One of my favorite summer salads is the strawberry and mixed greens salad with poppy seed dressing. Whether the greens are spinach, romaine lettuce or mixed greens, I love it just the same. For my family reunion lunch we threw, we served mixed green and strawberries salad with poppy seed dressing and the option of adding sliced grilled chicken and crumbled blue cheese to the salad.
A few days before the party, we made a double batch of the poppy seed dressing in mason jars and stored them in the refrigerator. We also marinated boneless, skinless chicken breast two days before the party and let them marinate in the refrigerator overnight. On the day before the party my mom grilled the marinated chicken and sliced and arranged it on a platter , covered it with plastic wrap ,and stored it in the fridge for the next day.
On the morning of the party, we cleaned and sliced the strawberries and prepared the mixed greens. Right before we ate, we put all the ingredients of the salad together with the dressing and candied almonds. We put out the grilled chicken and drizzled it with some poppy seed dressing to keep the chicken moist on the platter. We also put a bowl of blue cheese crumbles out for people to add to their salads. Everyone could plate their own salad and top with the grilled chicken and blue cheese crumbles. The salad was a big hit and the perfect addition to lunch after a very competitive game of wiffle ball. 
- For Poppy Seed Dressing:
- ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup & 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1½ teaspoons poppy seeds
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- ½ cup olive oil
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- For Salad:
- Mixed Greens, cleaned
- Strawberries, cleaned, hulled, and sliced
- Sliced candied almonds
- Blue Cheese Crumbles
- For Grilled Chicken:
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
- Olive oil
- Lemon Juice
- Salt
- Pepper
- For Dressing: Place all ingredients in a mason jar, close with lid and shake.
- For Grilled Chicken: Marinate chicken in a large storage bag with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper overnight. Grill chicken to inside temperature reads to at least 160 degrees. Slice chicken for salad.
- For Salad: Mix together mixed greens, sliced strawberries, sliced candied almonds, grilled chicken, and blue cheese crumbles in a large bowl. Add poppy seed dressing to you liking.
