Endless Summer Salad with Homemade Maple Vinaigrette

You just can't beat an entree salad as a weeknight meal.  This one is particularly special, with its crispy bacon pieces, feta cheese, and homemade maple dressing.  I've omitted measurements for the veg as people have their own preferences for salad proportions.

Oh, and my recent discovery that partially frozen chicken is WAY easier to slice than thawed has changed my world.  

Endless Summer Salad
An Ommy Noms original, shout-out to Oishii for helping me name it!
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS
Spring mix
Cherry tomatoes, cut in half
Sweet onion, several thin slices
2 granny smith apples, thinly sliced
1 cup walnuts (or you can go for almonds or sugared pecans if you'd like!)
2 oz feta cheese crumbles
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
6 slices bacon, thinly sliced
Maple vinaigrette, recipe below

DIRECTIONS
1.  Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat.  Add bacon and cook until fat begins to render out.  Add chicken pieces and cook in rendered bacon fat until browned and cooked through, flipping occasionally.

2.  Remove cooked chicken with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towels.  Continue cooking bacon pieces until they reach desired level of crispness.  Remove to plate.

3.  Layer all ingredients in individual salad bowls and drizzle with maple vinaigrette.

Maple Vinaigrette
Adapted from Southern Living

INGREDIENTS
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup good olive oil

DIRECTIONS
1.  Whisk together first five ingredients.  Gradually whisk in oil until fully incorporated.  Cover and refrigerate up to 3 days.

*  I tend to taste and adjust my dressings to suit my preferences.  I wound up adding more maple syrup in the end.

Pork Florentine

It's swap time again!  This time, I was paired up with Joelen over at What's Cookin' Chicago.  I knew exactly what I would make when I got my match- I had been drooling over this pork florentine dish since it crossed my Google Reader a few weeks ago.  I was not disappointed!  The flavorful sauce was the perfect accompaniment to seared chops and mashed potatoes.  (And the inclusion of all that spinach surely takes away some of the cream-induced guilt!)

As always, thank you to A Taste of Home Cooking for hosting another wonderful swap!

From What's Cookin', Chicago?, originally from America's Test Kitchen

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 pounds baby spinach
1 1/2 pounds pork chops (about 4-6)
1 onion, minced
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

DIRECTIONS
In a 12 inch skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium high heat. Add the spinach in four batches to the skillet and cook down until all the spinach is wilted and decreased in volume by half. Transfer the spinach to a colander and press through any excess liquid. Place spinach onto a cutting board and coarsely chop. Return the chopped spinach to the colander and press through any excess liquid again; set aside.

Pat the pork chops dry with paper towels and season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Heat 1 tablespoon in the now empty skillet over medium high heat until smoking. Cook the seasoned pork chops in batches and brown on each side, cooking until the internal temperature reaches 150 degrees. Transfer the cooked pork chops to a warm plate and tent with foil to keep warm.  (The internal temperature will continue to rise once the chops are off the heat.)

In the now empty skillet, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil over medium high heat. Add the onions and cook until softened. Add the flour and garlic and cook until fragrant. Slowly add the broth and heavy cream, stirring constantly. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and nutmeg and simmer until sauce thickens up. Remove from heat and stir in 1/4 cup Parmesan and spinach to create the sauce.

To serve, plate the pork and top with the Parmesan spinach sauce.

Seared Pork Chops with Sage

These pork chops were quick and easy after a long (read: looooooong) day of work.  Pork isn't my favorite protein, but variety is the spice of life, right?

An Ommy Noms Original

INGREDIENTS
1 tbsp olive oil
2 pork chops
Rubbed sage
Salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS
1.  Pat pork chops dry and season with sage, salt, and pepper to taste.  Heat olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium to medium-high heat until shimmering.  Cook 4-5 minutes per side.

Crockpot Carnitas

This slow cooker carnitas was tender and spicy.  It was nice to venture away from my usual beef tacos.  I parsed the leftovers into individual servings and froze them.  They reheated well- you couldn't tell it had ever been frozen!

An Ommy Noms original

INGREDIENTS
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp pepper
Small pork shoulder (about 3-4 lbs)
4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 onion, diced
1/4 cup chicken broth

DIRECTIONS
1. Combine spices. Pat pork shoulder with spice mixture.
2. Pour chicken broth into slow cooker and add onion and pork shoulder. Place chipotle peppers on top of shoulder. Cook on low until meat is tender and easily shredded with a fork, 9-10 hours. Turn over halfway through.
3. Shred meat, removing the bone and fatty material. Enjoy!