Fall Salad

This salad is so good! I ate a lot of salad over the summer and when school started back up, I went right into comfort food. Not really the best thing to do. But I wanted to make something for Craig who is a good friend who took some time out of his day to custom make something for me. (You will be seeing and hearing about that a little later) .  Craig asked me to make him a dessert so I did that, but also wanted to make him something a little more so this was it!  He and his shift at the fire station were able to enjoy this delicious fall salad.

INGREDIENTS
Pomegranate infused craisins
Granny Smith apple
pear
Romaine lettuce
Goat cheese
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
vegetable oil
2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 clove garlic
1 lime,  juiced
salt
pepper

Pumpkin Pie Spiced Pecans (recipe below)
2 cups pecan halves
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
3 Tablespoons maple syrup
1 Tablespoon olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with non stick foil and spray with non stick spray. Put the pecans on the prepared baking sheet, sprinkle with pie spice,chili powder and sea salt. Drizzle with olive oil and maple syrup. Mix well coating all of the pecans. Bake for 15 minutes stirring every five minutes. Remove from oven, stir and let cool. Store in air tight container.

Poppy Seed Dressing (recipe below)
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup milk (I used 1 percent)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons poppy seeds
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
pinch of salt
Combine all dressing ingredients and whisk until well blended. Store in the refrigerator.

DIRECTIONS
The chicken will need to marinade for 2-4 hours.  Add the vegetable oil, rice vinegar, sugar, garlic, lime salt, and pepper to a heavy duty resealable plastic bag, mix well and add the chicken. Keep in fridge for 2-4 hours, remove from bag,  then bake  (keep covered with foil while baking) in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes or until cooked completely through.  When the chicken is done and cooled, chop the chicken into bite size pieces.

To assemble the salad start with the romaine lettuce and add the craisins, apple, pear, prepared pecans, goat cheese and the chicken. Top with the dressing and serve. I like the chicken to be slightly warm when I serve this!

Enjoy,