Chicken Black Bean Avocado Salad

New Year's Eve at home, which is fine. Patty made pierogies and kielbasa for dinner because she believes in starting the new year with Polish food and she is completely right about this. Steve watched the ball drop on TV and said "Same as last year" about the ball drop, which he says every year, which is exactly accurate and therefore a fair point. I stayed up until midnight with Patty and we watched the fireworks from Grant Park on the TV and she poured us both small glasses of Champagne from a bottle she had bought specifically for this.

I said to Patty: this time last year I did not know if I was going to finish school. I was back at NIU but I did not know if I was going to make it. She said "I knew." I said how. She said "Because you came back. Once you came back I knew." We drank our small glasses of Champagne at midnight and the house was quiet except for the TV and Steve had gone to bed at eleven-thirty and the new year arrived in Patty's kitchen without fanfare.

Made black-eyed peas for New Year's Day because I read somewhere that it is supposed to bring good luck and I need all the luck I can manufacture. A can of black-eyed peas, bacon, onion, garlic, chicken bouillon, a splash of hot sauce. Let it simmer together until the flavors were friends. Ate it over rice with cornbread from a mix I found in Patty's pantry.

2018. I am a college graduate. I am going to get a job teaching. I am twenty-two years old and I have survived the worst thing I will ever survive, or at least the worst thing I have survived so far, and I made it through to the other side and I am standing in Patty's kitchen eating lucky black-eyed peas and it is January 1st and everything ahead of me is work and possibility. That is the right way to start a year. I am starting it exactly right.

That first bowl of lucky black-eyed peas on January 1st, 2018 is one I will not forget — the bacon and garlic going soft in the pan, the whole thing simmering in Patty’s kitchen while the new year settled in around me. I have been a believer in lucky beans ever since. This Chicken Black Bean Avocado Salad is what I make now when I want to carry a little of that feeling forward — it has that same grounding quality, bright and filling and nourishing in a way that feels like starting something right. You don’t need it to be January to need a meal like that.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 15 min | Total Time: 30 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
Salt and black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
2 ripe avocados, diced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)
5 oz romaine or mixed greens

Instructions

Season the chicken. Pat chicken breasts dry and season on both sides with cumin, garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper.
Cook the chicken. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook chicken 6 to 7 minutes per side, until cooked through and golden. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest 5 minutes, then slice or dice.
Prep the salad base. In a large bowl, combine greens, black beans, cherry tomatoes, red onion, and cilantro. Toss gently to mix.
Make the quick dressing. Whisk together the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, lime juice, a pinch of cumin, and salt and pepper to taste.
Assemble and serve. Top the salad with diced avocado and sliced chicken. Drizzle the dressing over everything and toss lightly. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Chicken Black Bean Avocado Salad — Lucky Beans for Every New Beginning