Easy Weekend Salad Bar Lunch

Labor Day weekend was just wonderful. My parents came to Cincinnati to visit us, and we had a blast. We did things around town, ate at some delicious restaurants, shopped, and spent some quality time at home as well. By the time Monday rolled around, it was nice to have a relaxing morning at home.

I thought that, because we had spent (a little too much) money over the weekend, it would be good to make something at home for lunch.

I had bought all of the ingredients, and some I had at home, for this DIY salad bar towards the end of the week. Everything was basically ready. I just had to throw the chicken in the crockpot in the morning, and pull everything out of the fridge when we were ready to eat! Simple and easy peasy.

Salad Bar Lunch Spread
adjust according to number of people
(would be great for a luncheon or shower)

**I have put in parenthesis what I chose for my salad bar. You can mix and match these ingredients to provide a customized bar for your participants.**

Ingredients

• Leafy greens (Baby spinach)
• Meat or protein (1 lb of boneless, skinless chicken)
• Low sugar salad dressing (Dijon Vinaigrette - see below)

Toppings:

• Other meats (Bacon)
• Fruits (Blueberries)
• Veggies (Cherry tomatoes from the farmer's market & fresh red onion)
• Cheese (Feta & Parm)
• Nuts (Crushed almonds)

Dijon Vinaigrette Dressing (from Gimme Some Oven):

• 1/3 c. EVOO
• 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tsp honey
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard (or more to taste)
• pinch of salt & pepper

Directions:

1.   To cook the chicken, I put it in a crockpot and covered the chicken in broth. I turned the pot to high for about 3 hours. Once the chicken is cooked, remove and shred. Let the chicken cool.

2.   Chop and prepare veggies to your liking.

3.   Prepare the dressing: Whisk all ingredients until mixed well. Store in a jar or tuperware container in the fridge.

4.   You are now ready to set everything up nicely for your guests to put together their own salads.

I put together a blueberry chicken salad. I started with spinach and chicken. I then added bacon, blueberries, onion, almonds and feta. The dijon vinaigrette was a perfect touch! It was super yummy!

Until next time...