Baby Greens with Strawberry Vinaigrette and Seared Chicken Tenders

Salad time again!  Salads are such a great dinner and not heavy, not to mention the health benefits and a great way to get your daily veggies in.  You will really enjoy this one with the strawberry vinaigrette.  I make it fresh, in fact all of my dressings are homemade.  The kind in the store are filled with too many "things" that I have no idea how to pronounce!  What you get here with this dressing is pure and fresh and absolutely delicious!  Serve this salad with a dry Riesling.  Wait, what's that you say, you think you see Pansies in the salad?  You are right, but only the organic edible kind.  They have their own health benefits and are great in salads and desserts, not to mention how pretty they look with splashes of color in your presentation!

What you need for the chicken marinade:
~Pack of chicken tenders (at least 10 pieces, you will have extra for next day!)
~Cup of any white wine (not cooking wine)
~2 Garlic cloves crushed
~1/4 Tsp Smoked Paprika
~1 1/2 Tbsp salt
~Sprinkling of pepper

Let's make that marinade!
1) Whisk all ingredients in a bowl and add chicken and marinate for at least 4 hours, or if you have a FoodSaver like me, marinate in a container for 30 minutes.

What you need for the strawberry vinaigrette dressing:
~7 Fresh strawberries (save 1 for presentation)
~1/4 Cup light olive oil
~1 Tbsp Good quality Balsamic Vinegar 
~1/4 Cup White wine vinegar
~2 Cloves Garlic crushed
~Splash of Lime juice
~Salt and pepper to taste
~2 Packets Splenda (to save on calories)

Let's make that dressing:
1) Puree 6 of the strawberries in a juicer.  If you don't have a juicer,no problem, you can always puree through a food processor keeping in mind that it doesn't extract the seeds like a juicer, but will still work.  You can always push through a strainer to remove seeds, it just takes more work, so if you are using a food processor, you can leave the seeds, your salad won't notice and it will add a crunch!
2) Transfer your puree to a mixing bowl and whisk in the remainder of the dressing and place in the fridge to marinate for a while.  The fridge will slightly thicken it since the olive oil starts to congeal a touch making the dressing have a great texture.

What you need for the salad:
~1 box of mixed baby greens
~Half of a purple onion sliced
~1 Yellow pepper cut in thin strips
~1/2 Cup Blueberries
~Handful of sliced almonds
~1 small container of organic edible pansies (pick petals off the stem). These are found at Whole Foods in the packaged herb section.

So easy here... just toss altogether until combined and set aside.

Let's get to work and make that chicken:
1) Heat up a cast iron pan and at the last minute spray with Pam.  Add the chicken to the hot pan and do not turn or move for about 10 minutes per side, this is how you get the chicken really browned.  It's called no peaking and moving it all over the pan.  To get a good sear, you have to have the pan piping hot and hear the sizzle when you add the chicken.  Set chicken aside.  Below is a picture of what the chicken should look like.  No oil used, just cooking spray.

Salad assembly:
1) Add dressing to the salad and toss to coat well with tongs.  Place on plates and add chicken on top and slice the saved strawberry to add to the top for presentation.  I also saved some pansies as well to sprinkle on.  Enjoy!!