Dinner Impossible

Dinner around here has been difficult lately...more on that later. Basically, there hasn't been much planning or sticking to any plan. It is summer. We've been outside, and we've been busy...among other things. Tonight I planned way ahead. I actually had the chicken thawed out and got a couple avocados out of the fridge to make sure they were nice and ripe. I still managed to require a trip to the grocery store when I discovered the lettuce was bad. The husband was thrilled because they had Rockstars on sale. Men are so easy to please.

My plan was to make these delicious looking buffalo chicken tacos from a blog of another Coastie wife (who makes absolutely amazingly decorated cookies...check them out!) We start cooking. Yes, we...God bless him for pitching in so much in the kitchen lately. The girls love to be in the ktichen too, so it was a family effort. Everything is smooth sailing until he asks how many tortillas are left in the bag. I open the bag and say "Three...er that's one's moldy..........oh wait, they are ALL moldy!" Brett who has maxed his patience with my lack of cooking tells me I need to run back to the store. I should mention he's been doing all the grocery runs too. Today was the first day I had gone, and I was not going back. Not happening. I start suggesting nachos, and he exits the kitchen and tells me to figure it out. ;) The chicken is cooked (per her delicious recipe), the toppings are chopped, and we have no tortillas. I debated nachos or a salad. I love a good salad, so I started tossing things together. It turned out to be amazing...sheer and utter heaven in your mouth. When I served Brett's plate and he took a bite, he conceded that it was a blessing in disguise because dinner was so delightful. So if you are looking for a delicious salad, which we especially love during the summer, give this a spin. Forgive the lack of measurements. It's better when you wing it anyway, right? If you want more specific directions for the chicken, see the link to her taco recipe.

Buffalo Chicken Salad

1 1/2-2 lbs of chicken breasts chopped into bite-sized pieces (We happened to have tenders, so that's what we used.)
A cup or so of self-rising flour (A/P flour would be fine too.)
3 or 4 T of cornstarch
Garlic powder to taste
Cayenne pepper to taste
Salt/Pepper
Canola Oil
Frank's Red Hot Sauce


Put a few T of oil in a pan on the stove and heat. Chop your chicken into small, bite-sized pieces. Salt and pepper the chicken. Mix the flour, cornstarch, garlic powder and cayenne pepper in a bowl. Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture and cook in the oil until cooked through. Remove the chicken and coat in enough Frank's hot sauce to coat the chicken bites. (If you have small children, don't forget to set some aside.)


Lettuce (Iceberg or Romaine)
Tomatoes diced
Green onions diced
Avocado diced
Fresh lime juice
Blue cheese crumbles
Ranch or Blue Cheese Dressing (We used yogurt Ranch.)


Take your salad bowl and start fixin'. Pile the lettuce, tomatoes, green onions, avocado and buffalo chicken bites. Squeeze a bit of lime on top. Top with blue cheese crumbles and your dressing. 

Pretty darn quick and delicious. Can't beat that. Don't you love when dinner just goes right? I sure do. In case you are wondering, our kids normally like and eat salad. Since it was a bit spicy, I just fixed them a plate with the chicken bites, tomatoes with salt and pepper, raw baby carrots, apple slices and the yogurt ranch dressing on the side to dip. They always eat what we eat for dinner or some version. No short order cooks in this house. ;) I'm always surprised what they devour.

After dinner, the girls drank their milk on a "train" with Daddy. He's the best. <3  Excuse the grainy picture. There wasn't much light, and it may be a bajillion years before I get a camera upgrade with amazing ISO capabilities...but that's just fine as long as I've got these three to smile for whatever camera's in my hand. ;)