1/21/2012 Basket - Honey Citrus Grilled Chicken Salad

Honey Citrus Grilled Chicken Salad
Uses: Lettuce, oranges

I created this recipe based on a salad they serve at the Hard Rock Cafe and I am SUPER pleased with how it turned out. My husband was skeptical about it, but ended up loving it. This is definitely going in the permanent rotation! So here it is:

• Lettuce
• Cajun grilled chicken (see below)
  
• Orange slices
• Cajun spiced pecans (see below)
  
• Craisins
• Blue Cheese
• Honey citrus dressing (see below)
  

Cajun Grilled Chicken:

Marinate 2 large chicken breasts overnight in 1/3 cup oil, 2 T lime juice, 2 cloves minced garlic, 2 T apple cider vinegar, 1/2 to 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning. Remove from fridge about 10 minutes before grilling. Grill until center reaches 165 degrees. Remove from grill and let rest 5-10 minutes before slicing.

Cajun Spiced Pecans:

See recipe here. I did about 1/3 the recipe since it makes 3 cups of pecans, but they are so tasty you could just make the whole thing and have the rest to snack on!

Honey Citrus Dressing:

Blend together 1/2 cup oil, 1/4 cup honey, 2 T apple cider vinegar, 1 T lime juice, 1/3 to 1/2 cup orange juice (I just juiced one orange), 1 T Dijon mustard, 2 cloves minced garlic, 1/2 t ginger, 1/4 t cumin. You may want to heat the honey briefly in the microwave so it will mix in more easily. Then chill the dressing until you're ready to serve.