Main Course Salad

About once or twice a month we have a salad like this for dinner.  Each one is different, depending on what I have on hand, what's in season, and what sounds good.  Tonight's was especially tasty.  I hadn't anticipated using it for the blog, but my husband was so enthusiastic about it that I decided to go ahead.  I'll tell you what I used for one salad, then you can multiply it for however many people you're feeding.  Just pile up the ingredients on the plate as they're listed and you're done!

Main Dish Salad for One

1/2 head romaine lettuce, chopped

1 large radish, sliced thin

1 stalk celery, sliced

5 baby carrots, julienned

1/4 apple, chopped

1/2 naval orange, peeled and chopped

1 kiwi fruit, peeled and chopped

5 large raw shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails removed, cut into thirds (I use frozen ones that are already peeled and deveined, thaw them, remove the tails, and snip them into thirds with kitchen shears)

5 medium sized brown mushrooms, thickly sliced

1/2 large clove garlic, minced fine

Saute shrimp and mushrooms together in olive oil just until shrimp turn pink, adding garlic right at the last so it doesn't brown, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.  Remove from pan; set aside.

1/2 chicken breast

In same pan, fry chicken breast in vegetable oil until cooked through and browned on the outside (5-7 minutes per side).  Season with Lawry's seasoning salt.  Remove from pan and let rest 5 minutes.  Cut into bite-size chunks.  

Sprinkle shrimp/mushroom mixture on salad.  Top with chicken.  Serve.  

If I prepare this for a party, I set out the ingredients in individual bowls like a salad bar, including a variety of salad dressings, and let everyone create their own salad.  My salad dressing of choice is Briannas Home Style Poppyseed Dressing -- it is particularly wonderful on salads that have fresh fruit in them.  My husband's favorite is Oak Hill Farms Vidalia Onion Vinaigrette Salad Dressing.  We have tried a number of different brands of Vidalia Onion Dressing, but Oak Hill Farms is by far the best.  If you have seen it and thought it sounded gross, you need to know that it is not overwhelming oniony tasting at all, like you might think from the label -- it's sweet/sour/spicy/yummy with just a hint of onion.  Costco has been carrying it lately or you can order it online from http://www.vitaspecialtyfoods.com/.  We buy it 10 bottles at a time to tide us over when Costco doesn't have it -- it seems to be somewhat seasonal and we go through a lot of it.  Salad days are almost here -- my favorite time of year!