I was in the grocery this weekend and saw that pears were back in season. As soon as I saw them, I remembered this salad that I had made months ago. Ooh, la, la, it’s amazing.

I love salads, in fact, I have posted some on here that I really love, such as this Southwest Chop Salad, Spinach, Blue Cheese and Pecan and this Fruit and Poppy Seed version that is perfect for summer. When I thought about this one with the roasted pears over the weekend, I couldn’t believe that I had never posted it on here.

This salad is very filling, but not heavy. It is a great medley of flavors that truly blend perfectly together. It takes a little bit of work making the pears and the pecan crunch, but it is so worth it. In fact, you could actually cook up the chicken, pears and pecans ahead of time and then just put the salad together when you are ready to serve it.

**This recipe is Gluten Free as long as you use GF oatmeal

Chicken, Roast Pear, Pecan and Blue Cheese Mixed Greens Salad

• 4 pears, peeled, cored and sliced
• 1 tablespoon almond oil
• 1 tablespoon honey (I use a raw organic orange blossom honey)

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Peel, core and slice your pears.

Place the pears in a single layer in a 9×13 baking dish and then drizzle with the oil and honey. Use a spatula to mix the pears up until they are all well coated. Bake for about 50-60 minutes until pears have started to brown. I usually turn them once about half way through.

Once the pears have cooled, chop them all up and set them aside.

For the candied pecans:

• 1 1/2 cups pecans, chopped
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 cup oats

In a saucepan, over medium heat, combine butter and brown sugar. When the butter and sugar have melted together, add in the pecans and oats. Mix well so that everything is coated, and cook for about 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly until pecans have caramelized. Make sure you watch this the whole time your cooking it, so that the mixture doesn’t burn. Set aside to cool.

For the salad:

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 tablespoon butter, 1 tablespoon almond oil
• mixed greens with spinach
• blue cheese crumbles
• balsamic vinaigrette

Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper. Add one tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of almond oil to a skillet over medium heat. Add in the chicken and cook for about 3-4 minutes per side, or until chicken is cooked through. Remove from heat and chop into bite size pieces.

Now you are just going to assemble the salad. Put in your lettuce in the bowl first and then add the blue cheese. I love this blue cheese I buy at Whole Foods, it is so creamy and good.

Then just layer your chicken, pears and pecans on top and drizzle on a little bit of balsamic vinaigrette.