Salad days...BBQ chicken salad with creamy avocado garlic dressing

La Diva just loves the vibrant colors of Miami Beach!

Ahhhhh....darlings, it's so hot that La Diva has not been cooking hardly anything at all! In sticking with my promise of easy summer salads for main meals, here's a great recipe for a salad that everyone will love! Spicy barbeque chicken salad with a cool 'n' creamy avocado dressing.....mmmmmm.......

La Diva's BBQ Chicken Salad with Creamy Avocado Garlic Dressing
Serves two

BBQ chicken:

At least an hour before dinner (if not longer), rub two or three boneless, skinless chicken breasts with your fave bbq rub. La Diva uses brown sugar, white sugar, paprika, garlic salt, chili powder, cumin, salt and black pepper. Grill and baste breasts with your fave sauce! (Bottle is fine, hey, it's HOT and it's SUMMER and that = convenience!)

Set aside to cool. Go to beach.

No, darlings, this isn't La Diva and gal pal but it might as well be. The BEST purchase I've made this summer is for two collapsable beach floats! These are perfect for those days when you just have to be in the water to stay cool and there is no wave action happenin'! When it's time to go, just deflate and collapse into a circle and carry off! The best thing about these floats is that you can sit up in them AND lay back! aaaaahhhh.....

La Diva likes sitting up for two reasons:

1. It's always good form to see what's going on in the ocean and not get "too" relaxed.
2. And, how the hell can you drink your cocktail laying back on a float?!

After an hour or two, come back from beach and pull it together for dinner!

JICAMA: Here's a photo just in case some of you aren't familiar with this excellently crunchy and refreshing vegetable. (the "J" is pronounced like an "H"!) Click on the photo to learn more about it!

Salad:

Add to a layer of mixed greens:

• 1/2 ear of fresh cooked corn
• jicama julienned
  
• red pepper slices
• red onion slices
• celery sliced thin
  
• carrots julienned
  
• tomatoes

Cut chicken into slices and fan across top of salad and veggies.

One of the many noisy cigarette boats on Miami Beach. I love this photo though as it's a perfect representation of the beautiful color of the water here in on South Beach! Paradise!

Creamy avocado garlic dressing

1/4 ripe avocado
1 clove garlic
1 T mayo
1 T low fat or fat free Greek yogurt
1 T olive oil or canola oil
1 T white wine vinegar
1 T fresh lime juice
2-3 T milk (I used low fat)
salt and pepper to taste

Take avocado and garlic and put into jug to use with immersion blender. Add all ingredients except for the milk and blend well. Add milk by the spoonful until well blended and dressing can be easily poured. Do not make too thin.

Click on the photo to see all of its crunchy refreshing textures!

Result: Wow! One of La Diva's fave salads! The bbq chicken is slightly spicy and sweet and works great with the crunchy jicama and celery. The corn adds another texture and enhances the Southern-style flavor profile. The creamy coolness of the dressing is divine! Gotta go, the beach is callin'!!!! Ciao!cooking class, cocktails, parties, cocktail party, Miami, coral gables, events, bartending class, cocktail class, Laura Lafata, Miami Beach, miami cooking classes, bachelorette parties, bachelorette party