Thursday, April 2, 2009

Chicken-Blueberry Salad

I know that when Spring finally rolls around, everyone is ready for light flavors in the kitchen. For me, that means lots of salads. You wouldn't know it was spring here in Utah, because it snows every other day. But, I am not going to focus on that. I know soon the weather will warm up and stay that way.
This salad just sounded good and looked like the perfect dinner. I like fruit in salad, and this salad had the perfect balance of ingredients. Plus, it was nice and colorful and that always means you are getting lots of nutritious vegetables and fruit.
The dressing was super easy and perfectly light. The perfect way to end a warm and springy day.

Chicken-Blueberry Salad from Southern Living Magazine
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 skinned and boned chicken breast halves
1 celery rib, chopped
1/2 cup sweet onion, diced
1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup shredded carrot
4 cups torn mixed salad greens
1 cup fresh blueberries
Whisk together first 6 ingredients. Reserve half of mixture, and chill.
Place chicken in a shallow dish or heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag; pour remaining mixture over chicken. Cover or seal, and chill at least 1 hour.
Remove chicken from marinade; discard marinade. Grill over medium-high heat (350° to 400°) 6 minutes on each side or until done. Cut into thin slices.
Combine celery and next 3 ingredients; add reserved dressing, tossing to coat.
Place chicken over greens. Top with celery mixture; sprinkle with berries.
Up Next- Rice Pudding Cake with Blueberry-Peach Compote

13 comments:

Eliana said...

This is such a cheerful salad - and a great way to use up fruit. Nicely done.

Charlie Hills said...

I have to admit, combining blueberries and chicken never occurred to me. Interesting!

Steph said...

That salad does look like a great way to end the day. Seriously.. your kids have the best mom!! I would love to eat everything you make. It always looks so colourful, flavourful and healthy!

Joanne said...

Love the colors. Looks yummy.

Maria said...

Love the blueberries, they are so tasty in salads and they add great color!

Sara said...

Chicken and blueberries? What a great idea! This salad looks great and very springy.

Aggie said...

You will be in warm weather soon...(GA!)

What an awesome salad!! It looks beautiful and I just want to take a bite!

Karen said...

Looks so summery and colorful!

Anonymous said...

Wow. The blueberries look amazing. I love main course salads, but for some reason don't make them a lot at home. They're something I order in restaurants.

Not Another Omnivore said...

Blueberries are a really nice touch!

NAOmni

Meghan said...

This salad seems like a delicious way to welcome spring! The blueberries add a nice touch - and great color!

Peggy said...

Love that you added blueberries! I needed to add something to mine. It was a bit bland.

Becky at VintageMixer said...

another one I'll be trying!