Chicken salad with a creamy yogurt dressing

We’re trying to eat more salads in our home these days. My husband and Tiny love salads, but my older two daughters prefer ‘real food’ so I need to play around with the ingredients and make salads more appealing to them. The kids don’t go much for the ordinary ones with just olive oil or lemon juice, and although we all love the taco salad, it’s not the healthiest of foods. We needed to find salads that could be eaten as a meal, and not just a means to whet their appetite.

Last week we were traveling, and it happened to be dinner time while we were at the airport. While my family waited to board, I went in search of something to grab so we could eat on the airplane. I came across a southwest salad, and decided to try it. The salad had corn, beans, lettuce, a negligent amount of peppers and some shredded cheese. It came with a tangy dressing that was tasty though. I liked the idea of the salad, but somewhere along the line it seemed as if someone realized that it was headed to the airport, and decided to make it less than perfect. What is it with airport and airline food anyhow?

Anyway, since we’ve resolved to eat more salads, I decided to try my hand at this airport cafeteria inspired recipe. To make it healthy, I skipped the cheese. To make it tastier, I grilled the peppers and sautéed the corn. Adding some chicken made it extra filling. The result? My older two kids gobbled it up! And of course Tiny took seconds, God bless her. Whether you’re trying to eat healthy, or just need a quick lunch idea, give this salad a shot. You will not be disappointed.

This is how it’s made :

1. Take one chicken breast, and pierce it all over with a fork.

2. Heat and oil a skillet or griddle. Top 1 tsp of Old Bay seasoning over one side of the chicken breast. Place the spice side down onto the skillet and let it cook on high heat for 3 minutes. Sprinkle another tsp of seasoning over the top side of the chicken and flip it over . Turn the heat down to medium-low, and cook for 15 minutes, or until done. Take off flame, and place on a chopping board to cool, and chop into bite size pieces.

3. Take 1/2 cup of canned or thawed corn. In the same skillet that you cooked the chicken, add 1/2 tsp of oil, and put the corn in. Stir the corn and heat it through for about 2-3 minutes, so that it catches the bits of leftover spices from the chicken and caramelizes around the edges. Put it into the salad bowl.

4. Grill one bell pepper directly over a flame. 30 seconds each side, just to get a little char. Cool, chop and transfer to your salad bowl. 

5. Chop 2 tomatoes, 1 head of lettuce, and 3 tbsp cilantro and transfer to the bowl. Add 1/2 cup of black beans. Top with the chicken. 

6. Make the dressing by whisking 1/2 cup of yogurt, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 3 tbsp olive oil, 1/4 tsp pepper, a pinch of red chilli powder, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp brown sugar, 1/4 tsp cumin powder, and 2 tbsp of water. 

7. When you’re ready to serve, pour the dressing over the chicken + veggies, toss, and eat immediately. 

Note : You can substitute Old Bay seasoning for taco spice mix, or any other spices you choose.