BBQ Chicken Salad

We’re having our carpet cleaned tomorrow so our house is in shambles.  I made sure to clean so the carpet people wouldn’t be distracted thinking about how they could leave dust messages on our coffee table, but at this point I’m not even sure where the coffee table is.   On the positive side, if you want to sit down there’s probably a piece of the sectional within 10 feet. 

I planned an easy meal tonight since I knew we’d need to spend some time moving furniture and I realized I somehow never shared this recipe.  This BBQ Chicken Salad is actually one of my favorite summer salads because after all the toppings it’s still pretty healthy.

Begin by boiling some chicken and shred it.  Just in case you didn’t know – you can shred cooked chicken in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment (works best if the chicken is still hot).  If you didn’t know this – you’re very welcome!  If you did know this, I’m disappointed you never shared it with me.  If you know any more life-changing tips you think I may not know, please let me know!

Once the chicken is shredded, coat it with BBQ sauce so it can soak up the flavor while you work on the rest of the salad.

Cut up the lettuce and veggies. I know the basil seems like a weird addition, but it really makes the salad.  Trust me on this one. 

Mix the dressing in a separate bowl.

I usually portion the lettuce into 4 bowls, divvy the cut veggies between the bowls, and then toss each one separately with dressing.  This way no one gets jipped because all the good stuff fell to the bottom, but you can do whatever floats your boat. 

That’s it!  This saves very well and if you’re saving leftovers, just make sure to keep the BBQ chicken, dressing, and cheese separate from the veggies and mix together right before serving.  

BBQ Chopped Chicken Salad

Recipe adapted slightly from: hungry girl (based on California Pizza Kitchen’s BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad)

Yields: 4 serving

Ingredients

1 lb. chicken, shredded or cubed

BBQ sauce

10 c. chopped romaine lettuce

2 medium tomatoes, chopped

1 c. jicama, chopped

1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed

1 c. corn kernels

½ c. scallions, chopped

¼ c. cilantro, chopped

¼ c. basil, chopped

½ c. fat-free cheddar cheese

Dressing

½ c. fat-free ranch dressing

¼ c. BBQ sauce

Directions

In a small bowl, coat shredded chicken with BBQ sauce.  I usually use about ¼ - ½ c. or so.  It’s best to start with a little and add more as needed.  Set aside.

Place lettuce in a large bowl.  Top with tomato, jicama, black beans, corn, scallions, cilantro, and basil.

Make the dressing in a separate small bowl.  Add in a little dressing at a time and toss salad until coated, depending on your personal preference. 

Divide up into 4 portions.  Top each with equal amounts of the BBQ chicken and cheese.

Enjoy!

Summer in AZ

I feel like I've dropped off the face of the earth a lot lately.  In the past few months I've had some medical stuff going on, and it's amazing how that, and not feeling like yourself, can consume your life.  That's not to say I haven't been enjoying life, but I'm not the type of person who can be told "don't worry" and actually not worry until I have results!  Mr. C is good at that, but me - not so much.  I do enough worrying for the both of us!   I did a lot of worrying, a lot of praying, a lot of things I didn't want to (growing up sucks), and then I spent some time thanking God for all the supportive, wonderful people in my life.  To know that people were praying for me was a huge thing and I can't imagine living life not knowing that God's got my back.

I'm finally feeling back to myself and I'm so excited!  I've missed blogging so much and I'm so excited to share with you the wonderful recipes I've discovered even though I wasn't posting them.  

I hope you've been having a wonderful summer.  I'm not a fan of this crazy AZ heat, but it's finally monsoon season which is a wonderful time of year, even if it is in the summer.  Monsoon season means waking up to cloudy days, thunder in the distance, and rain when we're lucky.  Sunsets in AZ are usually pretty amazing and with the monsoon clouds they are extra beautiful.

We took this photo one evening (sorry for the poor quality) after dinner when we took Coconut to run around in a grassy area.  It was actually cool out that night and Coconut looked so happy running around in circles in the overgrown grass while Mr. C and I enjoyed the gorgeous sunset.  That's my idea of a perfect night.  Hope you've had some of your own perfect evenings too!