Chipotle Chicken Salad

Call me an earthquake virgin.  As a relative newcomer to SoCal, I found myself a bit confused, not scared by yesterday's Easter earthquake.  While I felt the floor gently sway, it took me a few moments to decipher whether I was still feeling the effects of our Saturday Funday or whether we were having a very long earthquake.  During these moments of profound thought, I stood in the absolute worst place in our house: underneath our hanging pot rack, next to our cabinets full of glasses and plates.  Hmm, not smart.  Thank goodness most are safe and sound and chalking this up to a learning experience...including me!  Other than that, I enjoyed the sunny weekend with some good friends who drove down to visit and a big Easter brunch full of pancakes, sausage and kale (yes, kale!) with hubby.  He proclaimed we were probably the only people in America dining on kale during our Easter brunch.  Anyone want to prove him wrong?

After a long and eventful weekend I wanted to make something super simple for dinner tonight.  After rummaging through random cooking magazines on my bookshelf, I found a winner from a 2006 Cooking Light.  Can you say hoarder?  ha.  I have held on to this magazine for 4 years now, and am finally made something from it. Luckily, it was a winner of a recipe so I didn't have to feel like such a loser.  It's super simple to throw together and if you're feeling lazy, buying pre-cooked chicken will speed up the already speedy recipe.

**I have a great giveaway coming up later this week so check back in!**

Chipotle Chicken Salad
Cooking Light, 8/06

Dressing:
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2/3 cup light sour cream
1 tablespoon minced chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
4 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon salt

Chicken:
2 large chicken breasts
Creole seasoning
Kosher salt
pepper

Salad:
4 cups romaine lettuce, chopped (I used a mix of chopped spinach and romaine)
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup diced avocado
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can corn, rinsed an drained

1. Combine dressing ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.

2. Season chicken breasts with creole seasoning, salt and pepper to taste. Heat olive oil in a skillet and saute chicken on both sides until fully cooked through.

3. To make salad, combine all salad ingredients in a large bowl. Add chicken. Toss with dressing and serve immediately.