Chicken, Squash and Goat Cheese Salad

Hello everyone!  Hopefully everyone is enjoying their summer so far.  Our summer is going quickly – it seems like we are traveling every weekend – but at least it’s for fun reasons!  Meanwhile I am also in transition with my job and will be starting a new job next week!  Very exciting, but it’s also keeping me very busy.  For that reason, I haven’t been able to dedicate as much time to this blog, which I apologize for.  Hopefully once things settle down again I’ll have more time… until then, I’m trying to simplify my life and only post things that I think are really post-worthy.

The recipe I want to share this week is for a healthy and hearty salad.  In the summer I crave salad for dinner a lot, but I also don’t want to end up hungry just an hour or two after dinner, so I need to find ways to make them feel more like a complete meal.  This salad definitely fits the bill, and would even be great in the fall or winter.  The roasted squash really adds a more hearty, creamy element, and the tangy goat cheese gives it lots of flavor.  Combined with some moist chicken (ahh so much better homemade than the stuff they put on salads at restaurants) and crunchy almonds, this salad is definitely satisfying.

I hope you enjoy!  And let me know if you have any questions!

Chicken, Squash and Goat Cheese Salad

Time: 40 minutes; Yield: 2 large salads

• 1/2 whole butternut squash (or roast the whole thing and use the leftovers for another meal!)
• 1 large or 2 medium chicken breasts
• Extra virgin olive oil (to coat squash)
• Balsamic vinegar (few tablespoons)
• Salt and pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon dried sage
• 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
• Roasted sliced almonds (the store-bought kind or toast your own)
• 5 ounces (or 1 bag) arugula/spring mix
• 3 ounces plain goat cheese, crumbled
• Balsamic vinaigrette, see recipe below.

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Toss chicken breasts with some balsamic vinegar (a tablespoon or two, just to quickly marinate) plus salt and pepper.

To prep squash, peel with a vegetable peeler and slice lengthwise.  Scoop out seeds, then cut into a small dice (~1/2″ cubes).  The smaller the dice, the quicker it will cook, so keep it small if you’re in a time crunch.  Toss with enough olive oil to coat, salt, pepper and sage.  Place on a baking sheet.

Place chicken in a baking dish.  Roast chicken and squash for ~35 minutes, or until squash is tender and chicken reaches 165ºF internal temperature.

Let chicken rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing.  Slice against the grain, as thinly as possible.

To assemble salads, divide arugula or spring mix between two plates.  Top with red onion, almonds, crumbled goat cheese, squash and chicken.  Drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette.

Basic Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing – for more on making your own vinaigrettes, check out my post on them here.

• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar of your choice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Fresh ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon honey (or sugar, optional)
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Combine all ingredients in a container with a lid and shake to combine.  Alternatively, whisk all ingredients except for oil together, then slowly stream in oil while whisking constantly.  Store any leftovers in the fridge.