Yesterday when I went into the kitchen to begin preparing the meal the house was so loud and chaotic. I've got one boy laid up on crutches with a sprained ankle, one on the sick bed couch recovering from a sickness, the baby was exploring everywhere and dad was late getting home.
We had a chicken salad dish for dinner that I made up this past fall. We all love this dinner and the kids actually request it. One day last fall the weather was exceptionally pretty and so we made an impromptu decision to spend the afternoon at the river. Normally I would plan the details for a trip like this, but there was no time to plan. I threw apples, cheddar, a cutting board and knife, bottled waters and a package of Oreos into the cooler and off we went for a day of reading and fishing down by the river.
That evening when we came home we were all really hungry and so I just started pulling stuff from the fridge and freezer. This dinner comes together in a snap. I put 4-5 frozen chicken breasts on a plate and defrost them in the microwave. After cubing them, I sauté them in extra virgin olive oil until nicely browned and season them really well. Last night I used creole seasoning.
I add mixed greens to a really big bowl and lightly toss it with just a tiny bit of ranch dressing. Then I add diced apples, cheddar cheese, bacon bits if I have them, and the diced chicken. The whole salad gets tossed together and topped with plenty of salt and pepper. I'm not sure why we love this salad so much. Maybe it is because we had it on a night when we had spent a super fun day together outside as a family. Maybe because it is just really that good. I like it because it is fast to throw together and I have a standard rule that a salad supper like this should always be followed by bowls of ice cream for good measure.
