Blt Chicken Salad With Balsamic Vinaigrette

I've been having kind of a hard time writing this post today.

Samuel is home, which means that both of our productivity levels are suffering. It started out with Samuel reading his book about the science of bread while I uploaded the photos for this post. Innocent enough.

But then Samuel started telling me about what he was reading in his book. It was interesting. I wanted to know more. Somehow I opened a new window on the computer and started googling different flours and how they were made, which somehow lead us to Wikipedia where we read the history of the graham cracker. Next thing you know we're watching a youtube video of how Dippin' Dots are made. Suddenly a Russian guy is freezing flowers in his homemade liquid nitrogen.

A video was loading. The title was "Vladimir Putin's Rise to Power- Full Documentary [HD]".

Suddenly we both snapped out of the internet frenzy.

"Hey, how'd you get that? I'm working on my post!" I said, grabbing the computer from Samuel's lap.

Overall I don't think we wasted more than two hours of our lives. Three tops.

Anyway, now that you finally have my attention, I can tell you about this awesome salad.

I've been having kind of a hard time finding anything to eat lately because I'm having a lot of heartburn as this baby grows and my stomach is gradually getting smashed right up my throat. This is bad news for Samuel because he's happiest if he's eating a burrito with a side of spicy chili topped with fifteen jalapeños.

Luckily though, if I have enough flavor, he doesn't care about the missing heat. So in other words, this salad totally works for him. Especially because I actually remembered to put some red onions on after I took the photos. Heh.

Anyway, I think Samuel enjoyed it. He just said he needed more "sauce" than I gave him (which is Samuel language for "dressing") and then he said it was great. However, he did proceed to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a Nutella sandwich, and a brownie right after he finished this salad.

Note to self: only make a salad for dinner when you have noticed Samuel heartily snacking all afternoon.

• • BLT Chicken Salad With Balsamic Vinaigrette
  • Makes 2 servings
  • 4 slices of bacon
  • Freshly cracked salt and pepper
  • About 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning or herbs de Provence
  • 2 chicken breasts
  • 6 cups mixed greens or your preferred lettuce
  • 1/2 of a red onion (not pictured, because.... I forgot about it until I started eating it)
  • 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
  • 1 avocado
  • A little fresh basil
  • Dressing:
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
  • 1/2 teaspoon honey (or sugar)
  • Salt, pepper, and more Italian seasoning or herbs de Provence
  • Cook the bacon in a pan on the stove. Remove from pan and set on a paper towel, leaving the grease in the pan.
  • Season the chicken with the salt, pepper, and seasoning. Cook in the bacon grease on the stove on about medium heat until browned on both sides and cooked through (center should reach 165ºF and juices should run clear). Should take about 10 minutes on each side. Set chicken aside to cool slightly before cutting.
  • Combine all the dressing ingredients and whisk with a whisk or fork until smooth.
  • Slice up all the salad ingredients and place on top of greens. Crack on some salt and pepper and then top with the dressing.