coconut chicken salad with warm honey-mustard vinaigrette

The original recipe for this one comes from Gina Homolka in The Skinnytaste Cookbook.
I bought this cookbook not only because Gina's dishes are delicious but it's just a beautiful book to look through and it makes me want to try and eat everything. My husband tells me having a long list of recipes to make is a good problem to have. Since I am the one cooking and he's the one eating, he's got a pretty good thing going for him.

This is a great alternative to having fried chicken and it's very fast to put together. The chicken is tender on the inside and crunchy on the outside! It has the great addition of coconut and since it's baked and not fried you aren't left with greasy chicken.

Add some warm honey-mustard dressing and set atop your favorite salad fixings and you have a dinner ready to go in about 40 minutes.

This recipe is so simple! I hope you enjoy it!

Coconut Chicken Salad & Warm Honey-Mustard Vinaigrette

Serves: 4

Ingredients for Vinaigrette:

• 1 tbsp dijon mustard
• 4 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 tsp honey
• 4 tsp white vinegar
• 2 tsp water 

Ingredients for Chicken:

• Olive oil spray
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut (unsweetened)
• 1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup egg whites (from about 3 eggs) or 2 whole eggs
• 8 chicken tenders (1 lb)

Ingredients for Salad:

• lettuce
• carrots
• tomatoes
• cucumbers

Cooking Directions:

For the Vinaigrette: Whisk all ingredients together and set aside. When salad is assembled, warm up and drizzle over top.

For the Chicken: Preheat the oven to 375 F and spray a large non-stick baking sheet with oil.
Combine the coconut, breadcrumbs and salt in one bowl. In a second bowl, beat the egg whites (or include yokes). Season the chicken with salt and dip into the eggs, then coat with the coconut-crumbs and place on the baking sheet. Spray the top lightly with olive oil. Bake for 15 minutes, turn and bake an additional 15 minutes.

For the Salad: Assemble the lettuce, carrots, tomatoes & cucumbers, place 2 chicken tenders on each salad and top with the warm vinaigrette.