FoodFash

Adventure Begins in the Kitchen

{Grilled} Chicken Salad

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Grilled Chicken Salad Recipe

For someone who’s spent a lot of years talking about how chicken is oh so boring, I’ve been really into chicken lately.  Specifically pounding it with a meat tenderizer, generously seasoning it {with salt, pepper, and garlic powder}, and throwing it on an extra hot cast iron grill pan.

Cast Iron Grilled Chicken

There’s just something about that sear that amps up the ordinary.  And then I got to thinking..  If I already love ordinary chicken salad, would I love chicken salad made with grilled chicken even more?

What to add to chicken salad

The answer was yes.  Grilling the chicken doesn’t change the flavor of the salad dramatically, but it does add enough smokiness to set it apart from traditional chicken salad.  I also added a lot of stuff to my salad: grapes, nuts, celery, and onions.  And just enough mayo to bind it all together.

Cucumber & Cilantro Chicken Salad

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Cucumber Chicken Salad

Have you ever been such a busy bee that when you came home from the grocery store you realized, not only did you forget something, but you brought home another thing that already had fair representation in the fridge?  Like cilantro. I’ve purchased cilantro three times  in less than a week.  Not good.

Cubed Chicken Breast

Luckily my roommate’s gym schedule is about an hour behind my yoga schedule. And since we both go to the grocery store on a daily basis {I wish I was joking}, I knew he could pick up that onion that slipped my mind.  And as far as the boat loads of cilantro?  I’d just whip up a batch of super summery chicken salad and pretend the overstock was all on purpose.

Chicken Salad Ingredients

And then I’d be thankful.  Because chicken salad with cukes, red onions, cilantro, lime, and homemade mayo is such a darn good combo.  Season with salt, pepper, and a pinch of cayenne pepper and man oh man, you’ve got yourself something special.