Grilled Chicken and Peaches Salad

So I kind of stole from was inspired by my cousin's yoga/health/beautiful blog for this recipe, which looked so simple that I thought there had to be a catch to it.  I made it and was really pleased with the bright, fresh mix of flavors.  There's sweetness from the peaches, a little bite from the onion, some tang from the blue cheese, and some pepperiness (is that a word?  my spell check doesn't think so) from the arugula.  Put it all together and you've got yourself on seriously good, filling, summer salad.

You can cut up the chicken breast into cubes and serve it in the salad, or leave the breasts whole and serve the salad as an accompaniment.  I used baby arugula, but if you're using fully grown, remove the hard stems.

Grilled Chicken and Peaches Salad


ingredients for one serving (multiply as necessary)

• 1/2 fresh peach, sliced
• 2 slices of red onion, rings separated
• 1 chicken breast, pounded flat and even throughout
• extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper
• 1 handful arugula 
• blue cheese crumbles, to garnish

Place the peach and onion slices in a bowl.  Drizzle with a little olive oil and a little salt and pepper, and stir to coat evenly.  Place on a hot grill and cook, about 2 minutes a side or until soft with obvious grill marks.  Remove them and place them back in the bowl, allowing the juices to collect at the bottom.  Add a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, and gently stir to combine with the juices and coat the peaches and onions.  Add a little more olive oil if desired.

Coat the chicken breast with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Cook on the grill, about 4-5 minutes a side, or until done in the middle.  Take the chicken off the grill and coat evenly with a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar.  Add back to the grill for about a minute on both sides.

Top the arugula with the peaches, onions, and a little blue cheese.  Serve with the chicken breast.