Shredded Buffalo Chicken Salad

The recipe I’m sharing with you today is directly influenced by what I’m craving right now. I’m sitting here starving, wishing I had a huge plate of this salad to eat for lunch today (instead of the ho-hum low-fat freezer meal I brought -- boo). So I thought I’d share it with all of you so you’re hungry for it too. Misery loves company, right? ;)

Since I first discovered this salad a month or so ago, I haven’t been able to get enough of it. It is so delicious, and dangerously easy to prepare. Recently my grocery store had an awesome sale on avocados, so I had this salad for lunch every day for an entire week. And I never got sick of it! In fact, I think I could eat this salad every day for the rest of my life, and I don’t think I’d enjoy it any less.

The salad consists of spicy shredded chicken, crushed tortilla chips, and sharp cheddar cheese sitting on a bed of fresh, crisp romaine. The piece de resistance, though, is the dressing. I just use store-bought ranch, but I add half a mashed avocado to it. So the dressing is super creamy and thick and cool and the perfect balance to that spicy chicken. Yum.

The chicken, by the way? It’s cooked in the slow cooker. So throw it in before you leave for the day, and then in the evening all you have to do is assemble the salad and dinner is ready. It couldn’t be any easier, and it definitely couldn’t taste any better. You’re gonna love this one!

Shredded Buffalo Chicken Salad
source: adapted from The Sisters’ Café

2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 cup hot sauce (recommended: Frank’s Red Hot)
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup ranch dressing
Half an avocado, mashed
Chopped romaine lettuce
Crushed tortilla chips
Shredded cheddar cheese

1. Place chicken breasts in slow cooker. Pour hot sauce over chicken and top with butter. Cook on Low heat 6 to 8 hours. Remove chicken from slow cooker, shred with two forks, and set aside.

2. Combine ranch dressing and avocado in a bowl; whisk until smooth.

3. Arrange romaine, tortilla chips, and cheese on a plate. Top with chicken and drizzle with dressing.