Tasty Tuesdays!

Spring is officially here on Friday! I have Spring fever! The recipes are a confirmation of that :) !!

Today for "TT" we have

Spring Salad with Artichoke Stuffed Chicken

I love salads, and I think due to the warm weather I cannot get enough of them! This salad is so simple and fresh. The dressing can be used for many different salads.

For the Salad You will need:

• Spring lettuce mix

• Cut up pears (I prefer pears but because they are not in season yet you can also use apples)

• Mandarin Oranges (optional, I don't have kids yet but maybe it will trick them into eating it)
• Slivered purple onion (optional)
  

• Crumbled feta cheese (or blue cheese is good too)
  

• Sugar-toasted pecans (Two Tbs. sugar (brown sugar can be used as well) with a cup of pecans, stir constantly and heat on medium until sugar melts , then immediately remove and cool on plate)

For the Dressing you will need:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 dry mustard
• 1 clove garlic, minced

I like to serve this with something light so here is a good recipe for chicken that I got from a friends blog. I like to grill it, but you can bake it or always cook it in the George Foreman- I am telling you- if you don't have one.... get one!!!

Artichoke Stuffed Chicken

There are a lot of ingredients but once you have them you can make this all the time.

You will need:

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp dried thyme
¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 jar (7 oz) artichoke hearts (or canned)
2 tsp minced garlic
¼ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp coarse ground black pepper
3 oz feta cheese, crumbled
3 Tbsp minced sun-dried tomatoes (oil-packed)
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh basil
4 large boneless chicken breasts
Extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Coarse ground black pepper


Stuffing: In a medium sauté pan, combine olive oil, thyme, and red pepper flakes. Set the pan over medium-high heat to warm the mixture of 1 to 2 minutes. Drain, rinse and coarsely chop the artichokes and add along with the garlic, salt and pepper. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Add goat cheese (or feta), sun-dried tomatoes, and basil. Mix to evenly distribute the ingredients and allow to cool.

Rinse the chicken breasts under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Place each breast between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and, with a meat mallet or the back of a small pan, pound to flatten to a thickness of about ¼ inch. Place the breast skin side down, and spread each one with a quarter of the stuffing. Fold the breast in half over the stuffing and use toothpicks to skewer the sides closed. Brush or spray both sides with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill the breasts over direct medium heat until the meat juices run clear and the cheese is melted, 8 to 12 minutes, turning once halfway through grilling time. Remove from the grill and carefully remove the toothpicks. Serve warm.

Makes 4 servings.

Enjoy!