Sophie in the Kitchen: Salad with Blackberries and Balsamic Vinaigrette

I am off work every Friday due to working a flex schedule at my office. Since I am usually home for lunch, I was trying to think of what I wanted to eat today. I like to eat a light lunch and what is lighter than a salad. I had all these ingredients at home already to make this flavorful salad. It took me less than 10 minutes to put it all together!

P.S. Thank you Sarah for the LeRoux Pomegranate Balsamic Vinegar and Tracy for the Regusci California Extra Virgin Olive Oil! I have such great friends who bring me back food gifts from their travels :)

Ingredients

prepacked salad mix (I used an italian mix, but spinach would be great or any other type of greens you prefer.)

blackberries

goat cheese

pecans, chopped (You can also use walnuts, almonds, or pine nuts.)

salt

freshly ground black pepper

olive oil (I used an olive oil from the Regusci winery in California.)

balsamic vinegar (I used LeRoux pomegranate balsamicvinegar.)

Optional Protein Add-Ins

hard boiled or poached egg

sliced, cooked chicken breast

garbanzo beans

Directions

For the salad:

Place salad mix on a plate. Top with crumbled goat cheese, blackberries, and some chopped pecans. Drizzle some balsamic vinegar and olive oil and top with salt and pepper to taste.

For extra protein, I added in some leftover ChickenInvoltini, sliced. Feel free to add in whatever leftover protein you may have or even an egg (hard boiled or poached) would be great. For vegetarians, I bet some garbanzo beans would be good.