Lately I have been craving salads something fierce. There’s something about greens tossed with a bit of cheese, veggies, nuts and other tasty nibbles that make eating smart a bit better, don’t you think?
I always tend to keep some arugula in the fridge along with the makings of a fab salad – cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, a bit of shallot and if I’m feeling especially ravenous, some chicken to toss with. I love making a batch of baked chicken and reserving some chicken for a couple days so that I can toss into various dishes and salad has become a repeat fave.
Recently I discovered the Eat Smart Gourmet Salad and Stir Fry kits and one of my absolute favorites is the Wild Greens and Quinoa Salad. Wild greens tossed with some feta cheese, sliced almonds, crispy quinoa and a luscious avocado and herb dressing – delicious! They also have some other fabulous kits like the Sweet Kale Salad (another fave), Ginger Bok Choy Salad and stir fry kits including flavors like Shanghai Blend and Red Chard and Kale Stir Fry. Talk about variety.
I love that they are fresh, flavorful and packed with superfoods. I wanted to add a bit of baked chicken to my Wild Greens and Quinoa salad and also had some fresh cherry tomatoes and tart blackberries at the ready. As there is a plethora of meyer lemons in the market right now, I decided to make baked lemon chicken and this method from The Kitchn is essentially foolproof. Bake the chicken (or do it ahead), toss with your favorite Eat Smart salad kit and dinner is served.
This Wild Greens & Quinoa salad is a staple in my fridge. One bite and you will see why I adore it.
On to the recipe:
Gather your ingredients
Whisk together the marinade
Moist and full of lemon and thyme – these baked chicken breasts are perfect!
Let’s assemble the salad
Now – wouldn’t you want this for dinner?
Yields 4
This salad is full of crisp veggies, baked lemon chicken and fresh berries - perfect for dinner tonight!
30 minPrep Time
35 minCook Time
1 hr, 5 Total Time
Save Recipe
Ingredients
-
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 3 small lemons, zest and juice
- 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon of fresh thyme leaves
- 1 tablespoon of dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon of freshly cracked black pepper
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- 1 package of Wild Greens and Quinoa Salad
- 1/2 cup of cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 cup of fresh blackberries
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a bowl, whisk together the lemon zest, juice, olive oil, mustard, thyme, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.
- Add the chicken breasts to a large plastic ziplock bag and add the lemon marinade. Close and place on a plate.
- Make sure the marinade has covered all of the chicken and let marinate the in fridge for 15 minutes.
- Remove, let come to room temperature (about 5 minutes).
- Lightly grease a 9 x 13 pan with some olive oil or baking spray.
- Lightly spray a piece of parchment paper with baking spray.
- Place the chicken breasts in the baking pan and cover with the parchment paper so the side with the baking spray faces the chicken.
- Cover the mixture with aluminum foil and bake for 30 - 40 minutes, until the chicken is done.
- Let rest while you prepare the salad.
- Assemble the Wild Greens and Quinoa Salad (in a bowl, toss together the greens, crispy quinoa, feta cheese and sliced almonds).
- Add the cherry tomatoes and blackberries and toss everything with the avocado & herb dressing.
- Serve with the baked lemon chicken, sliced into cubes and tossed with the salad or you can serve the baked lemon chicken on the side.
/wild-greens-and-quinoa-salad-with-baked-lemon-chicken/
Eat Smart is giving away a fabulous prize – one lucky winner will get 5 coupons for full price Eat Smart Gourmet Salad and Stir Fry Kits (retail value is over $25). So – in the comments below – tell me what would be the Eat Smart salad kit you would love to try! Enter before January 27, 2015 and I will pick a winner via random.org. The winner has 24 hours to respond or another winner will be picked. U.S. residents only.
For more info on Eat Smart , you can follow them on Twitter, Facebook or Pinterest. To find stores where you can pick up these salad & stir fry kits, check out their handy store locator!
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
