Healthy Salad for a New Year!

Happy New Year! I don't know about you, but I'm all sugared out. I'm craving a big, crisp salad with lots of fruits and veggies. This salad has it all! Yes, there are cranberries in this dish. I'm not a cranberry fan, but they are perfect in this salad. You could also substitute raisins.

This is a re-post from last May. With trying to get my blog back up and running after some changes, new recipes won't be up until later this week. For now, please enjoy this yummy salad!


Spinach Salad with Spiced Pecans, Apples, Feta, and Cranberries

Fresh spinach leaves, washed and stems trimmed off.
Dried cranberries
Granny Smith apple, cut into thin slices or cubes
Spiced Pecans (Regular Pecans are fabulous as well! Or, you can buy the candied ones in the store.)
Feta cheese
Balsamic dressing

Salads are so easy! Just mix all of the ingredients together in the quantities that you like! Easy peasy!

Cinnamon Spiced Pecans

Spiced Pecans in this wonderful salad.

I love spiced nuts. Normally a winter holiday treat, I've found some good ways to put these mouthwatering morsels to use all year round. I've used at least a dozen recipes, but have at last found a winner. The mixture is wonderful on almonds as well!

Cinnamon Spiced Pecans

1 egg white
1 teas cold water
2 cups Pecans- whole or chopped
4 Tb white sugar
4 Tb brown sugar
1 Tb ground cinnamon
1/2 teas ground nutmeg
1/4 teas salt

Preheat your oven to 250 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg white until frothy. Add the pecans, and stir until coated. In a separate bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients. Pour evenly over the pecans and stir to coat. Spread the nuts evenly on a greased or parchment lined baking sheet.

Roast for 1 hour; stirring every 15 minutes. Allow to cool before eating. The nuts will be a little chewy until completely cool. They will be crunchy when cool! Store in an airtight container!

What to do with the nuts:
*Feed them to hubby. Whenever I make a batch, they disappear quickly!
*Add to salads to add a touch of sweet.
*Add to cookies or other desserts! One I want to try (if I can keep them away from hubby) is this Cookie Recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod.
*The nuts are amazing on Caramel Apples! I used to make the apples with caramel, spiced pecans, and then all is coated in White Chocolate. It's also fabulous as caramel turtles! Yum!
*The nuts can be put in small cello bags, tied with a ribbon, and used as gifts!

Maple Pecan Chicken

Maple syrup and crunchy Pecans. Seriously, how can you go wrong? This chicken is moist and flavorful, and just amazing! It is a little sweet, so pair it with something savory.

For some reason, I didn't mark down where I found this recipe. It is not an original, and I feel bad that I can't quote it's source. If it's yours, please let me know!

You'll want to use REAL Maple Syrup, not pancake syrup, in this. I would recommend using salty Pecans as well, to balance out the sweetness. Don't wait to make this!

Maple-Pecan Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 TB mayonnaise
1/2 cup Panko crumbs (a lighter, crunchier bread crumb. Found by the regular bread crumbs in the baking aisle.)
1/2 cup finely chopped Salty pecans.

Heat oven to 400. Line baking sheet with foil; spray with cooking spray.

Between pieces of waxed paper, or in a ziploc bag, place each chicken breast smooth side down. Gently pound with flat side of meat mallet or rolling pin to about 1/2 inch thick. This will make the chicken cook evenly.

In a shallow dish, mix together the maple syrup and mayo. In another dish, mix together panko and pecans. Dip chicken into syrup mixture, and then into the panko. Place on baking sheet. Spray top of chicken with cooking spray.

Bake 15-20 minutes, turning once, until juice of chicken is clear and coating is golden brown.

Enjoy with savory rice, potatoes, or a vegetable salad.