Pool Party Buffalo Chicken Salad

It's officially summer! 

Today I hosted the first Workout-Lunch-Pool Party of the season. And it was amazing! Two of my favorite CrossFit beauties helped me put together the afternoon of festivities. Tiff--the smart-mouthed twin of my favorite Disney princess--programmed our workout. Rachel--who you know from her outrageously popular meatball recipe--contributed to our tequila-based post-workout hydration. I made the food and supplied the pool.

The workout was intense. Too intense, it turns out, for me to pay attention to the movements. In the 4th round, I skipped a whole series of squats and instead moved directly from push-ups to double unders. I made up for it in round 5 by doing extra squats. Not exactly as prescribed, but I got it done. Thankfully Tiff didn't mind. She's a cool coach like that!

We then caravanned over to my Cave for lunch with CaveBoy before he had to leave for work.

Because we were transitioning from the gym to the pool, by way of my kitchen, I designed a menu that could be completely prepared in advance. After a tough workout, the last thing you want to do is wait to eat. Especially when lunch is the only thing between you and the first rays of summer-sunshine. 

I made this recipe this morning and then chilled it in the refrigerator while we worked-out. It also would be an excellent recipe to take on a picnic, or to serve as a dip at a BBQ. 

Pool Party Buffalo Chicken Salad

I also served celery sticks, baby carrots, strawberries, and sweet potato chips.

Ingredients

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast

1 large red onion, finely diced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup Buffalo sauce (I used Frank's but you could also use Tessemae's if you're keeping it super strict)

1/2 cup canned coconut milk

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons poultry seasoning

salt and peper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Arrange chicken breast in a medium baking dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, then season with garlic powder and poultry seasoning. Bake until chicken is fully cooked, about 20-25 minutes.

While the chicken is cooking, heat olive oil in a medium skillet. Saute red onion until it becomes translucent and just starts to brown. Remove from heat and let cool. 

Remove chicken from oven and let cool enough to touch. Shred chicken breasts. I like to toss the chicken into my Kitchen-Aid mixer with the paddle attachment and let the machine shred the chicken for me. It takes less than a minute. Remove the bowl from the Kitchen-Aid stand to finish mixing the rest of the ingredients with your hands.

Add onions, buffalo sauce, and coconut milk to the chicken and mix to combine. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving to let flavors marry and sauce firm up. Makes 6 servings.