Jalapenos

Chicken-Guacamole Salad with a Big Squeeze of Fresh Lime…

If you live in the part of world where it’s summer, this is your dinner. Because it’s just too hot to cook nearly anything. Grill up a few chicken breasts at a time and you’ll have plenty for this meal and tomorrow’s, too. (Chicken tacos? Chicken salad sandwiches?) This guacamole couldn’t be better or easier: chop up a simple pico de gallo and stir it into avocados. Some cut-up or sliced chicken, greens, some lime? You’re already eating. Buy your avocados a couple of days ahead and let them ripen on the counter or in a paper bag if your grocery doesn’t carry ripe avocados. Try this: 

chicken-guacamole salad 3-4 servings

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped roughly, divided
1/2 cup fresh green pepper, chopped in 1/2″ pieces
1/4 cup red sweet pepper, chopped in 1/2 ” pieces
1/2 jalapeño, minus seeds and veins, very finely minced (for more heat, use the whole pepper)
1/4 cup red onion, minced
1 cup roughly chopped tomatoes
2 ripe avocados, peeled, seeded, and roughly chopped
1 cup cooked rice seasoned with a light sprinkle of salt and pepper
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
1 Lime, cut in half (Cut one of the halves into slices)
2 chicken breasts, grilled and chopped
2 cups baby spinach leaves
1/2 cup sharp cheddar grated

Mix cilantro through tomatoes in a large bowl, reserving 2 T cilantro. Stir in avocados. Mix the reserved 2 T cilantro into the cooked rice and add the rice to the guacamole salad. Season with salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning. Squeeze half of the lime over the salad. Add chopped chicken breasts and spinach and stir gently. Sprinkle with cheese. Serve mounded, with a piece of lime on each plate to use at table.

Cook’s Notes: Don’t even have the energy to chop, stir, or cook? Buy a roasted deli chicken and pre-made guac for an even easier meal. Many shops now sell freshly-made pico de gallo or salsa. The packages of microwave rice would work well for this dinner and would cut both time and kitchen heat.

Wine? Not. It’s time for a margarita or a beer. (Ok, Sangria, Riesling or an Oregon Pinot Blanc if you have to have wine.)

Dessert? Lemon sorbet.

about avocados from the California avocado commission

courtesy ca avocado commission

Calories, yes. Cholesterol, no.

Avocados provide nearly 20 essential nutrients, including fiber, potassium, Vitamin E, B-vitamins and folic acid. They also act as a “nutrient booster” by enabling the body to absorb more fat-soluble nutrients, such as alpha and beta-carotene and lutein, in foods that are eaten with the fruit.

Avocados and Cardiovascular Disease

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, but a healthy diet and exercise plan may help reduce your risk of developing the life-threatening illness.
The American Heart Association (AHA) Dietary Guidelines recommend a diet that has at least five servings of fruits and vegetables, contains up to 30% of calories from fats (primarily unsaturated) and is low in saturated fat, cholesterol, trans fats and sodium while being rich in potassium. Avocados can help you meet the AHA dietary guidelines because they have both monosaturated and polyunsaturated fat and contain potassium.

Want more avocado recipes?

If you liked this, you might like other avocado recipes like Shrimp Cobb from More Time at the Table

Pico de Gallo Halibut on Warm Rice Salad with Bacon Pintos from More Time at the Table

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Every Friday for the foreseeable future, I’ll be blogging one of the 38 healthiest ingredients from POWER FOODS : 150 DELICIOUS RECIPES WITH THE 38 HEALTHIEST INGREDIENTS by the editors of Whole Living Magazine.

38 Power Foods is a group effort! Stop by these other blogs and see what they’re cooking each week as we team up to bring you some of the healthiest cooking available:

Ansh – SpiceRoots.com

Casey – bookcasefoodie.wordpress.com

Jeanette – JeanettesHealthyLiving.com

Jill – SaucyCooks

Martha – Simple-Nourished-Living.com

Mireya – MyHealthyEatingHabits.com

Sarah – Everything in the Kitchen Sink
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As we go along, I’m guessing we’ll get some other writers involved. If you’re interested in joining the gang writing each week, get in touch with Mireya from My Healthy Eating Habits: Mireya@MyHealthyEatingHabits.com

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two-dog kitchen and around the ‘hood
first three taken with my iphone

Sweet Peas next door in front yard

My hydrangeas from the west garden

South garden hostas in bloom

All the toys are mine, you see. Right?

Sing a new song,
Alyce

Wake up and smell the salsa.
This is not salsa made in New York City.
Nor in San Antonio.
This salsa is made in your house. On your cutting board.
And not in your Cuisinart.

Plant your gardens and sharpen your knives.

This salsa is worth the time it takes to grow the ingredients and make it by hand. But you can make it in its glorious Mexican-flag colors this weekend in honor of Cinco de Mayo if you’d like!

If you’ve not been part of this journey thus far, welcome to my addition to a great group of food bloggers who are, week by week, cooking dishes from the 50 Women Game-Changers in Food from Gourmet Live. This Friday we feature Mexican chef, teacher, and cookbook author, Diana Kennedy, a Brit (b. 1923) who ended up in Mexico in love with Mexican food for more than fifty years. Intent on sharing her passion, Kennedy wrote many cookbooks, (I count about twenty, though some are in English and some in Spanish.) but has remained most intent on passing on information about the culture of ingredients, agriculture, and cuisine all over the country.

“I’m a very active person,” she said. “I want to spend the rest of my days doing what I know best and that’s identifying what people are using in the culture.” Read more

Want to check out a recent interview? Read a 2011 interview with 88 year-old Diana Kennedy here.

But let’s get to the good stuff. How do you make this salsa? And what’s it good for?

fresh salsa mexicana from jerez

1 poblano chile—stems, seeds, and veins removed and flesh finely chopped
1 red jalapeño chile—stems, seeds, and veins removed and flesh finely chopped
2 yellow chiles—stems, seeds and veins removed and flesh finely chopped *
2 serrano chiles, finely chopped
3 tablespoons finely chopped white onion
1 ripe medium tomato (about 4 ounces), finely chopped
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon crumbled dried oregano
Salt

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl; season with salt to taste. Set aside to macerate for about 1 hour.

*Not wanting an overly-hot salsa, I substituted red bell pepper for these chiles. My salsa was quite mild. For a hotter salsa, try adding first one and then another yellow chile.

Recipe courtesy FOOD & WINE.

This salsa was really tasty with eggs, and while I’m not a chip-eater, I did try it with some tortilla chips and would have eaten more if I weren’t saving some for a Friday night movie. I think it would make a great veggie dip; I’m always looking for vegetable-based dips. You could ladle this sauce over simple greens or plain steamed vegetables. I thought I’d try it with some plain grilled chicken and then in a chicken taco salad over the weekend. My guess is it won’t keep more than a couple of days, but who would want it to?

I just loved the colors and intrinsic beauty of the ingredients and kept taking photographs of the greens and the reds….