Salad with Marinaded Chicken

This is a recipe that I got from Fax's sister, Maureen. It's another build-your-own recipe, so everyone can make their's the way they like it. It's great for summertime because it's a salad. The marinaded and grilled chicken would also be good with rice because it has a teriyaki taste to it. I made this tonight and Andy and Christy were over. Everyone seemed to like it, including all 5 kids. You will want to marinade the chicken for at least 6 hours (or overnight), and make the dressing at least 3 hours prior, so you'll need to plan ahead a bit. Which worked well today, because I had time this morning, but not this evening. Anyway, enough talk, here's the recipe.

Chicken Marinade

(This is enough to marinade up to about 5 lbs. of chicken breasts.)

Ingredients:
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup water
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
4 cloves of pressed garlic (I used the jarred, crushed garlic.)

Directions:
Trim fat off chicken and put in large ziploc bag. At this point I like to pound the chicken so that it is a more even thickness throughout. It seems to cook more evenly on the grill when I do this. You don't have to, but that's what I do. Then pour the marinade on top and allow to sit in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or overnight. Grill on medium low heat until internal temperature of 165 F. Just a note from experience: place the ziploc bag inside of another container before you put it in the frig. I've had ziploc bags leak in my frig, and it's a major pain to clean up and super yucky!! Plus you have to use bleach because it's raw chicken. But if it leaks in a bowl, no big deal.

Dressing

(Make at least 3 hours prior.)

Ingredients:
juice from 3 lemons
1-1/2 cups olive oil
6 cloves of pressed garlic (I used jarred, crushed garlic)
1 tsp. pepper
2 tsp. salt

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in blender. Blend on lowest speed, and gradually increase speed until well blended and smooth. Store in refrigerator. Be sure and shake before each use. Makes 2 cups of dressing.

Salad

Ingredients:
2-3 heads of romaine lettuce, chopped
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 lb. bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
1-2 cups grated Swiss cheese (I used an Italian blend with Mozzarella and Provolone)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
croutons
marinaded and grilled chicken, cut in strips or chunks
dressing

Directions:
You can combine all these ingredients into one bowl, but we prefer to put all the ingredients in separate containers and serve it buffet-style. That way people can make their salad the way they like it. I also have ranch available for my children and others who may not like variety when it comes to salad dressings. (My kids, except Jake, like to have every ingredient separate, with some ranch to dip in if they choose. Thank goodness for homemade, Hidden Valley Ranch.)