mediterranean chicken salad.

There are still many nights that we aren't sure what we are going to have for dinner and have to dig through our deep freeze.  Before we really started being intentional with our meals, we would buy meat any time it was on sale, especially if it had one of those pink 50% off stickers on it.  While we love a good deal, it also means there is a ton of random meat that needs to be eaten.  The other night, we realized we should take something out for dinner and found a pair of chicken breasts.  At the time, we didn't know what we would do with them but it was the best option we had because we hadn't planned ahead.  J had suggested we make a salad to have with it, and I voted for Greek as it's one of my favourite.  Although the intention was to have it on the side, we decided to try out a concoction of spices, and the rest is [delicious] history! 

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ingredients.
Serves 2

Chicken:
2 large chicken breasts
2 tbsp dried oregano
½ tsp ground cumin
1½ tsp dried marjoram
1½ tsp dried thyme
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried rosemary
½ tsp dried sage
½ tsp onion powder
1 tsp ground coriander
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper

Salad:
1 head romaine lettuce (optional)
1 medium red onion
1 cup Kalamata olives
1 cucumber
¾ cup cherry tomatoes
1 cup feta cheese
6 tbsp virgin olive oil
1 ½ tsp dried oregano
1 lemon
Sprinkle of black peppe

instructions.

1. SPICE, SPICE, BABY. Combine all of the spice blend ingredients into a bowl, mixing together thoroughly.  Remove the thawed chicken from the packaging, and gently pat dry with a paper towel.  Coat both sides of the chicken thoroughly in the spice blend to ensure the entire breast is covered.
   
   Note: Boneless or bone-in chicken works well for this recipe – it is at your discretion
   
   
2. CUE THE 'CUE.  Once the chicken is coated, leave it to the side and turn the barbecue onto medium heat.  Once it is ready, move the chicken to the grill and let cook until the meat is heated through.
   
   
3. WASH & SLICE.  Thoroughly wash and dry all of the vegetables for the salad.  Once dried, chop the romaine leaves into coarse chunks, and thinly slice the onion and cucumber.  
   
   
4. TOSS & MAKE THE SAUCE. Once the vegetables are sliced, put the lettuce, onion, olives, cucumber, tomatoes, and ¾ of the feta into a large salad bowl.  Stir the ingredients together. 
   
   In a separate, smaller bowl, juice the lemon to make the dressing.  Add the olive oil, oregano, and pepper.  Whisk thoroughly.
   
   Remove the chicken from the barbecue, let sit for approximately 5 minutes, and then pull it apart with a fork to get long, stringy chunks.  Add the pulled chicken to the vegetables.  
   
   
5. FINISH & SERVE.  Mix the salad one last time to ensure the chicken and vegetables are evenly spread throughout the bowl.  Serve the salad, drizzled with dressing, and topped with the remaining feta cheese and a little lemon zest. Enjoy!

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