100 degrees ~ it’s too darn soon

I’m not sure if the official temperature yesterday was 100 degrees in The Valley of The Sun, but my car thermostat said it was.

No matter, if it wasn’t – it will be either today or tomorrow – and It Is Too Soon to be hitting triple digits! I’m not ready for the heat.

For that reason and more, today I shall give you a recipe for a cool and refreshing chicken and bean salad that you don’t have to heat up your kitchen for. An added bonus … it is Easy-Breezy!

I call for canned white beans for the recipe, If you are the observant type, you may notice that is not what I used. The only reason is that I had more beans left from the batch I cooked up for THIS recipe.

Quick & Easy-Breezy Tuscan Chicken Salad

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 large shallot, peeled and diced
1/3 cup minced Italian parsley
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups chopped cooked chicken (I used meat from a rotisserie chicken – Costco, of course!)
16-ounce can white beans, rinsed and drained (Cannellini, Great Northern, or Navy)
1/3 cup diced celery
Large Bibb lettuce leaves

Mix together the lemon juice, shallot, parsley, salt, pepper, and oil in a large bowl. Whisk until oil if fully incorporated.

Add chicken, beans, celery, and parsley to the bowl, stirring gently to combine. Let the salad sit for 5 minutes, then taste and season with additional salt and pepper, if needed.

Place 2 or 3 large Bibb lettuce leaves on each serving plate and spoon the salad into the center.

Serves 4 to 6