Chicken and Spinach Salad With Avocado and Fruit

Chicken and Spinach Salad With Avocado and Fruit

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The salad can be accompanied by crusty bread and corn on the cob and rounded out with brownies for dessert.


Ingredients:

  • 8 oz skinless, boneless chicken breasts
  • ½ cantaloupe or other melon, or 2 oranges, peeled and divided into segments
  • 8 oz spinach, trimmed, washed, dried, and torn into bite-sized pieces
  • 1 avocado, peeled and thinly sliced
  • Salt and pepper
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar (for dressing)
  • 3 tbsp white wine vinegar (for dressing)
  • 1 tsp grated onion (for dressing)
  • ½ tsp paprika (for dressing)
  • ½ tsp dry mustard (for dressing)
  • ¼ tsp salt (for dressing)
  • 310 tsp vegetable oil (for dressing)

Directions:

  1. Sweet-and-Sour Dressing: In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar and vinegar; cook stirring, for 2 minutes, or until the sugar dissolves. Cool. Stir in onion, paprika, mustard, and salt. Transfer mixture to a blender; with motor running, add oil in a slow stream through the feed tube.
  2. Meanwhile, put chicken in a saucepan with 1⁄4 inch water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer, turning once, for 5 minutes, or until just cooked through. Remove chicken, cool and cut crosswise into 1⁄4-inch slices.
  3. Scoop out melon with melon baller or cut into cubes. In a large salad bowl, toss spinach, chicken, avocado, melon, dressing, and salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Tip: The dressing can be made, covered and refrigerated for up to 1 week. The chicken can be cooked, cooled, covered, and refrigerated up to 2 days.