Chicken Salad with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette {gluten-free, dairy-free}

Happy Holidays…holy moly, how is it Thanksgiving!

Good things to come.  I have some awesome graham crackers to show you.  Yep, they are homemade and just in time for holiday pies (should a recipe call for a graham cracker crust).  Also, I made a damn good pizza crust the other night.  Like so good, you’ll want to skip the turkey this year and have pizza with a side of Redbridge. Don’t worry; I enjoy Thanksgiving too much to tempt you until after Thursday.

This little salad is a quickie, but a goodie. The first bite took me back to high school dating and nervous dinners at Chili’s where I typically ordered their deep fried chicken fingers with honey mustard sauce.  This version captures the essence of that throw back meal in a much lighter, figure friendly way (because you can’t eat like a seventeen year old forever).  Make this for a light dinner this weekend whilst recovering from overindulgence.

CHICKEN SALAD WITH HONEY MUSTARD VINAIGRETTE

Grilled Chicken
2 boneless, skinless organic chicken breasts
olive oil
salt and pepper

Honey Mustard Vinaigrette
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar *
3 tablespoons dijon mustard *
3 tablespoons honey
1 garlic clove, minced
1-2 tablespoons water

Salad
2 tablespoons thinly sliced shallot
5 ounce container of baby spinach

1. Preheat grill to medium.
2. Cover chicken breasts with plastic wrap and using a meat mallot, pound the breasts to an even thickness. Remove plastic wrap and drizzle chicken with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Grill chicken 6 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Refrigerate until ready to serve. This can be done ahead of time to allow meat to cool and prevent it from wilting the salad.
4. Whisk first 5  vinaigrette ingredients until emulsified and smooth. Taste and adjust as necessary.  It should be sweet and mustardy, but not overpowering with vinegar.  If too strong add a splash of water. Add sliced shallot to vinaigrette to help cut the bite.  Set aside.
5. Place spinach in large bowl, pour vinaigrette over the spinach, gently toss with your hands until spinach is well coated. Slice chicken breasts on diagonal. Gently mound spinach on two large plates. Top with sliced chicken. Serve immediately.

* Be sure your ingredients are gluten-free.