Fresh Cilantro Pineapple Chicken Salad

My husband and I cleared off our deck.  It was nasty, spidery, waspy, just downright "buggy!"  We put up some tiki torches and I bleached our deck furniture.  It still looks a little worse for wear, but at least we have a clean place to prop up our legs and enjoy our beautiful back yard.  What great weather we're having right now too!

When the weather gets warm and summer nights offer the perfect place to unwind, the last thing you want to do is make a heavy, hot meal.  I love salads in the summer.  What am I saying.  I love salads ANY time of the year!  Here is a simple, healthy (non mayo based), incredibly fresh recipe for chicken salad.

I'll give you a time saving tip.  It takes a little time on the front end, but it saves you an enormous amount of hassle when you're too busy to grill or cook chicken.  Whenever all natural, hormone free chicken goes on sale at your grocery store, buy a bunch of it.  Make sure you get the best deal possible.  Get home and throw all those suckers on the grill.  You don't need to season them at all.  I find grilling is the most flavorful way to prepare chicken.  We have a gas grill at home, but there are other options for cooking like stewing (boiling your chicken breasts) or baking them.  I will cook up to 10 breasts at once on our grill sometimes.  After you're finished grilling or cooking them, allow them to cool.  Chop or shred the chicken and place in freezer bags with dates on them.  Freeze these portions separately.  You'll have easy access to chicken when you need it!  You can defrost and put it on salads, in casseroles, or with rice and veggies on busy week nights.  You can always buy a rotisserie chicken and chop it up, then freeze it, but the previously mentioned method is cheaper and much healthier for you.

I used some of my chicken from the freezer for this recipe.  It only has 1 breast in it.  1 breast makes a lot of cut up chicken.  Just a warning, this recipe is heavy on cilantro.  As you will see, I am a huge fan of the fresh herb.  This chicken salad will be on the brown side, due to the balsamic vinegar in it.  Don't be alarmed.

Ingredients:
1 cup chopped cooked chicken breast
2 tbs. chopped cilantro (plus more for garnish)
2 tbs. minced onion
1 large rib celery, finely choped
1 tsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. of your favorite balsamic vinegar
1 tbs. grape seed oil
1/4 c. slivered almonds
1/2 c. chopped fresh pineapple
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and mix until combined.  Garnish with fresh cilantro.  Serve over fresh greens, on crackers, or just eat it out of the bowl!