Berry Chicken Salad

It's no secret that I am not the chef of the family.  When I do make things they are simple.  It can't get much simpler than this chicken salad we had last weekend for supper one night!

This salad only has three ingredients.

• 15 ounces chicken, canned

• 1/4 cup dried berries (our mix had blueberries, cherries and raspberries)

• 1/2 cup mayo or Miracle Whip (we used light Miracle Whip)

*We had wanted to put celery in but needed such a small amount that purchasing it didn't make sense!

Mix them all together and there you have it.  Berry chicken salad for a hot summer night.  It takes all of five minutes to throw together - you can't really beat that! 

We had ours with Tostitos black bean and garlic tortilla chips.  

Since I am counting calories we figured out the calories in this chicken salad!  One ounce is just under 37 calories.  I had six ounces with sixteen chips (which is two servings) and felt full.

We made a second, double, batch and I portioned it out for work - easy lunch!

Yes, this is probably boring to most people.  Yes, I am sure there are plenty of other things that would "spice" this up.  I appreciate it's simplicity and the fact that it takes minutes to make.  I also like the fact that I was easily able to figure out calorie information.  It makes following my "Lose It" app a lot easier and a lot more accurate ;)

Linked to "Tasty Tuesday"

Southwest Stuffed Peppers

Last week we experimented with a new stuffed pepper recipe.  The bell peppers at the store put us in the mood for stuffed peppers but we didn't want traditional ones so we came up with a new recipe!

*Bare with me - since we were experimenting we didn't keep track of how much of most things we were using.  In the end, I suppose it really depends on how many peppers you are making and their size!  We had extra rice mixture which went perfect with a grilled chicken breast in a lunch to bring to work!


Ingredients:

Bell peppers, any color
Seasoned, cooked chicken breasts - shredded
Taco seasoning
 Cooked, white rice
Black beans
Salsa
Corn
Onion - diced
Tomato sauce
One egg
Queso Fresco

Step One:  Cook your chicken breasts and shred them.  Season them with your favorite taco seasoning.
Step Two:  Hollow out your peppers and save the tops (the ring around the stem) - they will be diced and mixed in with the "stuffing!"
  Step Three:  In a bowl, mix the cooked rice, black beans (drained), salsa, corn, diced onion and diced pepper tops.  Use one raw egg to help make the mixture stick together.
Step Four:  Fill the peppers with the rice mixture
Step Five: Layer the seasoned, shredded chicken in a baking dish (we used our 8x8 Pyrex.)

Step Six:  Place the stuffed peppers over the chicken and cover them with tomato sauce.
Step Seven:  Cover the pan with tin foil and bake for about one hour at 350 degrees.

Step Eight:  Serve with queso fresco crumbled over the top and a side of sour cream and/or salsa if you wish!

This dish turned out awesome!  It was exactly the taste that we were going for.  You can really tailor this recipe/idea to your tastes.  Instead of chicken you could use ground beef or steak and I am confident it would be equally delicious.  Diced tomatoes would probably be a good addition to this as well.  The possibilities are endless :)


Linked to Tasty Tuesday.