Chicken Taco Salad

(Crystal Light Salad and Parker House Rolls are keeping the Chicken Taco Salad company)

I got the BEST recipe from my Fabulous Friend, Kelly C.,  a couple weeks ago and I have been dying to make it! Luckily, I had some chicken breasts leftover over from camp that I had cooked in the crock pot, and put in the freezer for a busy day dinner. Yesterday, qualified as a busy day, so I grabbed a bag of shredded chicken to thaw out. The recipe is perfect for using up leftover chicken (although, you could cook the chicken in a skillet right before you make the salad). The salad was quick and easy to put together and was delicious!
I will definitely being adding this to my Summer mainstay recipes! A DOUBLE thank you to darling Kelly for sharing her recipe with me, you saved my family from eating PB&J!

Chicken Taco Salad

(feeds six adults)

4 chicken breasts cooked and shredded
2 packages of taco seasoning mix
1 1/2 cups water
1 bag of lettuce mix (or 6 cups chopped lettuce)
2 tomatoes, chopped
4 - 6 green onions, sliced
2 cups shredded cheddar, colby jack, or mexican style cheese
1 regular size bag of nacho flavor Doritios ( I think they are 10 - 12 oz)
1 cup prepared ranch dressing

1. Add chicken, taco seasoning packets, and water to a skillet. Cook until water is absorbed and chicken is heated through. Set aside.
2. Combine salad, tomatoes, and onions in a large bowl.
3. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top of the lettuce mixture.
4. Place warm chicken mixture on top of cheese.
5. Crush nacho flavored chips ( I did this in the bag) and pour over the top of the chicken.
6. Pour salad dressing over chips and mix until salad is well combined.

I added avocado of my salad (the rest of the family are not fans of avocado). Yummy!!!

Pudding Salad

I got this recipe years ago out of a Church sponsored cook book that I found at a thrift store. I have tweaked the original recipe several times, but it is now a tried and true favorite at our house. Since, this shows up in my menu's quite often, I thought it would be fun to share with all of you. The beauty of this recipe is that you can put any type of leftover fruit into it, and it always tastes great. Here are the staples you will need:

Pudding Salad

1 (3.4 oz) box of instant pudding

1 1/2 cups liquid (if  I am using canned fruit I use the juice from the can. If using fresh fruit I use water)

3 cups of fruit (canned, fresh, or a combination)

1 (8 oz) container of whipped topping

Whisk liquid into the dry pudding mixture. Let sit for 2 - 3 minutes. Add fruit and stir until well combined. Fold in whipped topping. Chill for at least an hour.

If you are on a restricted diet or watching your weight you can substitute sugar free pudding, and sugar free whipped topping. It will still taste great! Some of our favorite combinations are:

• Lemon pudding, mandarin oranges, pineapple, and bananas
• Cheesecake pudding, strawberries, blueberries, and bananas
• Vanilla pudding, peaches, pears, and pineapple
• Chocolate pudding, bananas, strawberries, and pineapple, chopped almonds

Crystal Light Salad

In keeping with ideas related to summer picnics, I thought I would share my families favorite fruit salad recipe. I got this recipe during a T Ball game several summers ago. It is very easy to throw together, and you can use whatever fruit happens to be on sale. The Crystal Light acts as a preservative (citric acid), and it keeps the fruit fresh (even sliced bananas) for a week (if it lasts that long).
I have even tried this out on extended family and friend. Everyone loves it! Word of caution though, if you have little kids in the crowd stay away from red colored Crystal Light (unless you like taking your kids to church with a semi permanent, bright red mustache!).

Crystal Light Salad

1 personal sized water melon, cubed
1 cantaloupe or honey dew melon
1 pound container of strawberries; hulled
3 - 4 cups grapes
3 - 4 sliced bananas
1 (15 oz) can pineapple chunks or 2 cups fresh pineapple
1 packet of Crystal Light (the one you add to make 2 quarts of punch)

Add fruit into a LARGE bowl. Sprinkle packet Crystal Light over fruit. Toss to coat fruit. Refrigerate overnight to let the flavors blend.

• You can use Wyler's or generic brand in place of Crystal Light
• Pink Lemonade, Strawberry, Strawberry Kiwi, and Raspberry are all yummy.
  
• I have also added in raspberries, blueberries, peaches, kiwi, and plums.

I keep a bowl of this in the fridge all summer long for snacking, or a quick addition to any meal.

How To Make Potato Salad

My friend brought my faux paus to my attention; I did not post the recipe for Potato Salad in my previous post. I didn't think about it at the time, because I have never made potato salad from a recipe. Now I really know that I am my Grandmother's granddaughter, because she never made salad with a recipe either. She may have started out with one, but it snowballed quickly! Plus, I have a confession to make! I have only started making decent Potato Salad in recent years (quite frankly, it scared me). It was only after my Mother in law (who IS the reigning Queen of Potato Salad) literally walk me through the process step by step that I was willing to claim my own creations. After much brain racking I have pinpointed down the ingredients. So, here is my official written recipe for Potato Salad:

Potato Salad

(this recipe will make enough for a moderate size gathering)
4 large potatoes, cooked
6 - 8 large eggs, boiled and peeled
1 medium onion, chopped fine
3 - 4 large pickles (to make 3/4 cup)
2 cups mayonnaise (more or less)
3 tablespoons prepared mustard
2 - 3 tablespoons pickle juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
paprika

Cube potatoes in medium size pieces and place in a large bowl. Chop eggs and pickles; add to potatoes. Mince onion and add to bowl. Add in mayonnaise, pickle juice, mustard, salt, and pepper. Stir ingredients together until well combined. Sprinkle paprika over the top of the salad. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

Helpful tips:

• Start out with a larger bowl than you think you will need. Potato salad increases in size rapidly. A large bowl also makes stirring ingredients together easier.
• Boil the potatoes whole with the skins on for 20 -25 minutes until tender. Let them cool until you can handle them comfortably, then peel the potatoes. The skins will slip right off.
• Boil potatoes and eggs the day before you make the salad. Refrigerate overnight. It makes them easier to cut up.
• If you have a food processor use it to chop the onions, pickles, and eggs. Just pulse until the desired size is reached. Chop the eggs last in the processor; they are the messiest.
  
• Leftover baked potatoes are great for making potato salad.
• The more boiled eggs in potato salad the better. The cooked yolks help give the salad it's texture (Grandma said: the rule of thumb is 1 1/2 eggs for every potato used in your salad).
• Potato salad is forgiving. You can add more or less of any ingredient to suit your tastes.
• Potatoes absorb the mayo as it sits. If your salad looks dry (like there is not enough sauce to coat the potatoes well) add more mayo. It's better to have to much than not enough; in this case.
  
• Potato salad is best if it has time to chill (and the flavors blend). At least two or three hours. Overnight is the best.
• If you are going to serve your salad outside in hot weather. Bring a bowl larger than the salad bowl with you. Fill it half way with crushed ice, and place the salad bowl on top of the ice (replenish ice as necessary). It will keep the salad cold (nobody like food poisoning).