Jerk Chicken Salad

About a year ago, I randomly found a recipe that called for Jerk Sauce. Not knowing what that was, I scoured the nearest Macey's and found out that it is a marinade located in the soy sauce and fried rice aisle. I made the recipe, and although it was yummy, I never thought about it again.

Fast forward to a couple of months ago when I was looking at this blog and found another recipe with 'jerk' in the title. Although this recipe called for jerk rub instead of sauce, I figured they couldn't be too different. So I bolted to the grocery store, bought the other ingredients, and whipped it up that night. Let me tell you...this jerk recipe will not be forgotten! It was a hit! The more of it my husband ate, the more he talked about how good it was. And I had to agree! All of the chicken and veggies gives it enough substance to fill you up, but it's still very light and fresh. So yummy! In fact, I am adding it to this week's menu!

(I stole the picture from that same blog. Thanks, Jodie!)

What you need:

2 heads romaine lettuce (I only bought one thinking I'd half the recipe. I quickly realized one head of romaine isn't much. Buy 2!)

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 small pineapple, chunked (I just used 1 can of pineapple chunks, but fresh would be bomb.com)

1/2 pkg. bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 red pepper, sliced

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 Tbsp. Jerk marinade or rub

Dressing

1/3 C mayo

juice of 2 limes
zest of one lime

2 Tbsp. pineapple preserves (I didn't know what this was and didn't want to buy it because I didn't think I'd ever use it again, so I just used 2 Tbsp. of pineapple juice from the can of pineapple).

In a airtight container, whisk together olive oil and jerk sauce/rub. Add chicken, snap the lid on, and shake it around to coat the chicken. In a Pammed frying pan, cook chicken until white throughout. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.

In that same frying pan, add the pineapple and cook for about 1 minute on each side (you're mostly just heating it up).

You can toss all of the ingredients together (that's what we did) in a large salad bowl, or you can have everyone make their own individual salad. Top with dressing and enjoy!