Sharing recipes, crafts and frugal living, the challenges and triumphs of parenting a neurotypical child and a child on the Autism Spectrum. Yoga Instructor said goodbye to her nightly glass of Chardonnay to give up habits that were not serving her purpose in life! The CocktailMom name remains, however with a new focus on healthy and authentic living.

7/03/2008

"Slightly Lighter" Pittsburgh Salad

I have jokingly referred to the Pittsburgh region (my childhood stomping ground) as "The Beer-Gut above the Bible Belt". I love the food there, but it is not known for sprouts and avocados. In fact, one of the most famous restaurants in Pittsburgh is a sandwich shop called Primanti Brothers which is know for putting the coleslaw and french fries directly on the sandwich.

Another dish that I have only see in da 'Burgh is the Pittsburgh Salad. Traditionally, the Pittsburgh Salad is grilled flank steak, cheese, and hand-cut french fries served over a variety of greens and other sliced and diced veggies topped with a heavy French or Ranch dressing. Not exactly the healthiest salads.

At my house we have grilled chicken salad if not every week, then every other week. This is usually and a spiced grilled chicken breast served on whatever veggies we have in the house topped with fresh vinaigrette and served with whole wheat pita, rolls, or bread (whichever I have on hand). But this morning when I was taking a chicken breast out of the freezer to thaw, I noticed that I had some Alexia Sweet Potato Fries in the freezer as well and decided I needed to make a lighter version of the Pittsburgh Salad.

I started with a bed of Romaine lettuce and topped it with the following veggies carrot ribbons, diced green pepper, thinly slice red onion, sliced cucumber, and a hand full of canned chickpeas. Then I added the sliced grilled chicken and oven baked sweet potato fries. Finally, I dressed it with a simple white wine vinegar Dijon vinaigrette. Yum! OK, yes - I missed the hand-cut deep fried french fries a tiny bit. But this version of my basic chicken salad really jazzed up was could have been another ho-hum weeknight dinner.

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