Chicken, Apple, and Caramelized Walnut Salad

I think I nearly drove Mike insane last week.  Every day I would text him to see if a package had arrived for me.  Each time the UPS man drove by, I'd look out the window to see if he was bringing me a package.  What was I so excited about?  This, my friends...

6 incredibly delicious products from Newman's Own through the Foodbuzz Tastemakers program.  Along with these products came a challenge:  create a family-friendly recipe that can be prepared in 30 minutes or less.  Since the day I received the list of products headed my way, I knew what I wanted to make!

I love salads and I'm constantly on the look-out for ways to incorporate more vegetables into our daily diets.  I also love fruity dressings; in fact, I've been known to thing out jam with water so I can use it for a salad dressing.  (Don't knock it til you've tried it!)  And of course, I have a plethora of apples around the house from apple picking last month.  I used so many things I love in this salad, so it's no surprise that this is definitely a new favorite for me!

The most time consuming part of this recipe is caramelizing the walnuts.  I like to make a big batch of walnuts (or peanuts) and store them until I need to use them.  If you don't have time, just skip the caramelizing and toss on plain walnuts...it will still taste good, just without the sweetness from the caramel coating.  I made a video of me caramelizing the walnuts with my new Flip Video Camera (thanks Newman's Own!), and I posted it below.  It's about 10 minutes, but I wanted to show you the entire process!

This salad was delicious paired with a crispy slice of Newman's Own uncured pepperoni pizza.  I took the other half for lunch the next day and it was fantastic! 

Chicken, Apple, and Caramelized Walnut Salad

Serves 2

You will need:
4 cups spinach
1 sweet apple (I used a Gala apple)
1 chicken breast, cooked
1/4 cup caramelized walnuts (recipe below)
4 Tablespoons Newman's Own Light Raspberry & Walnut dressing

1.  Divide the spinach between 2 plates.

2.  Core apple and cut into thin wedges.  Place on top of spinach.

3.  Top with sliced chicken breast and sprinkle with caramelized walnuts.

4.  Drizzle with Newman's Own Light Raspberry & Walnut dressing just before serving.

Caramelized Walnuts

Makes 1-1/2 cups

1/4 cup sugar
1-1/2 Tablespoons water
1-1/2 cups walnuts

1.  In a small skillet, combine water and sugar. 

2.  Stir frequently over medium heat until sugar begins to turn brown.

3.  Add in the walnuts, continuing to stir.  At this point, the sugar will turn white and begin to clump together...don't worry, that's normal.

4.  Continue to stir as the sugar begins to brown again. 

5.  When the walnuts are completely covered in the caramel topping, remove from heat and cool.  Store in an airtight container.

As I mentioned before, here is an instructional video so you'll know what the sugar looks like at each point in the caramelization process.






 

I received products to feature as part of the Foodbuzz Tastemakers program, with Newman's Own.  All opinions expressed are mine and mine alone.