Salad with roasted squash, chicken and pomegranate

 

This Weekend’s dinner salad is a great combination of flavor, color and texture.  Greens lightly dressed with apple cider vinaigrette topped with roasted acorn squash, grilled chicken and a generous sprinkling of pomegranate seeds.  The flavor combinations were out of this world and the squash added a hearty component making this a real satisfying meal.

For the squash rings, I poked about a dozen holes into the squash with a fork then into the microwave for about 6 min.  Let cool, slice into rounds, scoop out seeds.  Sprinkle with seasoning of your choice. I used paprika, turmeric, salt and pepper.  Drizzle with olive oil and broil for a few minutes.  No need to peel the squash.  The skin is tender and chock full of nutrients.

Chicken tenders threaded onto  pre-soaked bamboo skewers, season with salt and pepper and grilled in a hot pan.  Keep warm in oven.  When plating salad, remove chicken from skewers and toss in quick sauce to add flavor.  Tonight I used a soy sauce reduction with ginger and some pineapple juice.  A substitute of balsamic or a citrus sauce would work well too.

Arthritis Kitchen Tips:

Did you know that winter squash such as acorn is an excellent source of Omega 3.  Check out the article today in the New York Times.  http://tinyurl.com/6vfl7dj

Microwave squash for a few minutes before attempting to slice into it.  Makes it a lot easier for the knife to cut through.

Get your Omega 3′s from Salmon

I’ve been cooking salmon quite a bit these days.  It’s an excellent source of Omega 3 and high on the list of Arthritis Kitchen favorites.  When buying salmon I choose fresh wild salmon exclusively.  To me, farmed salmon is not an option.  Really fresh fish needs very little preparation in order to make it into something amazing.  For this piece of sockeye simply place skin side down in a shallow pan.  Season with salt, pepper, top with lemon slices and fresh dill.  Place in a preheated 400 degree oven and bake for 10 – 15 min depending on thickness.  Watch carefully as to not overcook the fish.  I served this with sautéed kale, roasted winter squash and some rice.  Simple and nutrient rich.  Have extra lemon on hand to squeeze on top at the end when plating.