Carmie's Chicken Salad

If I had to choose one dish that is my go-to, crowd-pleasing, pot luck contribution, this would be it. For some reason, teachers and moms love it.

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Total:  35 minutes

Yields: 6-8 servings (can also be served as a side dish, see note at the bottom)

Ingredients

1 cup rice

2 cups cooked, diced chicken breasts

1 2.5-oz can sliced olives, drained

1 4-oz. can diced green chilis, drained

3 green onions, thinly sliced (white and green parts)

1 11-oz. can Green Giant Mexicorn, or any other canned corn, drained

1 avocado, chopped

½ cup chopped cilantro

½ cup tomatoes diced (Roma or Cherry work well)

Tortilla chips for serving

Dressing

⅓ cup Vegetable oil

2 T red wine vinegar

1 tsp. ground black pepper

4-5 cloves of garlic, minced

⅓ cup lemon juice

4-5 tsp.taco seasoning (like Shilling’s or Lawry’s)

Directions

Boil 2 cups of water, simmer, and continue cooking according to package directions.   Place in a bowl and cool. Mix all ingredients for the dressing. Combine the rice, chicken, olives, green chilies, onions, corn and toss with ½ the dressing.   At this point you can refrigerate overnight. Just before serving, add the rest of the dressing, avocado, tomato and cilantro. Toss gently and serve with tortilla chips.

This recipe was adapted from an original recipe by Carmie Rodriguez.

Can be used as a side dish by omitting chicken.