Californian Chicken Salad

We've all had those days where you just don't want to cook but still want to eat. Between school and work we don't always have time to cook large meals, which sucks because after a full day of school and/or work you're usually able to eat a large meal. Luckily for me (and Mike) I've fully embraced the power of the rotisserie chicken. Oh my goodness how didn't I see it before - especially since, at one point, I was living with 3 roommates! Now don't think I chose the name Californian Chicken Salad because I'm trying to say you get nothing but shortcuts in California cooking. Au contraire mon cheri! California cooking is full of flavor, freshness, comfort, ease, (and my personal favorite) AVOCADO!! Let's be honest you can go to a restaurant anywhere and if there's avocado on the food it usually has California in the title. Anyway, I love this salad because it wasn't too heavy to eat late at night, it was delicious, and it was easy.

What You'll Need:

1 rotisserie chicken

1 bag of Italian blend ready to serve salad

1 tomato

crutons

1-2 avocados 

your favorite dressing

Start by taking the chicken breast skin off. Use a fork or you fingers to peel off chunks of chicken and heat them up in the pan. I chose to warm them up because I like the warmness of the chicken with the coolness of the dressing.The best part of the rotisserie chicken is that you don't have to season it at all. The second best part is that it'll be warmed up in minutes.

While the chicken is warming up cut up your avocado and tomato and put them in a bowl with the salad. You don't have to add croutons but we've been adding them to salads, including side salads, a lot lately. We always mix up the brands we get but I don't think you can really mess up croutons....

One brand we ALWAYS have is Marie's ranch. This is our favorite because it's perfect for dipping or salads because it's the perfect mix of tangy and creamy. Add the amount you want to your salad-crouton-avocado-tomato mix. 

 
Add your heated chicken on top of the salad.

TOSS, MIX, TOSS.... Ha ha and your done!

This salad is for all of my foodie friends that feel like they don't always have the time or the energy but know that your meal can still be fabulous as long as it's tasty! Serve with a glass of white wine (because you deserve it) and enjoy! Cheers!