Avocado Chicken Salad

When I saw this recipe on Pinterest I was intrigued. Avocado? In chicken salad? Sure! The fact that I was even attempting to make this recipe is amazing. I used to not like avocado at all. I would avoid avocados like the plague. I’m not sure what it was about them that made me feel icky but looking back I lost a lot of good avocado years by being so picky. My uncle used to live in this amazing house in Ventura, California (correct me if I’m wrong dad) with a huge avocado tree in the yard. My uncle and parents would use a very cool avocado picking tool to pull down tons of avocados. How I wish I could revisit that house.

Trying a new beer
in Switzerland

Husband has helped me see the light. He introduced me to how amazing avocados can be. We now split guacamole when we go out to eat and I am very happy to have avocados included in many meals. He does like to brag about how he has influenced some of my food choices. I hated cilantro before we met. Seeing me tip back a beer was a very rare occurrence pre husband but now I’m just as happy with a beer as I am with a glass of wine. Ah husband, always making my world a bigger happier place!

When I looked at this recipe there were no measurements at all. The ingredient list was short. The author gave me cooking freedom! I gathered all my ingredients and decided to start experimenting. The original recipe and photo both include mayo but I didn’t use any. The avocado was creamy enough to cover all the ingredients. Mayo would be good to have on hand though just in case. I added a stalk of celery because I had a few hanging out in my fridge. I thought about adding some chopped nuts but I didn’t have any. Dried cranberries came to mind too but husband isn’t a fan of fruit in his food so I left it out. After mixing everything together and gobbling up the goodness I realized I forgot the lime juice. Do not forget the lime juice!

I used two very small chicken breasts so one avocado coated everything nicely. Adjust the amount of avocado you need based on the amount of chicken and other goodness you included. I ate this with crackers. The original recipe suggests pita bread. Tortillas or lettuce wraps would be good too!

Enjoy!

So much green!

2 cups chicken, shredded
1 avocado
¼ cup cilantro, chopped
1 celery stalk, sliced
1 green onion, sliced
1 T. mayo (if needed)
1 T. lime juice
Salt and pepper
 
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Chill for at least one hour. Serve with pitas or crackers.

Inspired by http://becomingbetty.blogspot.com/2011/09/avocado-chicken-salad.html