Chicken and Raspberry Salad

I was going to play "Recipe Roulette" today and try that recipe for squash, but it was just too hot.

After going for a hike and a swim, I stopped by the farmer's market in search of inspiration and was faced with the most beautiful display of ripe juicy raspberries.



Hmmm, I thought, those would be interesting in a salad.

Maybe with some marinated chicken and the rest of the hazelnut vinaigrette from the other day.

So I picked them up along with a gorgeous peach pie.

What?

I hiked today.

When I got home home I cut two boneless skinless chicken breasts into bite sized pieces and marinated them in:

1/4 cup raspberry jam
1 tbsp raspberry balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 Tbsps hazelnut oil (you could easily subsititue extra virgin olive oil)
1 clove minced garlic

After a few hours in the marinade, I cooked the chicken all up in the pan, cooled it, and then tossed it together with the vinaigrette, greens, celery, green onions, raspberries (use only the sweetest ones, or sprinkle them in advance with a bit of sugar if they're too tart), toasted almonds, a little feta, and topped the whole thing with proscuito ham I fried until cripsy.

The finished product was delicious!



This is one of the many things I love about summer - an abundance of fresh foods means anything goes when it comes to creating kitchen magic of your own.

I hope you'll consider being creative and having some fun with salad this summer.

If you do, be sure to share your ideas with us!

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Be sure to stop by A Fabulously Good Life today for a revealing blog about Reincarnation

And for any The Bachelorette fans out there, my recap of The Bachelorette Men Tell All is now up.

Until next time darlings...