Honey Mustard Cobb Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

For the honey mustard marinade:

(If you're serving to others and are allowing people to dress their own salads, I would highly encourage doubling the marinade recipe.  This way, you avoid the worry of not having enough salad dressing!)

• ¼ cup olive oil (*For best results, use Extra Light Tasting Olive Oil.)
• ¼ cup honey
• ¼ cup dijon mustard (preferred 3 Tbsp. smooth dijon mustard + 1 Tbsp. whole grain mustard)
• 2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• ⅛ tsp. salt
• cracked black pepper, to taste

For the Cobb salad:

• 1 lb. chicken tenders (remove tendons) (I have also substituted with 2 breasts.)
• 6-8 cups romaine or green leaf lettuce, chopped (I used 6.)
• 6-8 slices of bacon, cooked & chopped or crumbled (I used 8.)
• 4 hard boiled eggs, peeled & sliced
• ¾ cup cherry tomatoes, halved 
• 1-2 avocados, diced
• ¼-½ cup feta cheese, crumbled (Buy a block and crumble yourself!)

Directions:

To make the dressing/marinade:

• Whisk your olive oil, honey, dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, and salt together until smooth. Then add your cracked black pepper to taste, cover, and set it aside.
  

To make the salad:

• Marinate your chicken. Marinate the tenders in ¼ cup of the honey mustard marinade. Then let your chicken marinate for 30 minutes - 2 hours. 
• Bake. When your chicken is done marinating, preheat your oven to 400 degrees and spray a baking dish with cooking spray. (I preheated my air fryer on the grill setting at 500 degrees.)

  Season chicken tenders with salt, black pepper, and paprika (if desired). Bake for 15-20 minutes (or until your chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees). (I grilled mine for 10 minutes in the air fryer at 500 degrees.)

  Let them cool completely before cutting them into bite sized pieces.
• Assemble your salad. Add your lettuce, diced chicken, hard boiled eggs, tomatoes, avocado, and bacon to a large bowl and toss in your desired amount of dressing.
• Serve! Sprinkle your feta cheese over the top and serve immediately.

*www.kaleforniakravings.com

Cottage Cheese Salad

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup cucumber, diced or sliced in rounds (pictured above) (Use minis if slicing in rounds.)
• ¾ cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 Tablespoons red onion, finely diced
• 1 cup full fat cottage cheese (IMO, Good Culture brand is by far the best!)
• ½ - 1 Tablespoon white wine vinegar
• Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil (I love the Graza "drizzle" EVOO.)
• Fresh herbs (dill or parsley are best) (I used a couple pinches of dried dill and it was great!)
• Cracked pepper and flakey sea salt

Directions:

• Combine tomatoes, cucumbers, and onion in a medium bowl. Sprinkle with a little salt and a crack of pepper and toss to combine.
• Add cottage cheese + vinegar to a shallow bowl and stir to combine. Scoop veggies on top with a slotted spoon to drain excess liquid from the veggies.
• If desired, toss to combine.  Top with herbs, a drizzle of olive oil, cracked pepper, and flaky sea salt. Enjoy on its own or served with pita chips or bread. (Siete Dip Chips are a fave at our house!)

*www.eatingbirdfood.com