So there is a dish of leftover rotisserie chicken in my fridge.  Hot days mean I prefer no cooking whenever possible.  Something cool and refreshing like a salad would be nice; top with some chicken and you have a delightful meal.

Let me share a salad I made with the veggies in my fridge and some of that tender tasty chicken, my easy recipe is at https://myworldwithoutwheat.wordpress.com/2015/06/13/hot-day-slow-cooker-rotisserie-chicken-revolution/ or buy one if you prefer.  Use a salad dressing you enjoy but I want to give you my favorite recipe for vinaigrette; I keep a jar of it in the fridge and generally my company requests it for salad hands down over any bottled store gf dressing.

Angie’s Supper Salad (for one; double for two)

A big handful of fresh garden greens: I used loose leaf ones from the garden.  Use what you prefer but please, no ice burg!

2-4 radishes, cut into thin slices

Half an avocado, cut into it to create cubes and scoop out with a spoon

¼-1/2 cup slices of European cucumber; I like to cut them into half moons

1 stalk celery cut into thin half moons.

1/3 cup chick peas

½ cup diced rotisserie chicken

½ cup fresh green beans, steamed for 3-4 minutes until tender crisp; cooled

Directions:

I arrange the lettuce on a dinner plate.  Top with the radishes, cucumber, celery and then the avocado and chick peas.

Put the diced chicken on top and then the green beans; see picture!  Pour dressing lightly over the salad. Enjoy!

Notes: don’t cut the chicken into tiny or huge pieces; make them bite sized.  Don’t overcook the green beans. Swap out anything you despise for a veggie you prefer.   This is a good flavor combination though so if you like these vegetables you should adore this salad.

Vinaigrette Dressing:

Here is my basic vinaigrette recipe.  You can alter it to your tastes and leftovers keep for several weeks in the fridge.  I use one of those Good Seasoning’s jars but add my own ingredients. You can use any jar with a tight lid and measure in the ingredients.

Fill it to the vinegar line with red wine vinegar, not cheap stuff (1/4 cup)

Add some filtered water to the water line (about 1/3 inch more or 2 tbsp)

½ tsp Dijon mustard or whole grain mustard

½ tsp sea salt

¼ tsp dried thyme or oregano

one garlic clove (peeled and mashed down a bit to release flavor)

1 tsp mayonnaise

¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

½ tsp sugar or 1 tsp. honey

Top off with some extra virgin olive oil, stop a bit before the oil line and finish it with lighter olive oil (total of ½ cup plus 1 tbsp.)

Shake it up really well.  It tastes best at room temperature. Try to remember to make it early so you can let it marinate for at least an hour before you use it.  Keep leftover dressing in the refrigerator. The mustard adds snap and the bit of mayonnaise helps the dressing stay emulsified (fully blended) longer than it would without the mayo.

Use the veggies you have and don’t sweat the proportions but don’t put too much of any one veggie in; you want them to be like treasures to be discovered in the nest of fresh greens all lightly coated with your tasty vinaigrette.  If you prefer another dressing choice I recommend trying to make your own green goddess dressing; lots of versions on various cooking websites like foodnetwork.com.  Make yours full of fresh herbs and it will be delightful with this salad.

Be creative and have fun making healthy and yummy dinner salads that will satisfy your appetite and keep you feeling great!