Health Kick

     My boyfriend is a runner and I am, well...not. Every so often, however, he can convince me to join him on a short jog along the lakeshore path. Tonight was one of those nights. Working out always tends to kick those bad cravings (major plus), so tonight I'm just going to whip up a nice protein packed salad for dinner. 

Chicken Summer Salad

Ingredients:

Shredded chicken, recipe follows

½ cup caramelized pecans, recipe follows

1 (6 oz.) package fresh spinach

½ cup blue cheese, crumbled

1 granny smith apple, cored and sliced into bite size pieces

½ cup fresh raspberries

4 tbsp. Brianna's blush wine vinaigrette (Brianna's Salad Dressing)

Directions:

Toss all ingredients together in a large bowl and serve immediately.

Baked Chicken Breasts

Ingredients:

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Sprinkle salt and pepper on chicken breasts and bake for 25 minutes.

Let chicken cool, then shred into pieces.

Caramelized Nuts

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. brown sugar

½ tbsp. butter

½ tbsp. corn syrup

½ cup nuts, pieces and halves

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Melt sugar, butter and corn syrup in a small saucepan on medium-high heat. Mix in nuts and stir for 5-7 minutes until fully coated.

Transfer to parchment lined baking sheet and toast in oven for 3-4 minutes.

Allow nuts to cool.

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     To round out the meal, serve salad with roasted garlic and crusty bread. It's extremely simple and tastes soooo yummy!

Roasted Garlic

Ingredients:

1 head of garlic

2 tsp. olive oil

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 

Cut the head off of the garlic bulb to expose the individual cloves. 

Drizzle olive oil over garlic head and wrap in aluminum foil. 

Bake for 30-35 minutes.