Cobb Salad With Grilled Balsamic Chicken

Cobb Salad

This salad does involve a little bit of planning, but it’s worth the effort. Here's some suggestions on how to simplify the steps.

Cobb Salad

Start marinating the chicken before getting all your other ingredients together. You can even marinate and cook the chicken the day before. Cook a bunch of bacon for breakfast and keep 6 pieces for the salad. Hard boiled eggs last 5 days in your refrigerator so make up a bunch, snack on them during the week and keep two for the Cobb salad. The dressing can also be made ahead of time as well.

Serves 4

2 boneless chicken breasts (about 1.5 pounds)

Marinade:

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 clove garlic minced
2 tablespoons olive oil

Salad:

4 cups Romaine lettuce, rinsed and shredded
4 cups Butter lettuce, rinsed and shredded
6 slices bacon, cooked and chopped1 ripe avocado, halved and sliced
2 tomatoes chopped
2 hard boiled eggs, halved and quartered
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
1/2 cup blue cheese, crumbled

Salad Dressing:

1/3 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2/3 cup olive oil

Arrange chicken in a square baking pan.

Whisk together the marinade, balsamic vinegar, Dijon, garlic and olive oil.

Spoon marinade over chicken and coat both sides. Place in refrigerator for at least a 1/2 hour or longer and turn once in a while.

Preheat barbecue:

Remove chicken from marinade and discard. Lightly oil the grill grate. Cook chicken until no longer pink, about 6-7 minutes per side turning several times. Cool slightly and cut into cubes.

Add both lettuces to a big salad bowl.

Place bacon, avocado, tomatoes, eggs, and cooked chicken on top. Then sprinkle on chives and blue cheese.

Salad Dressing:

Combine red wine vinegar, Dijon and oil together in a small container. Mix well. Pour enough salad dressing on to the salad to coat and then toss everything together. You’ll have extra dressing so keep it in your refrigerator and use on another day with a green salad.