I love shelf cooking, so today I was motivated to use up a bunch of tomatoes from the garden in my lunch. One of my favorite easy summer lunches is cucumber and tomato salad BUT I was out of basil, so that was off the table. Fortunately, I did have some pesto from our summer basil harvest stored in the freezer. Pesto chicken is another favorite of mine (because who doesn’t love pesto?) so I combined the two in this fun avocado-tomato-cuke-chicken salad.

Ingredients:

• 1 large chicken breast
• 1/2 cup pesto
• 1/2 cup diced cucumber
• 1/2 cup diced avocado
• 1/2 cup diced tomato
• 1 cup finely chopped green leaf kale (this can be left omitted if it isn’t your thing)
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts (+ a sprinkle for garnish)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Cube your chicken into bite size pieces and mix it in a bowl with 2 Tbs of the pesto sauce. I make my own and store it in the freezer but any that are compliant with your diet will work. In a skillet over medium high, add the marinated chicken to the pan and cook until cooked through.

Add all of the ingredients to a bowl, mix it up and serve! Garnish with pine nuts if desired.

Note: This is even better the next day, so store it in a covered Pyrex or other air tight container.

Substitutions:

• the pine nuts could be toasted prior to mixing in, but not necessary
• This dish would also be excellent with crumbled feta, if desired and suitable for your families dietary needs.