Quick & Healthy Lettuce Chicken Salad

Dinner is a special meal at my place. It is one meal where all three of us sit down together for a meal and catch up on the day. Families that stay together, eat together is what I strongly believe in and try to ensure that we all sit down together and have our meals at the dining table. Fridays are an exception, it is movie day for the three of us and TV dinner is what we indulge in. Select a movie in advance, whip up something nice and quick and all of us and enjoying and commenting on actors and actresses and if it is a thriller then imaginations run wild:)

Dinner is also when the tastebuds start playing tricks and it has to be something nice and agreeable to all. These days with hubby keeping out all purpose flour and cetain other ingredients out of his diet and preferring the leaner options it is a balance trying to please his healthy appetite and the teens(yes, she stepped into her teens this August) craving tastebuds. Last night the dinner demand included chicken and luckily both hubby and daughter agreed to this lettuce chicken salad. I had made it a few days back and both of them liked it. With my daughter one ready to experiment with new tastes and ingredients I too am trying to get her to try new dishes which she would have otherwise flatly refused.

When I made this salad last time, I had the leaner version for him and me and the teen got her share of calories with a mayonnaise dressing. Thank fully she too agreed on the olive oil dressing this timeand so it turned out simpler than I thought. Also, my little teenager wanted to help out in the kitchen and decided to make the salad. From chopping to tossing she did it all.Time really flies and kids especially girls grow up so fast. It is nice to see the changes and her growing up into a caring intelligent and talented young girl however, the mother in me wants to hold on to every moment for long.

Coming back to the salad, this is a simple, quick recipe and is the perfect pick when you wish to cook with kids.

Recipe for Healthy Lettuce Chicken Salad
Ingredients:

Chicken – 200 gms (boneless, cut into thin long strips)
For the rub:
Paprika – ½ tsp
Garlic powder – ½ tsp
Salt to taste
Veggies for the salad:
1 head Lettuce (chopped into bite sized pieces)
1 large tomato (cubed into bite sized pieces)
1 cucumber (cubed into bite sized pieces)
Olives(cut into thin rings) –optional
For the Dressing:
Olive oil – 1.5 tbsp
Salt to taste
Garlic powder – ½ tsp
Paprika – ½ tsp
Lemon juice – 1.5 tbsp

Method for the Lettuce Chicken Salad
1-Rub the chicken strips with the ingredients mentioned under the rub(paprika,garlic powder and salt). Keep aside for 5 mins. Cook covered in a pan for 5-8 minutes. Do not add any water and let the chicken cook in its own juices. Open and let cook till all the water evaporates. Keep the chicken aside.
2-Add the chopped lettuce, tomato and cucumber in a bowl. Add in the cooked chicken.
3-Mix together all the ingredients listed under dressing. Mix well and pour over the vegetables and chicken. Toss well and serve with slices of bread. I served the salad with bread and also added in a clear chicken soup(recipe in next post) for a complete meal.
Enjoy!!