News Taffy

With the 4th of July on Monday, there are bound to be parties or family reunions all weekend which all require plenty of food for hungry folks. Of course you could trot out the usual hotdogs and hamburgers alongside some potato salad and baked beans or you could try something a little bit different and a lot healthier. I promise it tastes good too.

Lately I’ve been experimenting with making my own salad dressing from just a few simple ingredients like lemon juice, olive oil and some fresh herbs. The taste is amazingly fresh and allows the flavors of the salad ingredients to shine instead of covering up the taste with gobs of fatty, surgery salad dressing. You should try making your own salad dressing too, like this one I made last night. We thought it was wonderful on the grilled chicken as well. The key to using less salad dressing overall, (thus less fat) is to toss the salad well before serving so that the dressing is evenly distributed and all the ingredients are coated.

Avocado Salad Dressing

1 avocado
juice of 1 lime
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Blend all ingredients in a food processor, Magic Bullet or blender. Add a bit of water to thin as necessary. Some fresh cilantro would be amazing in this as well!

I made this simple meal for dinner last week and we all loved it. Best of all, there were leftovers for lunch the next day. You could easily double this recipe for a crowd; as it is, it feeds 6. It is good warm or cold.

Mexican Chicken and Rice Salad

2 chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup rice, try brown rice or jasmine rice for a different flavor
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 cup cherry tomatoes, chopped
1 cup frozen corn
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
8 oz. shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese
6 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. garlic powder
3 Tbsp olive oil, divided
salt and pepper to taste
juice from 1 lemon
juice from 1 lime
1 avocado

Cook rice according to package directions or use a rice cooker. If using brown rice, you will have to allow an hour for it to finish cooking; regular rice takes 30 minutes or less. Heat 1 Tbsp. olive oil in a non stick skillet over medium high heat. Mix the chili powder, cumin, garlic powder and salt and pepper in a small bowl. Sprinkle the chicken with the seasonings mix and add chicken to the skillet. Cook chicken for about 10 minutes until cooked through and is lightly brown. Remove chicken from skillet; add corn and cook until lightly browned.

While chicken and rice cook, prepare other ingredients and place in a large bowl. Add chicken, corn and rice when cooked. Squeeze the juice from the lime and lemon over the salad, drizzle with remaining olive oil. Toss gently and season with salt and pepper as needed. Top with slices of avocado. Refrigerate leftovers, good for up to 5 days.