Sunday, January 27, 2013

Chipotle Chicken Salad!

I really have a deep and all-encompassing love of mayonnaise. It's shameful, really. I don't talk about it much. You may have noticed there are a lot of various "salad" recipes that in no way involve lettuce (except for that BLT pasta salad) on this blog: Pasta salad, potato salad, broccoli salad. And really the only unifying factor is the mayo. So I guess that's what they mean by "salad." Which I love. 

I don't really have a point there other than that mayonnaise is totally delicious. I blame my mom. I assume that's how she got me to eat steamed broccoli and artichokes as a kid, both of which I fondly recall accompanying meals. I don't really like sweet things, so mayonnaise and cheese are my main vices. I'm totally ok with that. This chipotle chicken salad is great, use enough chipotle and it gives you a lovely burn that the mayo quells in a beautiful, velvety way. If you don't like spicy stuff, you can use less but if there are two other things I couldn't imagine cooking without, it would be garlic and hot peppers, so this probably isn't the place for you anyway. 

Chipotle chicken salad: simple and delicious


2 cups cooked chicken, cubed or shredded as you see fit
1/2 cup mayo (maybe more)
1/4 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt
3 chipotle peppers in adobo and 1-3 tsp adobo sauce
5 scallions, sliced 
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
juices of half a lime
1 TB cilantro, chopped
dash salt and pepper

Mix it all together and enjoy the spicy deliciousness. If you do not enjoy spicy foods, don't make this!

Modifications:
Replace chipotle with 2-3 TB buffalo sauce, add 1/4 cup blue cheese crumbled, and 1 stalk diced celery for buffalo "wing" salad!

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