Chicken Salad with Samantha Bann

I have tried to instill a love for cooking in my daughter, just as my grandmother and mother did for me. They’re the ones who gave me my passion for food. I love spending time in the kitchen with my daughter, teaching her the tools of my trade, having her experience the love for my passion. I show her how to properly handle every ingredient like it’s a piece of art, and how how every ingredient should be used at the peak of freshness. We love to go shopping every day, and she has learned to hand -ick every item, as she knows that vegetables should always be used only when they are fresh and of highest quality.

One of her favorite dishes is something that is quite simple to make, and it’s great for summertime. It’s light and refreshing, but packed full of protein and healthy fat. I always try to find different ways to incorporate different foods into my children’s diets.

As a bonus, this meal looks pretty when served at luncheons. I also serve this dish as a sandwich; it tastes amazing on toasted sourdough bread.

Chicken Salad with Avocado

• 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup yogurt, plain or you can use soy mayo
• 1 celery stalk or celery seeds (I prefer those)
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 ½ tablespoons of finely chopped chives, green onion each
• Salt
• A tiny bit of lemon juice (as my daughter says)
• Roasted chicken (I buy one from the market for this and pull it off the bone)
• Hass avocados that are ripe, sliced in half
• Butter lettuce
• French dressing

Method:

1. Pull all the meat off the bone and slice up. Combine all your ingredients (except for the avocado). Sometimes I’ll add cumin and chili powder for flavor just to change it up a bit.
2. Slice the avocado in half and remove the skin.
3. Spoon the chicken into the avocado and place onto the butter lettuce.
4. Drizzle with the French dressing and garnish with some of the chives.

Until next time…Samantha Bann

Visit Samantha’s website at Vegas Valley Catering!