Grilled Chicken with Barley Corn Salad

Grilled Chicken with Barley Corn Salad

This corn salad recipe is THE BOMB!!! It is SO incredibly good. It is one of my new favourite recipes and I can't wait to make it again. I am sure one of the reasons is because it has BACON in it. The night we ate it, it was warm and it was just as good the next day cold.

How I know if my man likes a dish, is when he says he likes it right after his first bite. If he finds it a so-so dish, then he says it's good after a few bites. It was a one bite like dish ;)

This dish is bursting with flavour and all the different ingredients go together very well. The vinaigrette compliments it perfectly. It would make a great summer potluck dish at a BBQ.

PS: I followed the instructions on the package of my Organic Hulled Barley and it lied. It said to cook it for 20 minutes. I had to cook it for closer to 50 minutes, so next time I will cook the Barley the night before.

PPS: The only changes I made was using normal tomatoes, not cherry tomatoes for the vinaigrette and for the salad. I didn't add avocado because I wanted to have left overs and I was scared it would go mushy, but I guess I could have just added it to my plate. Oh well, it was still fantastic without it.

PPPS: GO make it tonight or tomorrow or sometimes very soon.

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts
3/4 cup medium barley
2 cups fresh or frozen-then-thawed corn kernels
1-1/2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup minced red onion
4 slices cooked thick or center cut bacon, chopped **I used 5 slices**
1 avocado, chopped
salt & pepper

For the Tomato Vinaigrette:
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1 clove garlic
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoons water
1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 Tablespoon red onion
salt & pepper

Directions:

1. Cook barley with a pinch of salt according to package directions. Drain when barley is tender to make sure all excess water is removed. Place into a large bowl to cool slightly.
2. Make the Tomato Vinaigrette: Combine all vinaigrette ingredients in a food processor or blender, then process until smooth. Place 6 Tablespoons of the vinaigrette into a plastic bag and set the remaining aside. Season both sides of the chicken breasts with salt & pepper, then add it to the bag with the vinaigrette and marinate in the refrigerator while you make the Barley Corn Salad.
3. Stir corn, cherry tomatoes, red onion, and bacon into the cooled barley. Add enough of the reserved tomato vinaigrette to coat and stir well. Gently fold in avocado then season with salt & pepper to taste. Place into the refrigerator.
4. Heat a grill to high and grill chicken for 4-5 minutes a side, or until cooked through. Let chicken rest for 5 minutes off the grill, then divide salads onto plates and top with grilled chicken.