Recipe: Spinach Salad With Apples, Gouda, Chicken And Homemade Croutons

I love fresh (uncooked) baby spinach. It's more tender than lettuce, but still has a nice crunch. Plus it is so much better for you than regular iceberg lettuce! I make most of my salads with spinach or at least a half-n-half mixture of baby spinach and romaine lettuce. It's a good way to sneak in some extra nutritional value.

Spinach Salad With Apples, Gouda, Chicken and Homemade Croutons

One 6 oz. bag of fresh baby spinach
3/4 Gala apple, sliced (or any sweet variety of apple)
1 container of grape tomatoes
2 to 4 oz. of Gouda cheese, diced (I used the goat gouda I got from the Farmer's market)
Handful of raisins (optional)
Grilled chicken (see recipe to follow)
Croutons (see recipe to follow)

Combine all above ingredients and drizzle with dressing. Enjoy!

Grilled Chicken

3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 TBSP apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 Gala apple, finely grated (I use my zester)
Salt and pepper

1. Combine all ingredients and let chicken marinate for atleast 20 minutes.
2. Grill or saute chicken 6-8 minutes per side. Remove from pan/grill and let sit for 5 minutes. Slice and place on top of salad.

Homemade Croutons

Rosemary Foccaccia bread (Or whatever bread you have on hand)
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

1. Set oven to broil and cover a cookie sheet with tinfoil. Cut bread into large cubes and place on cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper.
2. Place under broiler until bread is brown and toasty.

Summer Dressing

2 TBSP white wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp honey
dash of salt
1/4 cup olive oil

Combine the first four ingredients and then whisk in the olive oil slowly. Drizzle over salad.