Hello Everyone!

I have not been posting the last week due to a business trip my DH took and I accompanied him to sunny Ft. Lauderdale. The weather was beautiful...

This afternoon I went to the local famer stand down the road from us and I found gorgeous sweet cantalopes, sweet red bell peppers, Texas onions, cukes and tomatoes. So, for supper tonight we enjoyed Fried Chicken Salad which we had not had for quite some time now. My Mom had marinated 4 chicken breasts for me while I was away and they are delicious. Tomorrow we will have some sort of chicken dish, I haven't decided just yet.

Happy Saturday!! Gina

Fried Chicken Salad
serves 6

1 head of lettuce and a bunch of leaf lettuce
1 carrot, scraped and julienned
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1 tomato diced
1/2 lb. bacon, cooked crisp, drained and crumbled
1 red or green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 cucumber, washed and chopped
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup dried cranberries
4 chicken breasts, cut into strips
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. basil
2 cups flour
vegetable oil for frying

Let the chicken pieces sit in the buttermilk. Mix the flour in a large bowl with all the seasonings and set aside. Meanwhile, prepare the eggs and bacon and set aside. Prepare the salad greens by washing and tearing into bite size pieces. Spin them dry. Put them into large salad bowl, add carrots, cukes, cheese, cranberries and bell pepper. Set in fridge while you prepare the chicken.

Dip each strip of chicken in the prepared flour mix and carefully place into hot oil. Fry til golden brown and tender. This should only take a few minutes per batch. Be careful not to crowd chicken while frying. Drain onto paper towels. Remove the salad from fridge, add tomatoes, bacon and eggs and top with the chicken strips.

Serve with croutons and your favorite salad dressing. We love Honey Mustard with it.