Sweet & Savory Summer Salad

A lovely heat wave has hit the Southwest, so there was no way I was going to heat up my kitchen by cooking tonight.  With all of the delicious fresh fruits available right now, I figured this was an excellent opportunity to make a salad for dinner.  A couple of months ago, I enjoyed a strawberry and chicken salad at a favorite restaurant of mine that was so divine, I had to try and re-create it.  I cooked the chicken on the side burner of my barbeque to avoid heating up the kitchen.  The raspberry vinaigrette was a perfect pairing with the fruit in the salad, but you could use any sweet vinaigrette of your choosing. Even my fourteen year old son who barely tolerates salad enjoyed this one!

Strawberry Chicken Salad
Serves 4

2 Chicken breasts, cut into 1/2" thick strips
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp butter
Garlic salt, to taste
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 lb container of Field greens
1 pint strawberries, rinsed, hulled and sliced
1/4 cup dried cranberries
11 oz can mandarin oranges, drained
1/2 cup feta cheese
1/2 cup candied pecans
Melt the butter with the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Season
chicken breast strips with garlic salt and fresh ground black pepper and place in
the pan. Sauté until chicken is lightly browned and cooked through. Remove
chicken from pan and chill. Rinse the greens and spin dry. Toss in a large bowl
with remaining ingredients. Toss in chilled chicken. Drizzle with your favorite sweet
vinaigrette and serve.

Raspberry Vinaigrette

1/2 cup Grapeseed oil, or other oil of your choice
1/2 cup Raspberry infused vinegar
1/3 cup light Agave syrup
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp Fresh ground black pepper
Mix all ingredients together.  Chill for an hour for the flavors to meld.