Oriental Orange Chicken Salad

I haven’t added a recipe in a quite a while so today I thought I would share one of my favorite salads.  This is a nice light summertime dish that won’t weigh you down on the hottest of days. We enjoy it  for either lunch or dinner and the kids really love it. On the rheumatoid arthritis front this salad has garlic, ginger, vitamin C, folic acid, omega 3′s and  beta carotene.  All of which are good for fighting inflammation.

Marinade:

1 Tablespoon Minced Ginger

1 Tablespoon Minced Garlic ( about 2-3 cloves depending on the size of the cloves)

1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce ( a good quality soy sauce like Tamari is best )

1 Cup Orange Juice

1 Tablespoon Orange Zest

Put all the above ingredients in a zip close bag ( gallon size is probably best)

Chicken:

Prepare 2 full skinless boneless chicken breast by trimming away any excess fat. Place chicken between 2 pieces of plastic wrap and take out any anger and aggression you have about having  rheumatoid arthritis out on your chicken.  I use a metal mallet so that I don’t have to use a lot of muscle to pound the chicken out.  Pound the chicken to about 1/2 inch thickness. Add chicken to the marinade and zip up plastic bag making sure to squeeze out any excess air and place in refrigerator while preparing the salad.

Salad:

You can use whatever salad greens that make you happy.  When I made this recipe today for lunch.  I used the lettuce and spinach from the garden.  If you don’t feel like cutting up salad greens getting the prepackaged stuff will work just as well.

2 Large Carrot peeled and julienned  ( My son gave me an oxo julienne peeler that makes the process easy with very little effort ) or you can buy prepackaged stuff

2 Cup shredded Red Cabbage

2 Oranges Supremed (How to supreme and orange) or if it is easier for you or your hands are bothering you use a jar of mandarin oranges

1/2 Cup Toasted Slivered Almonds ( just place slivered almonds in a non stick fry pan and heat for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally to make sure that the almonds  release some of  their oils and get crunchy)

Wash and dry all the vegetables. ( My kids like to use the salad spinner so they do that for me ) Tear lettuce into bite sized pieces unless of course you have purchased the ready made stuff.

Take the marinading chicken out of the refrigerator and grill until fully cooked. Cooking times will vary based on the grill size and the amount of btu’s that it puts out.  It usually only takes me about 15 minutes flipping the chicken halfway though the cooking process. When the chicken is fully cooked place on a cutting board to rest while you prepare the dressing.

Dressing:

1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard

1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce ( a good quality soy sauce like Tamari is preferable )

1 Tablespoon Sesame Oil

1 Tablespoon Rice Wine Vinegar

1/4 Cup Orange Juice

2 Tablespoon Honey

2 Teaspoon Grated Ginger

Whisk all ingredient together in a mixing bowl. ( You can also just throw everything together in the blender and mix )

Place the lettuce, cabbage and carrot in a large salad bowl or serving platter and toss until well mixed.  Place oranges randomly about the bowl or plate.  Slice grilled chicken and place warm chicken on top of lettuce mixure. Top with slivered almonds and drizzle with dressing. Serves 4 – 6

Enjoy!