Berry Avocado Chicken Salad – Healthy Version

Juicy chicken breast adds a little protein to this simple berry avocado salad with a light poppyseed dressing. Throw on a little gorgonzola, candied nuts and you’ve just made the most perfect dinner salad recipe.

We chose to use Greek yogurt instead of the oil, sour cream or mayonnaise versions. We also found that because of the creaminess of the Greek yogurt there was no need to use an entire cup of sugar like many of the recipes out there. Plus bonus protein from the yogurt! I love when I can make something a little healthier and it still tastes fabulous!

Years ago my friend invited me to a girls night dinner to chat. She had a gift card for us both at a local restaurant and as we were fighting to survive unemployment (link to fighting faith) it was a blessing so I hopped in the car with her. Little did I know she was going to change my whole salad and soup life! She taught me how to turn a “nuts about berries” salad into something incredible, how to take tomato soup and creamy cauliflower soup and combine them with a little orzo on top for the best soup ever and now I’ve been making this berry avocado chicken salad ever since! I think the candied nuts and cheese are essential, but you can do any changes you’d like- feta instead of Mild Blue Cheese or gorgonzola is great too for example. See our entire list of possibilities below!

Ingredients for Chicken Berry Avocado Salad

This berry avocado salad only uses just a few wholesome and fresh ingredients. You’ll only need 4 ingredients for the light poppyseed dressing! Here is everything you will need:

• Chicken Breasts
• Brown Sugar BBQ Rub: Salt and pepper would work great too.
• Butter Lettuce
• Spinach and Kale Combo
• Avocado
• Berries: Raspberries, Strawberries, Blueberries and Blackberries
• Candied Pecans
• Crumbled Mild Blue Cheese, or gorgonzola

Poppyseed Dressing

• Plain Greek Yogurt
• Sugar
• Prosecco or Champagne Vinegar
• Poppy Seeds

The measurements and details for all the ingredients can be found in the recipe at the end of the post so keep scrolling!

How to Make Berry Avocado Salad

This salad recipe is so easy to make, and taking the time to cook the chicken and make the candied pecans is so worth the extra effort! Here are the basic steps!

1. Cook the Chicken: Season each chicken bread on top and bottom with the BBQ rub and cook over medium-high heat either on the grill or in a pan on the stove top with a drizzle of oil. Then turn the heat d

My Favorite Avocado Sandwich [+Video]

Looking to give your lunch routine an upgrade? Try my favorite avocado sandwich recipe! With creamy avocado, roasted tomatoes, and a spicy mayo, it’s the perfect combination of flavors and textures.

Years ago I had an amazing sandwich that I’ll never be able to remember everything on it, but one thing stood out, the pickled onions on the charred tomatoes made a magical flavor I never would have expected. This sandwich gives a nod to not only that sandwich but the perfection that comes when you have a perfectly balanced sammy with sweet, salty, crunchy, acidic, toasted and… AVOCADO.

Lately our daughter has been loving avocado toast and so we took the best of her toast discoveries at restaurants with my sandwich memory and created literally the best avocado sandwich ever.

Ingredients for The Best Avocado Sandwich

Sandwiches can be as simple or as loaded as you want them to be, and you can customize to your taste. I’m going to give you my grocery list for this sandwich, and I urge you to make it as written. Each item plays an important role in making this rockstar sammy. Here is your list…

• Cherry Tomatoes
• Seven Grain Bread
• Butter
• Young Manchego Cheese
• Fresh Sprouts
• Microgreens
• Arugula
• Avocado
• Pickled Red Onions
• Salt and Black Pepper

Spicy Mayo

• Mayonnaise
• Hot Sauce
• Smoked Paprika
• Chili Powder
• Juice from Pickled Onions

The measurements and details for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card down at the end of this post.

Claire’s Tip

To find the perfect avocado, use your thumb and forefinger to gently press the top and bottom of the avocado. It should give a little if it’s ready to go. Never press or palm the whole fruit as it will bruise it.

What is the Best Bread for This Sandwich?

My favorite bread for this sandwich is the seven grain bread from Harmon’s here in Utah. In all reality, you could use any type of bread that you want…a multigrain bread, a good whole wheat bread, or heck, even a yummy white bread works great! Ooh, or sourdough bread! I’m trying that next time!

How to Make an Avocado Sandwich

Before you start to make this sandwich, make sure your red onions are pickled and you’ve whisked together the ingredients for the spicy mayo in a small bowl. Here are the steps for each fabulous layer…

1. Char the Tomatoes: Heat the oven to broil and place the tomatoes on a baking sheet, cut side down. Move the oven rack to the highest position and place the baking sheet in.

Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas Recipe [+Video]

This pork carnitas recipe is so flavorful and moist and the best part? They are crazy easy to make with only a few ingredients and a slow cooker!

We had a little Mexican Pot luck in my neighborhood the other night. It was tons of fun and so nice to have everyone out together and just enjoy each others’ company. Everyone brought a dish to share and it turned out perfect. I decided to go with carnitas. I looooooove this pork. It is one of the most simple ways to make carnitas, but it is so juicy and flavorful. I love that you just throw it in the crockpot and don’t think about it all day. You may wonder if with so few ingredients it’s really that delicious, but it is.

I made one big fat error this time around. You may not think it’s that big of a deal, but for me it is. At about 12:30 in the afternoon I realized that I had not placed the pork in the crock. DANGIT!!!! I am a huge, huge believer in letting roasts, and all kinds of pork cook for 8 hours in the crock on low. It is soooooooooo much more juicy, tender and flavorful. I promise. This pork still turned out well, but it would have been 1 million times better if I had been more on top of things. SO, when you try this, don’t forget to slooooooow cook it.

Ingredients for Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas

The ingredients for crockpot pork carnitas are simple and pack so much flavor. You will need a few ingredients for a dry rub and then a few items for cooking the pork in the slow cooker. The orange juice and lime juice add the punch of citrus you want in carnitas! This is what you will need:

• Corn Tortillas
  • NOTE: If you want to make carnitas burritos, use our homemade flour tortillas!
• Queso Fresco
• Cilantro

For the Rub

• Seasonings: Dried Oregano, Ground Cumin, Smoked Paprika, Kosher Salt and Pepper
• Garlic
• Oil

For the Pork

• Pork Shoulder/Butt
• Onion
• Garlic
• Jalapeno
• Fresh Black Pepper
• White Vinegar
• Kosher Salt
• Oranges
• Limes

The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post so keep scrolling for all the details!

How to Make Pork Carnitas

Now we come to my favorite part of this slow cooker carnitas recipe…the simplicity! Here are the basic steps:

1. Combine: Add all the ingredients for the dry rub together in a small bowl and then rub it all over the outside of the pork. Place it in the slow cooker.
2. Add: Juice the oranges over the pork and leave one of the oranges in the slow cooker. Add the rest of the ingredients to the slow cooker.
3. Cook: Set the slow cooker to low heat and cook for 10-12 hours or until the meat falls apart.
4. Shred: Using two forks, shred the pork and leave it in the juice in the crockpot. Pull out the orange peels.
   • OPTIONAL: If you crave those crispy edges on y

5 Minute Avocado Salad

This avocado salad is bright and fresh and only takes 5 short minutes to make! Creamy avocados topped with a simple tangy dressing, toasted pine nuts and chunks of manchego cheese. It’s just a lovely salad!

Avocado is one of my love languages. They are pretty much the best little fruit ever. I mean, how many foods out there can you eat for any and every meal? They are healthy and satisfying. They are beautiful and so creamy. Throw them on some toast, mash them into guacamole, add them to a taco, wrap them with bacon, blend them into a dressing, or in this case, make them the base of a salad. Winning, winning, winning!

Ingredients for Avocado Salad

I love coming up with new salad recipes and this one is a little out of the box (i.e. I didn’t find another salad quite like it out there on the interwebs) but it seriously just works! All you need is a few avocados, a couple of simple ingredients for a zesty dressing and a few fun add-ins that just make dish come alive! Here is what you will need:

• Avocados: you’ll want ripe hass avocados, see my section below on how to pick ripe avocados
• Lime Juice: fresh is best, like by far the best
• White Wine Vinegar: combined with the lime juice, this is just the acid you want to balance out of the creamy richness of the avos
• Manchego Cheese: a semi-hard Spanish cheese made from sheep’s milk that is buttery in texture and similar in flavor to pecorino romano
• Pine Nuts: toasting the pine nuts gives them a little crunch and enhances their flavor
• Salt: adds and enhances flavors
• Cilantro: adds a fresh herby pop of flavor and is my favorite herb to pair with avocados

The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.

Possible Substitutions:

Ok, I realize that some of these might not be common ingredients to have on hand, so here are some possible substitutes, but I highly recommend hitting the grocery store and trying the original recipe.

Avocados – no substitutes here because nothing can replace the heaven of an avocado

Lime Juice – you could try lemon juice, but lime and avocado just belong together

White Wine Vinegar – try red wine vinegar or rice vinegar (not seasoned)

Manchego – pecorino romano, asiago or monterey jack are ok substitutes

Pine Nuts – pistachios, toasted almonds or chopped cashews

How to Pick a Ripe Avocado

There are few things better than a perfectly ripe avocado and there are few things worse than an over- or underripe avocado! To pick a r

The BEST Triple Decker Club Sandwich

So you think you love club sandwiches, do you? You don’t know good until you’ve had the BEST Triple Decker Club Sandwich.

What makes this club sandwich recipe the BEST you might ask? Well, a few things! Starting with the dreamy garlic basil mayo that we spread on the bread. Yowza!

We have a few more tips down below for making your club sammie the BEST including an unexpected sandwich topping that sends this sandwich through the roof!

Recommended Equipment

• Tomato Knife: worth every penny for cutting tomatoes with ease
• Mandolin: for slicing the apple extra thin (yes, apple! keep reading…)

Before You Begin…

Quickly make that delicious garlic basil mayo so it has a little time to sit and meld flavors. It comes together easily and adds an incredible burst of flavor to the sandwich.

What is a Club Sandwich?

A club sandwich, also called a clubhouse sandwich, is a sandwich of bread (occasionally toasted), sliced cooked poultry, or fried bacon, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, cheese and usually three slices of bread.

It is often cut into quarters or halves and held together by cocktail sticks.

What Goes in a Club Sandwich?

As with most sandwiches, club sandwiches can be customized to your liking, but generally club sandwiches have turkey, bacon, lettuce, tomato, mayo and cheese. We are leveling up the traditional club sandwich with this recipe though with a few more toppings. Here is what you will need:

• Bread: a high quality white bread or multigrain bread
• Mayonnaise: any brand works great
• Green Leaf Lettuce: you could also use romaine
• Tomato: hothouse, vine ripe, or heirloom tomatoes are preferred
• Deli Roasted Turkey: take the time to stop at the meat counter and get some of the good turkey
• Deli Ham: you can get smoked ham, black forest ham or honey ham…whichever you prefer
• Granny Smith Apple: Trust me on this one! It adds a pop of sweetness and tang. So good!
• Smoked Cheddar Cheese: we always buy Tillamook but you can buy any good high quality brand of cheese
• Applewood Smoked Bacon: or you can buy brown sugar bacon and cook it until it’s nice and crispy
• Avocado: adds creaminess and just yumminess
• Salt and Pepper: add a little to the tomato slices and/or the avocado

Garlic Basil Mayo

• Mayonnaise: whatever your favorite brand is
• Basil: must be fresh
• Garlic: you can just throw the clove in whole
• Lemon: fresh lemon zest

The measurements and details for all the ingredients can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post. You can also save or print the recipe th