's motd Wednesday April 23, 2008

[Guest guest]

POLLO ENSALADA

Wednesday, 23 April 2008

Oh my taste buds were truly happy last night at dinner. It's been so very hot lately here in Los Angeles and I've been eating lots of salads to help me keep cool. Hey, I've been trying to lose just a few more pounds before the Cruise To Lose, too! LOL.

So yesterday afternoon, I made a spicy and sweet chicken salad that was so-o-o good and here's how I made it.First, I took a pan and filled it with about a cup of water. As the water began to boil, I put in five chicken breasts then covered the pan. After they boiled for about twelve minutes, I removed one of the breasts to see how well it was cooked. I cut into it and saw that it was perfectly done, nice and moist!So I removed the rest of the breasts and put them all into the refrigerator for about half an hour. You can't cut chicken breasts up like you want when they're still hot because they just crumble. That little time in the fridge makes them a lot easier to dice.While the chicken breasts were cooling off in the fridge, I cut up about four stalks of celery into bite-size pieces. Next, I took a small can of water chestnuts, rinsed them and sliced them up also. Then I took a Fiji apple, you know them. They're in the produce section, near the regular apples and are slightly browner than most apples. They have a texture more like a pear but still have the taste of a sweet apple. I peeled the apple then cut it into small chunks. After they'd cooled off enough, I took the chicken breasts from the refrigerator and cut them into bite-size pieces. Then I took two tablespoons of low-fat mayonnaise, two teaspoons of Dijon mustard and a dash of cayenne pepper and mixed all of those ingredients with the chicken, veggies and fruit. After tossing them all together, I added a tablespoon of finely chopped parsley.

After that, I put my chicken salad into the refrigerator to let all of the flavors mingle while I was away at class. By the time I got home...oh, the flavor waiting for me! You have the moist chicken, the crunchy celery, water chestnuts and those Fiji apples give the salad a sweet little kick. The cayenne pepper adds the perfect compliment to a tasty little marriage of flavors.I served my salad on a finely shredded bed of purple cabbage and enjoyed it with some whole-wheat crackers. Let's just say, I did not go to bed hungry! I ate the right size portion of the salad and was truly satisfied with what I ate. So when the weather gets hot where you are or if it's hot there already, try my cool chicken salad. And by the way, other fruits you can add to this salad besides the Fiji apples are diced pineapple, mango or mandarin oranges.Have a great salad and let me know how you like it! Love,