Coconut Chicken Salad with Apricot Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

Add some tropical flavor to your salad with this Coconut Chicken Salad – coconut breaded chicken tenders and an apricot honey mustard vinaigrette.

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Before I get to the delicious salad I am sharing with you today, I decided to follow Lindsey’s (Gingerbread Bagel) lead and fill out the ABCs of me. You may not care, which is totally fine, but today it provided me with some entertainment.

Also, since I updated this post 9 years later I provided my updated answers, if needed, in italics!

A. Age: 25 (26 on May 4th – hint hint). (2020 – 35)

B. Bed size: Queen. But my sectional couch’s chaise suffices at times. (2020 – no more sectional couch chaise :-( )

C. Chore you hate: Cleaning out hair from the shower drain. (2020 – and dusting)

D. Dogs: I think Jack Russel’s are my favorite kind I’ve ever met. But I’m more of a cat person. (2020 – my husband came as a package deal with a cat and a Jack Russel mix…but now I’m not sure I really enjoy any dogs TBH)

E. Essential start to your day: Breakfast. Doesn’t matter what it is, but I need something in my belly to get me going. No coffee though.

F. Favorite color: Purple. So much so that it has been my hair color for several years. Still a little bit of punk left in me from my high school days. (2020 – still my favorite color but my hair is currently dark green)

G. Gold or silver: Silver. But platinum is okay too ;-). (2020 – both as solidified by my wedding ring)

H. Height: 5’5″ which is why I own so many heels. Yet I wear my low-top Converse more than anything.

I. Instruments you play: I played the flute starting in Elementary school all the way through high school. Tried to teach myself the bass guitar in college but haven’t touched it in years :-(. (2020 – I sold my bass)

J. Job title: Graduate student (PhD Candidate to be technical) – AKA cheap labor. (2020 – Research Scientist, aka lightly less cheap labor)

K. Kids: I have no idea if I want kids or not. Besides, apparently I am one myself because I get carded for Rated R movies still. Hopefully I can retain my youthful look for when it will feel more like a compliment.

L. Live: Memphis, TN for the past four years, and two more to come until I graduate. I can only tolerate the heat & humidity 6 months out of the year for so much longer. (2020 – Columbus, OH)

M. Mom’s name: Anna.

N. Nicknames: Air-In, Rin, Rinny, Nire.

O. Overnight hospital stays: None ::knocks on wood::

P. Pet peeve: Flaky people.

Q. Quote from a movie: ‘The goat?” – “The REMOTE!” – Muppets from Space.

R. Right or left handed: Right.

S. Siblings: Older brother (w/ sister-in-law), and older step-sister.

T. Time you wake up: Weekdays I try to be up by 6:30am to get to lab before 8am, but sometimes I fail due to gross traffic. The weekends I’m usually up between 7:30-9am. I’ve completely lost my ability to sleep in.

U. Underwear: Yes, I am pro underwear. I have the black VIP Victoria’s Secret card to prove it.

V. Vegetables you dislike: Mushrooms, mushrooms, and more mushrooms. And cucumber. I’m actually impressed with myself right now for only listing two. I used to be such a picky eater growing up, the only vegetables I ate were potatoes, carrots and corn. Thankfully my taste buds finally woke up. (2020 – cucumber isn’t so bad but still ew mushrooms. It’s a texture thing the flavor is fine)

W. What makes you run late: Traffic in the morning. Gym at night.

X. X-Rays you’ve had: Teeth for routine dentist things, left shin from a bad flag football incident (but not broken thankfully just bruised from the knee down), right wrist broken from snowboarding.

Y. Yummy food you make: Is it okay that I think almost everything I make is yummy? I cannot pick and choose which are my favorites.

Z. Zoo – favorite animal: Elephants, especially when there are babies. I wish they could make mini ones as household pets.

And now for the main event! Coconut chicken had been lingering in the back of my mind for a couple months and I’m glad it finally come out with this! The coconut is perfectly crispy on the chicken and is complimented by the vinaigrette.

The leftovers will make for a great lunch or on top of waffles too. This may be the first time I finish a bag of salad greens before they spoil.

Post updated 8/27/20, photo above is the original.

COCONUT CHICKEN SALAD WITH APRICOT HONEY MUSTARD VINAIGRETTE

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Yield: 2-3 servings Cooking Time: 40 Minutes 40 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

VINAIGRETTE

• 1 Tbsp apricot preserves
  
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tsp dijon mustard

CHICKEN

• 1 egg
• 1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 10 chicken tenderloins
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

SALAD

• 6 cups mixed baby greens
• 3/4 cup shredded carrots
• 1 large tomato, sliced

Directions

1. Whisk all vinaigrette ingredients; refrigerate until ready to use.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. Lightly beat the egg in a medium bowl; set aside.  Mix the coconut, flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a shallow bowl.
4. Working with one chicken breast at a time, dip the chicken in the bowl with the beaten egg and then coat with the coconut mixture.  Place on the baking sheet.  Once all chicken breasts are coated and on the baking sheet, evenly drizzle with the melted butter.  Bake for 30-40 minutes, flipping once halfway.
5. Divide baby greens onto 2-3 plates. Divide carrots and tomato evenly between each plate. When chicken is ready slice on the diagonal and place on top of greens. Top with vinagrette.

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