tacos, topiaries, and Tiffany

We had tacos for dinner. Actually we had nachos. But that doesn't work for alliteration.

We had shredded chicken, avocado, garlic cheese sauce, lettuce, tomato, homemade salsa, more shredded cheese, lime juice, sour cream…

They were loaded nachos.

We took a walk after dinner.

Earlier, I was with Nancy in Kalamazoo. There is a topiary display throughout the city. It just went up today. We noticed a couple of them and walked around looking for more. I have pictures… they'll get posted later. They're not just ordinary topiaries. I'll leave you in suspense.

The real reason I went to see Nancy was to go to the K.I.A. (Kalamazoo Institute of Art, which by the way when googled comes up with Kia, the car. I was just telling Bill and was saying that art institutes have to be easier to find and that you don't need the periods. The example I then gave was Chicago Institute of Art. Or CIA. Sure, google that one…!)

I digress. We went to the K.I.A. to see the Tiffany exhibit. Louis Comfort Tiffany. There was a painting, lots of lamps, vases, and jewelry. It was impressive. I mentioned it in Wednesday's post. Unfortunately they did not allow photography. The lamps were incredible.

Those are the things I'm thankful for today.

a fresh dinner

My friend Alisha posted a picture on facebook of a dinner that she made.

It looked delicious.

Why hadn't I thought to make that?

It's Chicken Taco Salad. Here's the recipe I've roughly followed. Roughly, because it sounded easy enough to try without using a recipe.

So I tried.

Without the recipe.

Now if you know me at all, you know that I routinely follow recipes. Only on occasion do I branch out and try recipes with my own spin. It's not that I'm scared, or have a fear of ruining it. I am a rule follower. Plain and simple.

And it was good.

It's fresh.

It's flavorful.

It's perfect for summer.

I've made it two more times since then.

It makes a lot.

It's my go-to dish.

Here's how I make it:

I season a chicken breast with olive oil, salt, pepper, cumin and chili powder. I bake it like Ree does for her Chicken Tortilla Soup, at 375 for 20 minutes. I'm guessing you could also grill it, but I haven't tried that because I'm not turning on our behemoth of a grill for one little chicken breast. I think I made the first one our our Forman grill though.

While it cools, I assemble the rest. I use romaine, because it's hearty and has nutritional value. I just made the "sauce" using plain yogurt (as opposed to Greek, I'm currently boycotting it for its byproduct), before I had just used some homemade ranch and sour cream. The yogurt/mayo combo is SO much better.

I use all fresh herbs (I need to blog about that, I need to take some pictures of my potted herb garden on our deck); cilantro, dill, oregano, parsley and thyme (those are the same herbs in my homemade ranch, in case you were wondering) plus some dry herbs and spices like garlic powder, onion powder and whatever else Bill tells me is in taco seasoning. Plus the same things I used to season the chicken.

I add two roma tomatoes, the can of black beans and however much frozen corn I feel like adding. I also shred monterey jack cheese and cheddar. The avocado is like the icing on the cake.

Or the nacho chips are.

I can't decide.

I like a crunch, so the chips add something extra. Plus they take the place of needing utensils.

I hope you try it. Again, I think it's perfect for a hot summer night. Refreshing, filling, and healthy. Until you add the cheese. And the nacho chips. But healthier than ice cream.

But it's summer, so ice cream is necessary.

So is this salad. Let me know if you try it!