Chili Lime Chicken Salad with Quinoa

I came up with this salad recipe the other night, and to my surprise, my husband loved it. You can add any salad add-ons you like, feta or cotija cheese would be great, though I didn't have any on hand when I made the salad. I marinated the chicken only for about five hours, though I think overnight would be even better.



Serves 2

Ingredients:

4-5 pieces of chicken breast tenders (or you could opt out and just use quinoa as a protein)
2 cups spinach, chopped
2 cups romaine lettuce, chopped
1 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
1/2 of an avocado
1 cup cooked quinoa

Marinade:

1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp  cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1 clove of finely chopped garlic
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
a sqeeze of sriracha or a dash of cayenne (or both!)

Balsamic Dressing Ingredients: (or you could use a spicy creamy dressing)

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 a lime, juiced
dash of cayenne
1/4 tsp cumin
1 cloved finely chopped garlic
chopped cilantro (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Five hours ahead of time (or up to 24 hours), place the marinade ingredients in a ziplock with the chicken and set in fridge. Now for the dressing: add all balsamic dressing ingredients to a mason jar or small bowl and whisk, refrigerate until later. Once the chicken has marinated, sautee in a skillet on medium high heat about 2-3 minutes on each side, and only turning once. The marinade will start to brown, which will create great flavor on the chicken, but you don't want it to burn.
Once the chicken is cooked, remove from heat and let it sit for 5-10 min. Meanwhile, add the spinach, romaine, tomatoes, onion, sliced avocado, quinoa, and any other ingredients you wish to a bowl. Chop up chicken and add to salad, and serve with the dressing.