Simple and Yummy Chicken Salad

So I come home from shopping at Sam's Club this evening and to my delight there was an unexpected visitor
at our house. My step-daugher, Emily! I, of course, invited her to stay for dinner.
Then was left to ponder...what should I make? 

Here's what I came up and it was really simple to prepare - it only took me about 20 minutes. 

It's a super easy dinner for all you busy moms out there who need to get a nutritious meal on the table, and an added bonus, not too much clean up!

Ingredients:

Salad:

A handful of cherry tomatoes, diced

One can of corn

One can of black beans

The breasts from one of the roasted chickens you can get almost anywhere for like $6 or $7, chopped

A handful of spinach, ours was from our garden, chopped

1 cup of mango salsa (regular salsa would work too)

Dressing:

2 tbsp of chopped onions

1/4 cup of the salsa

2 tbsp of olive oil

one lemon, juiced

a couple good shakes of coriander and lime pepper seasoning

Chop up your salad ingredients and place in a bowl. Add dressing ingredients to the food processor or blender. Blend. Then add your dressing to the salad and fold in gently.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream on top and a side of Tostitos Hint of Lime Chips.

Enjoy! ♥

Chipotle Chicken Salad

So here's the story behind the title of the recipe I developed last night...

I love Chipotle's Chicken Salad, but the location near us is always crowded (cause it's near the college) and their music is so loud you can't even converse with the people you are dining with. It's like the atmosphere in Hollister stores, but without the cool clothes that are so small that you could never eat at Chipotle if you wanted to fit into them. 

So basically what I've done is taken what I usually order at Chipotle and I made it at home, where I can talk with my husband and my daughter while we're eating and there's no "what?" or "huh?' being uttered every other sentence.

So now that we've established that is there is no chipotle in the salad I'm about to unveil to you. I want to give you a word of advice - don't eat too much or you'll have a belly ache all night long like I did. Seriously, it's addicting. You'll want to eat til you explode, don't do it, it will be a mess. Nobody wants to clean THAT up. Unfortunately, that's what happens when you get older, you can no longer "pig out" like you did in your younger years.

Ingredients:

1 large chicken breast, cooked (or two small ones)

1 cup of canned (or fresh) corn

1 cup of black beans

2 medium size avocados

2 handfuls of cherry tomatoes, diced

2 tbsp chopped onion

Dressing:

1/2 cup of olive oil

the zest from a large lemon

the juice from the above lemon 

a handful of cilantro
1 tsp minced garlic

1 tbsp of sea salt 

Directions:

{Dressing ingredients}

Zest your lemon and measure your sea salt.

Extract the juice from your lemon

Add all the dressing ingredients to a blender or food processor 

and blend until it looks like the picture below.

Set dressing aside. Get out a large bowl and add one cup of corn. 

 

Shred your chicken breast with a fork and add it to the corn.

Dice your tomatoes and add them to the ingredients in the bowl.

Hopefully you have a cool avocado slicer like the one below,
if not, you can pick one up at your local Walmart or even the Dollar Store I believe.
Slice and dice your avocados and add them to the bowl as well.

Drain your beans once you have emptied them from the can 

then add them to the rest of the ingredients in the bowl.

Add your dressing you made earlier + your chopped onions and voila...

You've got Chipotle's Chicken Salad!

Serve with your favorite beer and tortilla chips. 

A side of sour cream is optional, but it sure makes it even yummier! (if that's possible)

Enjoy! ♥

Melon Chicken Salad

This is a delightfully refreshing salad and perfect for a light lunch!

:: Ingredients ::

2-3 chicken breasts

1 cantaloupe

1 bag of fresh spinach leaves

1 c. bacon crumbles

1 package of roasted sunflower seeds

A bottle of ranch dressing

:: Directions ::

Prepare 2-3 chicken breasts depending on how many you are serving (or if you want leftovers). Cut off excess fat, place in a baking dish, dress with olive oil, then salt and pepper to taste. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Cut up one cantaloupe into bite size pieces. When chicken has cooled completely cut breasts into bite size pieces as well. Dress with your favorite ranch dressing and fold the two together.

Prepare each plate with a bed of spinach leaves. Add chicken and melon salad to the leaves, sprinkle with bacon crumbles and roasted sunflower seeds.

Enjoy!