Skip to main content

Spicy Pinto Bean & Chicken Salad

So far this summer, lunch has been one of those meals that are left unplanned and thrown together so last week I found this idea online.  Millard loves pinto beans and they are healthy so I had to give this one a go.

I drained and rinsed canned pinto beans.  Yes, I know dry beans would be a healthier option... perhaps the next time.  I whisked together lemon juice, juice from jarred mild pickled banana pepper rings, olive oil, pepper, and Millard added a mix of seasonings.  Then the mixture was poured over the beans to let it marinade a little.
  

The original recipe called for canned tuna, but Millard is allergic to tuna so we needed a substitute.  
We had canned Kirkland Signature Chicken Breat in the pantry that made the perfect sub.
 
   
So I shredded the chicken by hand and added it to the salad along with the chopped tomato.
 

 

Then Diced up green onions from our own little garden

 
We also subbed the peperoncini peppers with mild pickled banana pepper rings for two reason:  
(1) I didn't have peperoncini peppers and
(2) Millard always eats his pinto beans with banana pepper anyway.
 

 
And oh, add chopped parsley too.
Mix it all up and Voila! 
 

I knew Millard would like this pinto bean salad and I knew that our 4 year old, Alexander, wouldn't.  But what did surprise me is that both myself and Christian absolutely loved it!!  We will definitely be making this salad again.  Next time though I will record the various spices that Millard adds in.  :)  And you know, even though the chicken was yummy in it, it could be ommited to be a vegetarian meal.

Spicy Pinto Bean & Chicken Salad
4 servings
 
1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
2 T fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 T juice from jarred mild pickled banana peppers
1/2 tsp Green Tobasco sauce
pepper, to taste
your favorite seasoning
5 T olive oil
4 Bicks Banana Pepper Rings, chopped
Small bunch green onions, chopped
1 cup fresh tomatoes, diced
1 can canned chicken
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
 
 
Drain and rinse canned beans, dump into bowl

Whisk together lemon juice, banana pepper juice, green tobasco sauce, pepper, olive oil,
your favorite seasonings.
Add chopped banana pepper rings, green onions, tomatoes, shredded chicken and parsley.
Mix it all up and serve.
 
357 cals, 17 g carbs per serving (per My Fitness Pal)
Recipe adapted from kalynskitchen

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Greek Pita

Keeping up with healthy eating is not an easy task. We have been eating reasonably well, but it is tough to break old habits. I caved once in the past bit and grabbed Burger King for dinner for the family. This past Friday evening was beautiful and I really didn't feel like attempting some big meal. I had already had thaw ed some boneless, skinless chicken breast and thought that some sort of sandwich would be ideal. We had all the fixin's for a Greek Pita so that's what I did. I love my Wolfgang Puck Panini Maker and use it for almost everything including to grill chicken. I didn't add any seasoning... just threw them on two at a time. I got together all of the ingredients: Whole Wheat Pita Pockets, diced onion & tomato, sliced black olives, feta cheese and lettuce. For lettuce I always use my lettuce spinner that I bought at Costco some time ago. Christian absolutely loves when I call him to spin the lettuce out. It's like a toy to him. I also used...
1 comment
Read more

Yummy Salad

Salad can get boring so today I got creative... romaine lettuce, a little ranch mixed in with the lettuce... then shredded cheddar, raspberries, grape halves, strawberry, and just a few almonds. A nice fresh salad for a warm day. Yum!
3 comments
Read more

Mango-Avocado Salsa with BBQ Chicken

One of my favorite foods in the whole wide world is avocado. It's a great thing to love because they have nearly 20 essential nutrients, including fiber, potassium, Vitamin E, B-vitamins, and folic acid. The only thing that I need to be careful with is that they are loaded with calories as well. One whole medium sized avocado is a whooping 250 calories! I was recipe searching back in April and came upon a mango-avocado salsa that I just had to try. We've had mango salsa many times before, but adding avocado was a whole new ball game. It was quite simple... cubed avocado, mango (I used frozen), and tomato, plus some diced red onion. Mix it all up and there you go. I served it over BBQ grilled chicken. Usually we have our chicken smothered with BBQ sauce, but this time I only marinaded it in some Budwiser brand BBQ sauce. Millard put it on the grill and held off on the extra sauce. It was a good choice. Our sides were sauteed a mix of fresh and frozen peas and asparagus.
2 comments
Read more