Parmesan-Basil Chicken Salad

This is one of my favorite chicken salads.  I first made it over four years ago, and love it now as much as I did back then.  I had a huge, fresh basil plant back then, making this a little easier to plan, but oh well.  It's still worth it to buy the fresh basil in little packets.  The original recipe calls for baking the chicken breasts, but I find that it's much easier and faster to just saute them.  I take frozen chicken tenders and saute them (without even thawing first) in a non-stick skillet with olive oil and garlic salt.  As they are finishing up cooking, I squeeze the juice from 1/2 a lemon over them.  The chicken is so flavorful this way- I could just eat it as is at this point!

Parmesan-Basil Chicken Salad

adapted from Allrecipes

Serves 2-3

6-7 chicken tenders, or 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

olive oil

garlic salt

1/2 lemon

1/3 cup mayonnaise (can use low-fat)

1 cup loosely-packed fresh basil, rinsed

1 clove fresh garlic, optional (I'm not into raw garlic right now, so I omitted this)

1 stalk fresh celery, finely chopped

1/4- 1/2 fresh red bell pepper, chopped

1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1.Heat olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat.  Add chicken tenders and sprinkle one side with garlic salt.  Cook about 2-3 minutes and flip over to cook the other side.  Season that side with garlic salt.  After 2-3 minutes, squeeze the fresh lemon juice over the chicken, and continue to cook for about a minute.  Check for doneness; set aside to cool.  Chop into chunks. 

2.In a food processor, puree the mayonnaise, basil, and garlic.

3.Combine the chunked chicken, pureed basil mixture, chopped celery, chopped red bell pepper, and Parmesan cheese; toss. Refrigerate, and serve over lettuce leaves or on bread rolls.

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