Tart and Tangy Brussels Sprouts Salad with Balsamic Pork (or chicken)

Don’t knock it ‘til you try it!  Even if you don’t like brussels sprouts, try this!  You will NEVER taste the token bite of the brussels sprouts.  I LOVE this salad for a couple of reasons.  1. It is SO much more nutrient packed than your good old romaine or iceberg salad, and still with the same satisfying CRUNCH!  I think the thing that I miss the most about junk food and complex carbs is crunch.  I have never really been a sweet eater, but I love a bag of chips, any chip...a box of wheat thins...popcorn, oh popcorn... This salad totally satisfies that hunger for crunch!  2. It holds up so much better than a lot of other greens.  I can toss this salad with the dressing for dinner and trust that the next day for lunch, the leftovers are NOT mushy!  Makes for a reliable leftover without having to add and re-toss ingredients!

Really the cut of the meat does not matter.  I use this marinade for any pork or chicken almost every single time.  It’s perfect with just about anything!  We switch our cuts up to keep things exciting and vary the amounts of animal fat in our diet.  This marinade makes the most delish fish dish as well, just cut the marinade time down to about 30 min.  Makes salmon taste like it’s been smoked!  So yummy!

Tip: Save your jars! I despise clutter and don’t like to keep much around in the way of stuff....but I am a jar pack-rat.  They come in handy all the time for making homemade salad dressings, marinades, measuring out portions of coconut milk for shakes, saving bacon renderings, temporary storage of homemade stocks....trust me...half of my fridge is filled with used jars - but then we make almost everything from scratch!  I keep a double batch of this marinade in the fridge in an old apple sauce jar all the time since it’s such a go to for us - just shake and pour!  Marinades and dressings mix easier in a jar too!

For the Pork or Chicken:

• 4-6 chicken breasts or 8-10 boneless thighs or 8-10 boneless pork chops or loin (I cook a lot at a time, but you can always cut this in half!)
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar*
• 1/3 cup dijon mustard
• 2 cloves garlic smashed (optional)

Place your meat in a pyrex dish.  Pour remaining ingredients in to a jar and shake vigorously.  Pour mixture over meat, cover, refrigerate until 30 min. before grilling.**

Grill meat on HOT grill until cooked through, 165F for chicken or pork.  Sear well on first side for several min. before flipping to keep meat from sticking. When done, allow meat to rest for about 5 min. before slicing into bite sized pieces.

*Note: You can sub soy sauce for the balsamic vinegar if you don’t care about the wheat or tamari if you have that on hand.

** Some days it marinades for 1 hour, some days it marinades 12 hours, get it in there as long as you can, it’s great either way!

For the dressing:

Too many people think that dressing are difficult and choose to buy everything.  Dressings are the perfect hiding spot for tons of sodium, sugar and other nasty stuff.  There are a few good ones out there that are sugar free or fairly clean, but I make 95% of the dressings we use, even ranch and blue cheese when we splurge on a little more dairy.  It’s totally easy and almost everyone has the ingredients for several standard dressings on hand.  The basic is to know your vinegar to oil ratios, and using that standard you can easily sub/supplement lemon, lime juice, orange juices, etc. for variance, and add tons of other ingredients.  Personally, I usually lighten up on the oil and save that fat for avocado or nuts.  Although, I don’t really measure, I usually just grab a jar and pour in some vinegar(s), then add olive oil, eyeballing it on the side of the jar as it separates.

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

3/4 cup olive oil

2 tsp dijon mustard

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1 clove garlic, smashed and diced

1 tsp raw honey (you can sub a splash of apple cider or even applesauce)

Pour all ingredients into a jar and shake vigorously - done!

For the salad:

1 lb. of fresh brussels sprouts (food processed or shredded*)

1 head of romaine lettuce (chopped)

1 apple (cored and chopped into bite sized pieces)

8-10 slices of bacon (cooked until crispy and broken into hearty bits)

1/4 c pumpkin seeds (optional)

1/4 c golden raisins (cranberries are great too, but harder to find without added sugar)

feta or goat cheese (optional)

Combine all salad ingredients except bacon in a large bowl, best if it has a lid, add dressing and shake.  Top salad portions with chicken or pork and bacon bits and enjoy!

* For the brussels sprouts, this is important - it is what really makes this salad, peel the outer leaves off the brussels sprouts, and chop off the hard root looking bottom part.  Just a little bit, it should still stay whole.  Wash them.  If you have a food processor with a mandolin or shredding blade, just run them all right through.  It only takes about 2 min. to do the whole lb. this way.  If you do not have this option, grab sharp knife and chop them really well.  You want them to be shredded pretty well like a rustic slaw.