touch the stuff, but even he couldn’t stay away from the juicy, flavorful chicken I added to this dish!

There are three parts to this recipe: the salad itself, the chicken, and the dressing.

For the salad, you’ll need:

Lettuce (I personally prefer romaine lettuce)

Carrots, shredded

Red cabbage, shredded

(For an easier option, try Dole’s American Blend salad mix or any pre-packaged salad mix of your choice)

Mozzarella cheese, shredded

Croutons

Simply toss all these ingredients together in a salad bowl and set aside.

Now on to the dressing.  For this recipe, I created an easy-to-make vinaigrette dressing.  You can always substitute it with your dressing of choice.

For the dressing, you’ll need:

One part olive oil

Two parts balsamic vinegar

Powdered oregano to taste

One clove of garlic, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

Blend all these ingredients together well.  I recommend blending using a metal whisk.

Last but most definitely not least—the part that truly turns this salad into a meal—the chicken.  Depending on your health and dietary preferences, you’ll want to go with either grilled chicken or fried chicken.  Regardless of which one you prefer, you’ll marinate them the same way.

For the chicken, you’ll need:

Boneless chicken breast, cut into approximately two-by-three inch strips

Lime juice, freshly squeezed

Salt and pepper to taste

Place the lime juice in a bowl, add salt and pepper, and throw in the chicken strips.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Now this is the part where you’ll either go with grilled or fried chicken strips.  If you prefer grilled chicken, then just throw it on the grill!  Unless you like your chicken with charcoal residue (assuming you’re using a charcoal grill), make sure you’re using a finely-spaced grid on your grill, since the chicken strips are fairly small and will shrink as they cook and could fall in if you use a large-spaced grill.

Once you’re done grilling the chicken strips, simply add them to your salad mix, toss, pour some dressing on it, and voila, you’ve got yourself a meal!

For Fried Chicken:

If you’d rather go with fried chicken then you’ve got one more step before you begin cooking the strips: combine flour, salt, and pepper in a large Ziploc bag.  Place a few strips into the bag at a time and shake until well coated.  Then fry!  You are now ready to add the strips into the salad mix, add the dressing, and enjoy!