Lately, I’ve been grooving on creating dishes by emptying out the fridge. It’s alarmingly easy to lose track of what’s inside that big, white petri dish, not to mention the cupboards, so I try to take inventory on the weekend before more groceries arrive. I’m rarely successful, but this past weekend I (mostly) was.
For this recipe, I had cooked chicken on hand. I’m positive cubed tofu, seasoned with salt and pepper, would be equally yummy. (I’ll let you know – right now, I have chicken but no tofu.)
Chilled Rice and Chicken Salad
2 cups cooked rice, cooled
1 cup cooked chicken breast, cooled and cubed; or 1 cup cubed firm tofu
A couple handful s of fresh spinach, steamed (I threw it in the steamer on top of the rice)
¼ of a Granny Smith apple, cubed (or whatever apple you have on hand)
½ cup cucumber, diced
¼ cup green pepper, diced
¼ cup craisins
¼ cup sliced black olives (I’ve been adding them to almost everything – I’m on a kick)
3 tbsp of your favourite creamy salad dressing (I used artichoke and asiago yogurt dressing because that’s what I had)
Mix well. Chill before serving. Makes 2 hearty lunches or 4 sides.
If you’ve checked out my other recipes, you may have noticed that we eat a lot of meat in my house. We just do. We go organic when we can. I eat tofu at every opportunity. But I also spend Sunday mornings putting the week’s fresh (or thawed) meat through the pressure cooker and cleaning up one disaster a week instead of doing it daily.
The result is that we eat less meat. My man, who is meat-addicted, seems not to have noticed (please don’t say anything) and my boy is quite satisfied – he has his favourites, but he’s not a huge fan of meat and I see no reason to insist. Myself? I absolutely love meat. I have little desire to give it up for good, but I don’t need it with every meal I consume.
Simpl●City 