Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Greek Chicken Salad



So in the event that you are unaware, I am somewhat of a chicken salad queen around these parts.  That’s right.  So much so in fact, last week when a friend sent out a birthday invite, an immediate response from one of the guests was “Will there be chicken salad?”, and I think he was serious. 

I’ve been making the same kind for years.  One I just concocted on my own – it’s a basic recipe but with a couple little twists to give it some extra flair.  Obviously people like my flair as I’ve been asked for the recipe multiple times and finally had to actually think about each step and write it all down.  Seriously…once you’ve had a taste of my salad, you’ll definitely be back for more… 

I’m always on the lookout for new variations to try.  Last year I discovered a recipe for a poppy seed version, which I posted about here.  It’s also quite good.  The almonds add some crunch and the grapes give it a summery sweetness.

But now it’s on to the third!  This recipe was actually for a chicken salad wrap, which just sounded awesome.  I don’t know about you, but sometimes I go through phases of pretty much only wanting sandwiches or wraps, they are just so satisfying – a full meal wrapped up in one package.  However as I’ve mentioned before, I try to keep the carbs at a minimum as summer approaches (beach body, baby!), so I actually ate this over a bed of arugula.  It was delicious as a salad, and I’m sure would be even better as a wrap.  If you like Greek salad, this is a no-brainer, it’s healthy, filling and chock full o’ flavor.


Ingredients
1 (16 oz) can Chick Peas/Garbanzo Beans, drained
¼ cup Italian of Greek dressing (I made my own Greek dressing, see note)
¼ cup Greek yogurt or light sour cream (I used about 1/3 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt)
1 cup cooked chicken, diced or shredded and cooled (Use 2 cups – its chicken salad!)
½ cup diced cucumber
2 Tbsp diced red onion
1 roma tomato, cored and diced
6 (8 inch) flour tortillas, warmed slightly for easy rolling (optional)
1 cup spinach (or arugula/mixed baby greens)
½ cup feta cheese
6 olives (regular or Kalamata), quartered
*I upped most of the ingredients, especially the chicken – stick with 1 can of beans though.

Instructions
  1. Place half of the garbanzo beans in a large bowl. Gently mash with a potato masher or fork.
  2. Add the remaining garbanzo beans, dressing, yogurt, chicken, cucumber, onion, tomato, feta, and olives to the bowl. Gently stir until well coated and combined.
  3. If using, lay out the tortillas and place some spinach down the center of each.  Place a couple of spoonfuls of the chicken salad mixture in the center of each tortilla on top of the spinach.  Roll tightly and serve.  Otherwise spoon over greens and serve.
Note:  For the Greek dressing, I measured nothing, but here is what I used – red wine vinegar, dried oregano, dried basil, garlic powder, onion powder, Dijon mustard, salt & pepper to taste, and EV olive oil.