I HAVE NO TIME FOR THIS, OK, MAYBE I DO.

             No time for stories this morning! I have guests coming, and I am my own housekeeper so I have to get to cracking! I will say that I am not a salad fan. But I do love the beefier varieties of the leafy plant family, such as collard greens, turnip greens and kale. Don bought 6 or 7 bushels of kale, so we needed to get rid of it quick, and voila. VERY SATISFYING! Make sure to let the kale break down, steam it briefly if need be, because that junk is stupid hard to chew almost raw. I kept thinking, "Am I hurting my mouth? Did it cut my tongue?". But no, its just very fibrous. Enjoy!

Massaged Kale & Butter Leaf Salad with Grilled Chicken

Ingredients 

Chicken Marinade 

• 1 1/ lb Chicken Tenderloins 
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1/4 cup of hot sauce (Crystal’s)
• 3 tbsp of Olive Oil
• 1/2 tbsp chili powder
• 1/2 tbsp onion powder 
• 1/2 tbsp fresh black pepper
• 1 tbsp of sodium free seasoning mix (Mrs Dash or the like)

Salad 

• 1 bunch of kale
• 2 tbsp of lemon juice
• 1 tsp salt 
• drizzle of olive oil
• 1 head of butter leaf lettuce 
• 1 yellow onion
• 1 orange or yellow bell pepper
• 1 clove of garlic
• 8 to 10 cherry tomatoes
• fresh black pepper
• Any other salad fixin’ that you like!

Salad Dressing

• 3 tbsp of olive oil 
• 1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar 
• 1 tbsp of dijon mustard 
• 1 tbsp of honey or 1/2 tbsp of agave nectar
• fresh black pepper

1- Marinate the chicken. Crush garlic cloves and mix all marinade ingredients in a bowl. Combine the mixture with the chicken in a large Ziplock bag. Shake well and coat the chicken. Open the bag and expel all the air until the bag is flat. Using a food mallet, pound out chicken. Let marinate for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator. 

2- Using kitchen shears, trim the leaves from the kale stalks and tear into small pieces. Place in colander and rinse well with cold water. If you have a salad spinner, go ahead and use it to dry the kale. If not, than just vigorously shake the kale in the colander. 

3- Put the kale in a large bowl, and pour the lemon juice and drizzle of oil over the kale and sprinkle with salt. Massage the kale with your hands for 3 minutes. The salt and lemon juice will help break down the kale. 

4- Slice the bell pepper and the yellow onion. In a medium pan, sauté the onions and peppers for about 3 or 4 minutes. Crush garlic cloves, add to pan and cook for 60 seconds. Set aside to cool. 

5- Cut the butter leaf leaves off the stalk. In a colander, rinse with cold water. Spin in salad spinner, or just shake in colander well. Chop into smaller pieces and add to the bowl the the kale. 

6- On a grill or griddle, cook chicken until done, 4-5 minutes each side. Set chicken on a plate, and allow to cool for a few minutes. Dice chicken into small pieces. Add to lettuce and kale mix.

7- Slice tomatoes, add to bowl. Add the onions & peppers and sprinkle with pepper. 

8- In a small bowl, mix the dressing ingredients well. Pour over salad. Toss all ingredients and enjoy!