Wednesday, September 21

dinner in a hurry …

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Okay, so I am clearly not a food photographer, especially with the camera and editing issues I’ve been having.  But trust me, this one looked way better in person and it’s delicious.  It is one of my go-to meals year round whenever I need dinner in a hurry or I don’t want to turn the oven on.   A meal the whole family will eat, in less than 15 minutes?  I’m so there.  It’s too easy to even call a recipe, but here goes:

BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad

1/2-1 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce, depending on amount of chicken used

Chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces

Your favorite salad fixings (I used lettuce, tomato, cucumber and onions)

1/2-1 cup of corn, cooked and cooled

Shredded Cheese (I used the 4 cheese blend here) 

Ranch dressing

1.   In a medium to large saucepan, heat up enough BBQ sauce over medium high heat to coat the chicken.   For a family of 4, I find that 1/2 a cup is generally plenty. 

2.  When the sauce is warm, add in the chicken, stirring occasionally, until cooked through.  For bite sized pieces, this is usually 10 minutes, but do check a piece for doneness before you take the chicken off the stove. 

3.   While the chicken is cooking, cook the corn, and prepare the salad.   I like to put it in a ring around the outside of the platter, and then leave a space in the center for the chicken.   This way the heat of the chicken won’t wilt your lettuce.  

4.   When the corn is cooked, run it under cold water for a bit and then drain thoroughly.    Sprinkle the corn on top of the salad.  

5.  Top the corn and salad with cheese.  

6.  When the chicken is done, put it in the center of the salad and serve with Ranch dressing.

7.  Optional:  If you want to be a little bad, this salad also works great with fried onion strips, tortilla strips or chips, or croutons. 

The nice thing about this salad is you can make it as healthy or as naughty as you’d like.   I find the salad is satisfying the way it is, so I just use a tiny bit of dressing to give it a little zest.  But the combination of flavors really works well together.

Enjoy!


Best,

Stephanie

10 comments:

  1. That looks delicious! Hope you're having a great week Stephanie.

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  2. Stephanie, you creative thing you! I like how you managed to take it all and looks so festive! I can see the cake maker in you in this one too! Thanks for the recipe...these come in so handy. We had the same for dinner tonight and trust me....mine did not look half as good!

    Jeanne xx

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  3. Delicious food, delicious photography!

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  4. oh man. this looks great. i always get the bbq chicken salad when i go to california pizza kitchen. now i can make it at home.

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  5. it looks really good! i think the kids would be into this! and if it's quick that's even better! it's hard to make something that all five of us love! thanks for stopping by!! susan

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  6. This looks so yummy and would be a nice chnage from the taco salad I serve weekly! My kids and hubby thank you in advance.
    xxoo

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  7. This looks divine! And the best part is I have all the ingredients! LOL!

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  8. If I still cooked, I would try this. Just for one, it is just no fun. I would love a big helping of yours.

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  9. Hi Stephanie
    Autumn must be bringing out the foodie in you.. this looks and sounds yummy..

    Well I've just been popping back through some of your posts i missed whilst i was OS... and Maine!! I love it and it's long been on my list of places I'd like to see if and when I do the east coast of US.. I nearly went there instead of europe.. it was a coin toss.. haha.. thanks for the shots to keep me day dreaming.. ciao xxx Julie

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  10. Yummmmmmmmm!!! Steph, I want to come to your house for dinner so bad! And I love that you are creating more posts about the food you prepare. How's your kitchen coming along?

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