Rania's Recipes: Grilled Chicken & Strawberry Cheesecake

Rania Harris stopped by PTL to make some delicious recipes featuring strawberries!

Grilled Chicken with Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette

For the Chicken:

• ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 - 2 tablespoons honey
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 pound boneless and skinless chicken breasts – pounded to even thickness

For the Salad:

• 2 cups fresh peaches, sliced
• 12 cups fresh baby spinach
• 2 cups fresh strawberries sliced
• 4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
• ½ cup toasted almond slices
• ½ cup red onion thinly sliced

For the Vinaigrette:

• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon honey
• ¼ cup olive oil

Directions:

Whisk together the balsamic vinegar, honey, and a pinch of salt and pepper in a large container. Place the chicken in and turn to coat evenly. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Once marinated, spray your grill with cooking spray and heat to medium-high heat. Cook the chicken until no longer pink inside, about 6-7 minutes, turning once. Note that the honey will make the chicken look burned, but it's just the natural caramelization. Remove from the grill and cover to let rest.

Spray the grill again and place the sliced peaches onto it. Cook until grill marks form and the peaches soften, flipping once. This only takes about 2-3 minutes per side.

Divide the spinach, freshly sliced strawberries, grilled peaches, goat cheese, toasted almonds, and red onions between 4 large bowls. Slice the rested sliced chicken and place on top of the salads.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the balsamic vinegar and honey. While whisking constantly, stream in the olive oil and whisk until smooth and creamy. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Divide the vinaigrette between the bowls, toss the salads and serve. Serves: 4

Strawberry Cheesecake

Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups crushed graham crackers
• 3 tablespoons melted butter

Filling:

• 3 pounds cream cheese - room temperature
• 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
• 5 eggs
• 1 cup heavy cream
• ½ cup strawberry jam
• ½ cup chopped strawberries
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Finely grated zest and juice of one lemon

Garnish: 16 whole strawberries

Crust:

Combine crushed graham crackers crumbs and butter in a bowl and press into a 10-inch greased cheesecake pan - chill until ready to fill.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Filling: Beat cream cheese in a large mixing bowl with granulated sugar. Continue beating and add the eggs - one at a time. Add the heavy cream and the strawberry jam. Turn in the chopped strawberries, vanilla and the grated lemon zest and the lemon juice. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for one hour at 350 degrees.

Remove from oven and chill cheesecake well before serving. Garnish with the whole strawberries.

Serves: 16