Southwestern Chopped Chicken Salad

photo credit - www.greensnchocolate.com

I love getting as many meals as I can out of a Rotisserie Chicken.  As part of my most recent meal planning adventures I have been buying 1-2 Rotisserie Chicken's a month.  To see all the fun stuff I have been doing go HERE.  

This Salad is a different and fun meal to throw in the mix.  We all love it!  I will always be grateful for the day when I found this recipe on Pinterest.  Her picture turned out way better than mine, so until I get a better one I am using it.  HERE is the link to the original post.

southwestern chopped chicken salad

Prep Time: 15 minutes          Total Time: 15 minutes                                                               4 dinner-sized salads

Ingredients

for the salad:
• 2 cups shredded chicken
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 can black beans, rinsed
• 1 can sweet yellow corn (or 1 cup frozen corn, thawed)
• 2 roma tomatoes, diced
• 4 green onions, sliced
• 1 head ice berg lettuce, washed and chopped
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• 2 ripe avocados, diced
• 1 cup crushed tortilla chips


for the dressing:
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2/3 cup Greek yogurt
• 1 tbsp ranch seasoning
• 1 tbsp taco seasoning

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine all salad ingredients together, excluding the tortilla chips.
2. In a small bowl stir all dressing ingredients together.
3. Pour dressing over salad, starting with about half of the dressing.
4. Toss to combine, then gradually add more dressing until it is dressed to your liking.
5. Top with tortilla chips. Enjoy!

Spicy Honey Chicken Salad

 It is salad season!  Salad for Dinner in August is a great idea!  The only problem is my family can get kind of tired of me rotating through the same salad and grilling recipes over and over, especially by the time August rolls around.  Way back in April I went to dinner at a friends house for a Gourmet Club event.  The link describing the event is HERE.  The night was wonderful!  The link has all the recipes they used that night.  One of my favorite parts was the entree, which was this salad!  Delicious.  

The original recipe is from our Our Best Bites - You can find it HERE.

Last week I was making a grocery list, and feeling so BLAH about making the same old Summer time dinners, then I remembered eating this.  I am happy to say that my family loved it too!

There are so many steps to this that I recommend either making part of it earlier in the day, like the dressing.  What I did was I got help.  My husband and daughter and I all did pieces of this together.

Ingredients:

8 boneless skinless chicken thighs, about 2lbs (Yes, Thighs!!!)
          everyone is always asking me if they can use breasts for this. Sure you can, but I’m tellin’
          ya right now it’s better with thighs.

 

2 t vegetable oil

 

Rub

2 t granulated garlic
2 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/2 t coriander
1 t kosher salt
1 t cumin
1/2 t chipotle chili powder

 

Glaze
1/2 C Honey
1T Cider Vinegar

Instructions:

Combine the rub spices in bowl and mix well.

 

Use kitchen shears (or a pair of clean scissors) to trim off any excess fat from the chicken pieces.Pat dry. Drizzle oil over chicken and rub in with your hands to lightly coat all the pieces. Then toss chicken with the spice rub to coat all sides well. Use your hands and get in there! Grill chicken for 3-5 minutes on each side, until cooked through.

 

While chicken is cooking, warm honey in the microwave so it’s not so thick. Add the vinegar and combine well. Reserve 2T honey glaze for later. Take the rest and brush on chicken (both sides) in the final moments of grilling.

 

I’m gonna warn you that this can make a hot mess, literally. It’s sugar, and it’s gonna drip. But the smelly smoke is worth it for a minute or two. Just leave your grill on for a few minutes after the chicken is done to burn off any excess glaze. It’s totally worth it once you taste this stuff.

 

If you don’t have a bbq, try it on an indoor grill pan or use your broiler. Just be sure to open a window in case you burn your glaze!

 

Remember how I had you reserve that extra couple tablespoons of glaze? Yeah, drizzle that on top now. Your taste buds will thank you.

Salad: 

1-2 heads Romaine or Red Leaf Lettuce 
2-3 ripe but firm avocados
2 ripe but firm mangoes, chilled 
optional: thinly sliced red onion    

This serves 4 large salads or 6 smaller sized ones.

While chicken is grilling, wash lettuce and divide among serving plates. Slice avocados, onions, and mangoes and place them on top of the lettuce. When chicken is finished, let it sit for 5 minutes before slicing to preserve the juices. Then slice it up and divide among the salads. Drench it all in the Honey-Citrus Vinaigrette and pretend you’re at a fancy restaurant!

Honey-Citrus Vinagrette -

1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 T grated onion
1/3 C fresh orange juice
3T fresh lime juice
2T honey
3/4 t cumin
1/2 t salt
1/4 t ground black pepper
1/2 C vegetable oil 

Place all ingredients in a tightly sealed jar and shake your bootie (and the jar) vigorously. Store in the fridge, and shake before dressing salad.

 

Sweet Hot Cucumber Salad

 I love to make this and eat this year round.  It is especially good with fresh cucumbers from the garden.  It is a great side to any meal.  I've even served it for Thanksgiving.

1 cup vinegar                     1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

3/4 cup water                     dash of Parsley

3/4 cup sugar                      1/8 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. salt                            Dash of Basil

3-4 sliced cucumbers

Very refreshing side dish!

Heat to boiling all ingredients except cucumbers.  Pour hot liquid over sliced cucumbers.  Put in refrigerator to cool for several hours.  Serve chilled. 



Won Ton Salad

I love this yummy salad!  It is so different and tasteful.  The dressing isn't super healthy, but has a really good sweet hot flavor.

Salad - 1-2 heads of Romaine lettuce

1 bunch green onions, sliced

3 chicken breasts, marinated, grilled or broiled, then sliced

Won Ton wraps cut and deep fried

Dressing -
1/4 cup Sugar

1/4 cup oil       
1/4 cup white vinegar

1 tsp. Accent (can be left out)

1/2 tsp. salt       
1 tsp. pepper

1 Tbsp. sesame seeds

Veggie Pizza

This is great for Summer.  I usually save it for potlucks, barbecues and partied.

2 packages of crescent roll tubes

Spread on a jelly roll sized baking pan.  Bake at 300 degrees for 10 minutes.

Let cool.

Mix - 16 oz. Cream Cheese (can use fat free)

          1 packet Ranch dressing mix

          1/2 cup Mayonnaise (I substitute fat free plain Greek yogurt when I have it on hand.)

Spread this over the crust, carefully.

Top with chopped veggies.  I like Cauliflower, Broccoli and Carrots.

Chinese Chicken Salad

 

This can also be served as a side dish too with out the chicken.  It’s delicious!

1 pkg. Chicken Top Ramen (broken up)

½ head of cabbage (3-4 cups)

2 cups marinated (teriyaki) chicken Broiled  or grilled, and cut in strips (I use 3 Chicken breast halves)

2 Tablespoons sesame seeds, optional

2 green onions chopped, optional

2 Tablespoons sliced Almonds, optional

3 T shelled sunflower seeds, optional

Dressing –

                1/3 cup olive oil                    3Tablespoons vinegar

                ½ teaspoon pepper               1 teaspoon salt

                Ramen flavor pack

Pour over other ingredients in salad bowl.  Does not keep well!  Crunchy Ramen noodles get mushy.

Eat right away. 
***To keep Gluten Free, serve broken up Ramen noodles in separate bowl for individuals to add into their own dishes.  This is also good to do if you want to keep some as leftovers.