Winter Salad

Christmas is over and New Year's is on the way. How about an easy salad with balsamic roasted vegetables to feel better about all those treats you've been having? This takes some time to cook, so it's a good one to make on the weekend and refrigerate for a quick meal during the long work week.

This is my new addiction............



Pick out whatever veggies you want. I used a baseball sized beet, two carrots, an apple, two small whole onions, and Brussels sprouts. I also had some leftover chicken breast I wanted to use up.
Try to use veg that is on sale or in season to make this affordable.

Beets take a long time to cook (but are so worth it), so start out by peeling and chopping them to your desired shape. Add some olive oil to coat, and salt and pepper. Mix it all together. Bake them in a 425 degree oven for about 45 minutes. The goal is to get them soft and sweet and caramelized. After they are pretty much cooked, you can add your other veg, depending on how long they take to cook. For example, carrots take longer than apples to cook. It doesn't have to be perfect, and you will learn by trial and error how long they take to be done. Just test them out with a fork to see how far along they are.

For the chicken, I sliced it up, seasoned with salt and pepper, added to the veg, mixed it all together, and cooked for at least 15 minutes to ensure it is done.

When everything looks nicely caramelized and tender, douse it all with a few turns of balsamic vinegar, mix together to coat the veg and chicken, and roast for another 10 minutes, or until it has mostly evaporated. This makes everything taste a hundred times better!!!!

Let everything cool down a bit before topping your favorite greens with the veg and chicken mixture.

You may need a little dressing on your greens so here's how to make a simple balsamic vinaigrette:

In a small bowl, add some balsamic vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Whisk in the same amount of olive oil as balsamic. It's as easy as that!

Toss desired amount into your greens and mix up with your hands to ensure every leaf gets a coating.

Enjoy!