Fall Apple Chicken Salad With Maple Mustard Vinaigrette

sofie-a-toast's Note:

From Trial and Error. She says: i ate this salad six times in two weeks. six. it is that good. and it wasn't just me that loved it, jason said it's one of the best salads he's ever had. in my opinion, the goat cheese makes it. we had ours with fresh honey crisp apples we picked ourselves, but any firm, sweet apple will do. - I have to agree with her about the awesomeness of this salad. You can easily leave out the chicken to make it a side salad for a meal. I also have successfully made this with pears.

• Total Time: 20 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 0 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

for the vinaigrette

• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons real maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons grainy old fashioned mustard
• 1 small shallot, finely minced
• 1 garlic clove, finely minced
• 1/4 cup olive oil

for the salad

• 8 cups mixed salad greens
• 4 chicken breasts, cooked and thinly sliced (optional)
• 4 ounces goat cheese
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 2 crisp apples or 2 pears, thinly sliced

Directions:

1. whisk the vinaigrette ingredients together in a small bowl or place them in a mason jar and shake.
2. divide the salad greens among four bowls. top each with a chicken breast (optional), 1 ounce crumbled goat cheese, 1 tablespoon almonds, 1 tablespoon cranberries, and half an apple. top with vinaigrette.