Goat Cheese, Apple, and Pecan Salad

This salad started when I found some glazed pecans in the nut section of my grocery store. There's a salad at a restaurant I like that uses the pecans and also has goat cheese. For a little brightness and crunch I added the green apple. I would definitely make this salad again, it was easy and tasty!!

Ingredients:

1 rotisserie chicken
1 green apple (granny smith), sliced
1/4 cup glazed pecans (purchased or home made)
Goat cheese crumbles
Lettuce of your choice (romaine or mixed baby greens)
Balsamic Vinaigrette (recipe here)
Croutons (purchased or home made)

Directions:

1. Place lettuce on a plate.

2. Scatter pieces of chicken, slices of apple, goat cheese, pecans, and croutons over the lettuce.

3. Drizzle a few teaspoons of dressing over everything and season with a sprinkle of salt and pepper.

Balsamic Vinaigrette

This is a simple balsamic dressing that you can use on all kinds of salads, vegetables, pastas, pretty much anything you can imagine. It is a very versatile. The key to this dressing is the Dijon mustard – it helps emulsify the dressing and bring it all together. You can use a mix of any herbs you like. I personally like basil, chives, rosemary, basil, mint, and sage but that’s because I grow most of those herbs in my backyard. Add in what you have on hand or no herbs at all either way the dressing will be good.

The oil to vinegar ration should be 1 part vinegar to 3 parts oil. My boyfriend loves vinegar so we do closer to a 1 part vinegar to 2 parts oil ratio. 

Ingredients:

1 tsp. dijon mustard
1 tbs. balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp herbs de provence (optional)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper - Fresh Ground is very important here!!!
3 tbs. olive oil (roasted garlic olive oil if you have it)
1-2 tbs. chopped fresh herbs (optional)

Directions:

1. Whisk together all ingredients but oil together in a small bowl. 

2. Once incorporated, slowly drizzle in olive oil while whisking to make a nice emulsion.

3. Taste dressing for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if desired. You can add fresh chopped herbs at this point if you have them. Stir and serve over your favorite salad!!