Autumn Wild Rice Salad with Chicken

This post will probably be short because I'm tired! haha :-) I did a recipe similar to this a few months ago. You can view it by clicking here. I liked this one better! I thought this meal had a lot more flavor to it. I think the dressing had a lot to do with it. Mixing that dressing, grapes and pears in with the rice was delicious! The pears were also a very nice touch. They paired exceptionally well with the chicken! I never thought to put chicken and pear together, but I will surely have to do that again! Overall, this meal was very easy to put together and VERY delicious and full of flavor!

A few notes from the cookbook: 1) Packaged wild rice blend consists of a variety of wild rice and whole grain brown rice and can be found with other rice varieties in most grocery stores, and 2) To toast hazelnuts, place whole hazelnuts in Small Micro-Cooker; microwave, covered, on high 2-4 minutes or until toasted, stirring every 30 seconds.

Autumn Wild Rice Salad with Chicken
Pampered Chef Make it Fresh, Make it Healthy
Published by The Pampered Chef, Ltd. in 2011.

Prep time: 15 minutes  Total time: 1 hour  Yield: 6 servings

Dressing
1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp packed brown sugar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

Salad & Chicken
1 1/4 cups uncooked wild rice blend
1 medium pear
2 green onions with tops
1 cup seedless red grapes
1/3 cup coarsely chopped hazelnuts, toasted
18 oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 tsp each salt and coarsely ground black pepper
12 green leaf lettuce leaves
2 oz blue cheese, crumbled

1. For dressing, whisk together ingredients in [1-cup] Easy Read Measuring Cup; set aside.
2. For salad, prepare rice blend according to package directions, omitting salt and oil. Place cooked rice in Stainless [4-qt.] Mixing Bowl; set aside to cool. Meanwhile, thinly slice pear and onions. Cut pear slices and grapes in half. Add pear, onions, grapes and hazelnuts to mixing bowl. Pour dressing over rice mixture; mix gently with Mix 'N Scraper until well coated.
3. Spray [12-in.] Skillet with canola oil using Kitchen Spritzer; heat over medium-high heat 1-3 minutes or until shimmering. Flatten chicken to an even thickness using Meat Tenderizer; season with salt and black pepper. Cook chicken 3-4 minutes on each side or until centers are no longer pink. Remove chicken from Skillet to Cutting Board; set aside to cool. Thinly slice chicken.
4. To serve, divide lettuce leaves among serving plates; top with rice mixture, chicken and cheese.