Chicken and Toasted Pecans in Balsamic Vinegar and Cherry Preserves

Peach says: So, we eat a lot of chicken! And though healthy, economical and versatile, it can be challenging at times to make it interesting, and not let yourself get in a rut! The other day, as I showered and prepared for work, I thought ahead to the inevitable task of dinner, and started thinking of raspberry or cherry preserves, toasted pecans, wonderfully cool and crisp salad greens, and wondered if there was something worth a try going on in my head. I decided it must be tried! Already had the chicken thawed! It’s June! Perfect timing for salads for dinner! Made the plan to stop by Publix after work, ‘where shopping is a pleasure’, and where the produce is always plenty and pleasing, after work and pick up the produce.

It was not disappointing! We will be repeating this one!

Here you go:

Chicken and Toasted Pecan Salad in Balsamic Vinegar and Cherry Preserves

5-6 servings. 3 chicken breasts cut up, salt and peppered, cooked in a skillet in a bit of olive oil and butter, and basted in a mix of cherry preserves, balsamic vinegar and a bit of brown sugar (maybe 2 Tbs, I didn’t measure just put a bit in). [You only want the brown sugar to take edge off the balsamic vinegar, not to the point of sweetness.] When the chicken is done. Set it aside to cool down. I used a bag of mixed salad greens, with half a bag of spinach, rinsed and spun well, and set aside, sliced a few of the smaller, sweeter tomatoes. 

Then covered a cookie tin with pecans, basted them in olive oil, sprinkled with salt and baked at 350 for 5 minutes then set them aside! 

Once chicken has cooled, toss it all together, add a handful of grated cheddar (you could change this easily to your taste, I’d like blue cheese I think or feta) and then mix another batch of what you basted chicken in for cooking, and use that as dressing! Bon appetit!!