Mediterranean Chicken Salad with Oranges and Olives

We are beginning our vacation countdown. It won’t be much longer until we will be doing nothing but diving. Before we go though, there are still a few things that need to be done, such as cleaning out the refrigerator. We are down to almost nothing in the fridge, which is always our goal right before a vacation. But we also still have a couple of days left before we leave.

Last night, “The Queen” and I got creative and made a delicious salad that used up some of my greens, chicken, oranges and olives. I topped it all with an orange vinaigrette too. I still have more greens, so I see another tasty salad in our immediate future before we leave. 🙂

I like the combination of oranges and olives, and actually use these two together fairly often when making up quick appetizers and tapas. So it sounded really good as a salad too, especially with an orange vinaigrette to top it all off. I made my orange vinaigrette ahead of time and let it chill and mix together before using.

Orange Vinaigrette

1 cup orange juice

2-3 TBSP orange infused olive oil

3/4 cup olive oil

2-3 TBSP white balsamic vinegar

1 sprig or two of each fresh thyme and fresh oregano

1 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste

Whisk everything together well and chill.

The salad itself was like a delicious Mediterranean salad you could find anywhere along the Mediterranean coast. I like using mixed greens a lot, especially when making more “artistic” and creative salads that are not your common everyday salads.

The Salad

This salad is for two.

mixed greens

1 cooked chicken breast, sliced

1/4 cup toasted almond slivers

1 orange, peeled and diced

1/2 green pepper, diced small

1 shallot, minced

1/4 cup olives, sliced thin

toppings – feta cheese, dried cranberries

I layer most of my salads, starting with whatever greens I am using and then work my way up. Larry likes cheese on his salads and I do not. I like a variety of tastes and textures on my salads, Larry does not. I love mixing something salty and/or crunchy on my salads to give them a real taste explosion in every bite. I also like to add a lot of color to my salads. I learned a long time ago, that the “more colors” you use in your foods, the better. This ensures a lot of different nutrients all at the same time.

Once the salad is ready, and made just how you like it, top it off with your selection of toppings and then the dressing is last. I am still using up the zucchini cheddar muffins I made Zucchini Cheddar Muffins and of course, had a glass or two of a rich, buttery chardonnay to complete the meal. Perfect!

Stay cool, stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.