Chicken Bacon Asparagus Ranch Salad

 

Last week I made a Waldorf salad that turned out SO good, that it made me want to come up with more salad recipes that hold up to a week of food storage, so Kyle can take them for his lunches. 

We like to have a cold meal for lunch, and a hot meal for dinner. 

This week I came up with this recipe, and it did hold up! It has a bunch of crunchy vegetables that won’t wilt in dressing, but also aren’t super laborious to chew. 

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds chicken breast. 
• 3 bunches fresh asparagus, thin. 
• 1 bag radishes, about 2 cups (optional).
• 1 dozen hard boiled eggs. 
• 12 ounces of Mayo (like Better Body Foods avocado Mayo).
• 8 ounces cream cheese. 
• 12 ounces Bacon (like center cut, hickory smoked).
• 1 tsp garlic powder. 
• 2 tsp onion powder. 
• 2 celery stalks. 
• 6 ounces parmesan cheese, grated (I use Kraft). 
• 1 English (otherwise known as Hot House) cucumber. 

Directions: 

1. Trim the ends off the asparagus, and cut it into 1 inch pieces. 
2. Dice the radishes (if using), and add them to the asparagus. 
3. Dice the cucumber and put it in a separate bowl. 
4. Rinse, trim and slice the celery into 1/8 inch pieces (crosswise), and add them to the cucumbers. 
5. In the Always pan with strainer insert, heat 4 cups of water to boiling, then add half the asparagus/radish mixture. 
6. Cook over medium heat for 3 minutes. 
7. Use strainer insert to drain the hot water from the vegetables, and transfer them to a large bowl. 
8. Repeat with other half of asparagus/radish mixture. 
9. In a microwave safe bowl, melt cream cheese in the microwave for 1 minute.
10. Transfer to a large bowl, and stir well. 
11. Add entire jar of mayonnaise, and all of the parmesan. Stir again. 
12. Add this to the asparagus/radish mixture, and add celery and cucumbers, and stir well. 
13. Cover and refrigerate. 
14. In an instant pot with trivot, add 12 eggs and 2 cups of water. 
15. Cook on high pressure for 4 minutes, then cook an additional 9 minutes without venting the steam. Note: be sure to turn the “keep warm” setting off after the first 4 minutes. 
16. Vent steam, then use a slotted spoon, and transfer eggs to an ice bath for 10 minutes. 
17. Drain water from instant pot. Set trivot aside. 
18. Add bacon to instant pot, and cook on the “saute” setting, stirring regularly with a wooden spatula for 20 minutes. 
19. Peel the hard boiled eggs, and stir the bacon between each egg. 
20. When the bacon is done, turn instant pot off, and leave the bacon while you finish peeling and dicing the hard boiled eggs. 
21. Transfer eggs to a large bowl. 
22. Mince bacon, and add it to the eggs. 
23. Keeping the bacon grease in the instant pot, add diced chicken breast, and cook it on the “sauté” setting until done (about 5-6 minutes). 
24. Fish out chicken with tongs, or a slotted spoon, and add it to the bacon and eggs. 
25. Save chicken stock for something else (it’s amazing! I drank it from a mug).
26. Stir bacon, eggs and chicken. 
27. Add this to vegetables and stir well. All done!

Serves 7 men, or 14 women. You know what size your appetite is. 😏