Pear Gorgonzola Salad with Chicken

*Thanks, zpizza, for the idea for this salad. This is an informal recipe to remind me of an easy & delicious meal.

INGREDIENTS
spring mix
spinach
gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
candied walnuts
sliced pears
grilled chicken
Ken's Steak House Balsamic with Honey Dressing

DIRECTIONS
1. Marinate chicken in 1/4-1/2 cup balsamic dressing a few hours to overnight, then cook on grill or skillet.
2. Combine ingredients, including grilled chicken, and serve with dressing.

Even my kids loved this salad and gobbled it up!

Asian Salad with Chicken

This is a very informal recipe & mainly a reminder for me personally of an easy, healthy, and delicious meal.

INGREDIENTS
chicken breasts
mixed salad greens (ideas: romaine, spinach, baby leaf lettuce, iceberg, etc)
shredded cabbage (coleslaw mix without the dressing)
matchstick carrots
mandarin orange segments
snap peas
roasted almond slices
wonton strips

DIRECTIONS
1. Marinate chicken breasts in Cardini's Roasted Asian Sesame Dressing the night before cooking or up to 24 hours in advance. Grill or cook in skillet.
2. Combine the rest of the ingredients along with chicken and serve with the Asian Sesame dressing.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

*Adapted from this allrecipes.com recipe.

Serves: 6
Prep: 40 minutes

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup butter
1/2 onion, chopped
1 carrot, diced
16 oz pkg frozen broccoli, thawed and chopped
2 (14 oz) cans chicken broth
1/2 Velveeta cheese loaf, cubed
1 cup milk
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup cornstarch

DIRECTIONS
1. In a stockpot, saute onion and carrot in butter until softened, about 5 minutes.
2. Add broccoli and 1 1/2 cans of chicken broth. Simmer until broccoli is tender, about 10 minutes.
3. Reduce heat to low, stir in cheese cubes until melted. Mix in milk and garlic powder.
4. Add cornstarch to 1/2 can of broth, stir until combined and then add mixture to soup. Raise heat to medium and cook, stirring frequently until soup thickens. (Reduce heat immediately if cheese begins to stick to the bottom of the pot.)

Notes: You can use an immersion blender before adding the cheese if you prefer your soup to be smoother. I like broccoli cheese soup to have larger pieces of veggies, so I finely chopped half of the broccoli and coarsely chopped the other half for variety. You could also use vegetable stock if you want this to be vegetarian.

Jan's Chicken Enchilada Soup

Prep: 1 hour
Serves: 6

INGREDIENTS
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
15 oz can black beans, rinsed
15 oz can Mexican-style diced tomatoes
10 oz pkg frozen whole corn
10 oz can enchilada sauce (red, not green)
10 oz can cream of chicken soup
15 oz can chicken broth
1 pkg dry Ranch dressing mix
1 1/2 cups milk
2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded*

DIRECTIONS
1. Saute onions and bell pepper in butter.
2. Add all ingredients except chicken to large pot. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.
3. Add chicken and continue simmering for 15 minutes.
4. Serve with crushed tortilla chips, sour cream, shredded cheese, and avocado.

*substitutions/additions:
-sub for cooked chicken breasts: rotisserie chicken, shredded, or 3 cans chicken
-sub for frozen corn: canned corn, drained
-sub for Mexican-style diced tomatoes: regular can diced tomatoes plus 2 Tbsp Rotel or canned diced green chilies
-pinto beans would be a good addition to this soup