Avocado Chicken Salad

• Boil 2 pounds of chicken.
• I used boneless, skinless chicken.
• I like to sometimes use chicken on the bone, because it adds another layer of flavor and makes great chicken broth.
• What's important is that you have chicken meat equal to 2 pounds (pre-cooking) once the bones, fat, etc. are removed.
• Season while the chicken is cooking.
• I mix it up but usually use Cavender's, dill weed, rosemary, Italian seasoning, coriander, caraway, garlic powder, salt.
• Let the chicken cool, and trim off any fat, skin, or bones.
• Shred the chicken by hand or in a food processor.
• In a separate bowl, mash 2 medium avocados.
• Add salt and a splash of lemon and/or lime juice.
• Stir the chicken and avocado together.
• Add mayonnaise 1 tablespoon at a time until the chicken salad is as creamy as you like.
• Optional: For an extra kick, add crushed red pepper flakes and a spoonful or two of jalapeño cranberry relish.
• Store in the fridge and eat within 24 hours.  It's best when it has had a couple hours to sit so the chicken soaks up the flavor.  You'll want to eat it within 24 hours or so, because the avocado will start to brown.

Looking for something to serve for brunch or a baby/wedding shower?  This is perfect, because it has a mild flavor.  You can leave out the red pepper or anything spicy to accommodate your guests.  Throw it on mini croissants, and it instantly becomes fancy! :)

Or just make it to serve your family for a couple lunches and dinners! Yay leftovers (easy meal prep!)!!!

Insta-Recipes

I love to cook and have been trying lots of new recipes lately.  I post some of them on my Instagram account, recipes I come up with and some from other people.  My account is private to family and close friends.  With so much of my life out there for all to see (here, twitter, etc.), it's the one place I've decided to keep private right now.

Every once in awhile I'll share a few pics from my account.  Here are some now!

My take on Tropical Smoothie's veggie hummus wrap

• Sabra roasted red pepper hummus all over tortilla of choice
• Sliced purple/red onion
• Sliced tomato
• Sliced cucumber
• 1/4 avocado, sliced and drizzled with lemon and lime juice
• Shredded carrots
• Salsa (optional-- put it on my husband's but not on mine)
• Cilantro

Sweet & Tart Smoothie

• Frozen mango
• Frozen raspberries
• Unsweetened original cashew milk

Avocado Tuna

I never like tuna and couldn't make myself eat it no matter how hard I tried.  One day my sister-in-law told me to try it with avocado, and now I eat tuna all the time!

• 1 can of white albacore tuna
• 1/2 avocado
• salt, cajun seasoning (optional)
• Dash of lemon juice and lime juice

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Stuffed Strawberry Shake

• Chocolate almond milk
• Unsweetened original cashew milk
• Peanut butter
• Frozen strawberries

Warm Brussels Sprout Salad with Homemade Dressing

This recipe is from A Beautiful Mess.  Colin LOVED it!  We heard a report that you could lose a pound a week eating brussels sprouts-- bring on the sprouts!

I made two changes:

• Double the dressing recipe and cook 3 lbs. of sprouts (instead of 1 lb.)
• Stick the cooked sprouts/berries under broil for a few minutes in the oven, stir every minute or so

What recipes do you love?

Crab, Avocado, Salad, Summer Food

It's vegetable season!  Yay!  This year I planted tomatoes, strawberries, lettuce, and cabbage.  It's really nice to walk out the front door, grab some lettuce, and go back in to fix dinner!

I also love going to the farmer's market to get local fruit, vegetables, and meat.  I haven't gotten to the market yet this year since it's just started up.  But we do have a new Kroger Marketplace that I've been to way too much already.  It's amazing!

When it gets warm, I want meals that are light, cool, and refreshing.  I picked up some imitation crab and wanted to incorporate it into some recipes too.

Here's a couple of salads we tried out this week.

Green Crab Salad

I found a recipe but changed it up a bit.  I used lettuce a bit greener than iceberg.  I left out the avocado and added cheese.

Avocado Bean Salad

I found this recipe on Pinterest.  I changed it up as well, because I didn't have some of the ingredients.  I also added ingredients.

-Can of black beans (drained and rinsed)

-Sliced grape tomatoes (I added them until it looked like there were a good amount)

-1 sliced avocado

-1 can of garbanzo beans

-Garlic salt

-Dash of lime juice

-Dash of olive oil

-Cilantro

-1 tbsp sugar

-cayenne pepper

-imitation crab

If eaten like a salad, this will make about 4 servings.  If you serve it as a dip with chips, it makes a good size bowl.

I love summer food!

Do you have any good salad recipes?