Cajun Chicken Salad

This salad is absolutely the best chicken salad ever to cross my lips. It started with our monthly Penzeys ad arriving in the mail. Kevin snatched it and hovered over every page. Then he announced that we simply had to go to Penzeys to buy some Cajun seasoning. Without checking the store hours, we arrived half an hour before they opened, and fiddled around in Uptown for a bit.

When we got home we started cooking. And cooking. And cooking. In all, we had three different Cajun spiced meals in three days. Was it extreme? Just really, really tasty.

Something about the chicken being coated with seasoning and pan-fried makes them incredibly tender and juicy. There is just enough of a kick of flavor to keep it interesting and make you want to dig in for another bite. And then another one.

Cajun Chicken Breasts with Salad

3 4-6 oz chicken breasts (or whatever)

2 T Cajun seasoning

2 T oil

Wash chicken and pat dry. Sprinkle with a thick layer of Cajun seasoning. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 4-6 minutes per side depending on thickness. Adjust the heat down a bit if the chicken is browning too quickly or up if it isn't sizzling. Remove from pan and let rest for 5 minutes before slicing into bite-sized pieces.

Salad:

1 head romaine lettuce

1 head leaf lettuce

1/2 tomato, diced

1 small onion, thinly sliced

1 avocado, thinly sliced

Dressing:

1 T Italian seasoning or salad dressing base

1 T water

1/4 C red wine vinegar or regular white vinegar

1/3 - 1/2 C olive oil.

Whisk everything together