Recipe: Chicken Broccoli Toss

Trying to come up with easy and new recipes can be harder than one would think.  When looking through magazines and websites, I always try to fine ones that don’t have too many ingredients or weird ingredients, something that seems simple to do, and something that is somewhat healthy.  I recently came across an old issue of Taste of Home and found this recipe for Chicken Broccoli Toss.  Well, the ingredients all seemed easy and not too many of them:

4 cups fresh broccoli florets

3 cups torn romaine

2 cups cooked chicken breast sliced

1 medium apple, chopped

½ cup fat-free Italian dressing

¼ cup pecan halves, toasted

2 tbsp. golden raisins

I have heard of all those ingredients and it sounds good!  So I decided to give it a try.  Here’s what you do:

Place broccoli in a steamer basket, place in a large saucepan over 1 inch of water. Bring to a boil, cover and steam for 5-8 minutes.  Drain and rinse in cold water; pat dry with paper towels.  I have to tell you that I didn’t read all of this correctly didn’t rinse it or pat it dry, but it still tasted fine!  Next, divide the romaine among four plates (we only had two, so I had some left over for lunch the next day).  In a bowl, combine chicken, apple and broccoli.  Drizzle with dressing and toss to coat.  Spoon onto romaine, sprinkle with pecans and raisins. 

Couple tips I used:  I had actually marinated the chicken in 2 tbsp of Italian dressing for about an hour before cooking it.  This gave it a nice extra kick, and I don’t think as much dressing on the salad is needed then.  Be careful to watch the pecans when toasting.  I am notorious for burning nuts in the oven, so you only need to toast them for about 5 minutes or so.  If you are planning to take some for lunch the next day, do not dress the salad ahead of time!

All in all, I really liked this salad!  My husband seemed to like it well enough too, for a salad.  He thought the broccoli in the salad was "weird" at first, but he ended up really liking it.  I particularly liked the toasted pecans and apple in the salad too.  It was a nice mix of sweetness, crunch, and nutty flavor.  This was so easy, and great the next day for lunch too!

~Kate