Avocado Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Despite being the longest spring ever (we had snow just two weeks ago!) summer arrived this week with a bang. It suddenly went from chilly, wet weather to dry, hot summer days. Along with the change in seasons went my desire to bake things in the oven. It could be that my mom has drilled this idea in my head ever since I was little. We didn't have air conditioning growing up and I remember her making a big deal of not using the oven in the summer because she didn't want to heat up the kitchen. I don't know if it is because of that or just a natural occurrence, but when summer rolls around I crave fresh foods that require very little baking. Avocado chicken salad sandwiches fit that description perfectly. I don't think you can go wrong when you add avocado to anything, and I think cilantro makes everything taste fresh. Throw in a side of fresh fruit, some lemonade and a sunny day and you've got yourself a perfect summer lunch or dinner.

Start with cubed, cooked chicken and add some chopped cilantro.

Mix in cup mayo, (go ahead and use light mayo if you prefer.) salt and pepper to taste.

Add in one avocado, cubed in 1/2 pieces. If you are feeling really crazy, you could mix in some chopped fresh mango at this point if you wanted. I know, crazy. But a good kind of crazy.

Build sandwiches with lettuce on one bread slice, topped with 1/4 of the chicken salad mixture and the other slice of bread.

Avocado Chicken Salad Sandwiches
From Cooking Light

3 cups cubed cooked chicken
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 T chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 avocado, cubed
4 lettuce leaves
8 bread slices, toasted

1. Combine the first five ingredients in a medium bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Gently stir in avocado until combined.

2. Place 1 lettuce leaf on a slice of bread. Top with a quarter of the chicken salad mixture. Top with another bread slice and repeat three times.

Posted in: Main Dish