Spicy Honey Chicken Salad

It is no secret that I love Our Best Bites' recipes.  Almost a year ago, I tried their Spicy Honey Chicken Salad with mango and avocado.  Delicious!  We have had it many times since. 

You can get the recipe from Our Best Bites by clicking this link.  

Over time, I have added a few more ingredients--- and I use a different dressing.  The recipe with my changes is:

Chicken- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (only because it's what I always have on hand)
Rub: 2 tsp. garlic powder
         2 tsp. chili powder
         1/2 tsp. onion powder
         1/2 tsp. coriander
         1 tsp. Lawry's seasoning salt
         1/2 tsp. cumin
         1/4- 1/2 tsp. chipotle chili powder (depending on your taste and how hot the powder is)

Mix all the rub together in a large ziploc bag.  Shake with the chicken until it is evenly coated.  Grill the chicken until done, or pan fry (using 1-2 tsp. canola oil) until done. 

Stir together 1/2 Cup honey and 1 Tbs. cider vinegar.  You may need to heat the honey in the microwave to be able to stir it together.  Once mixed, divide in half.  A couple of minutes before the chicken is done, brush one half of the honey mixture over the chicken, on both sides.  Once done, cut into strips and drizzle with the rest of the honey. 

For the salad, you'll need:  (divided evenly into 4-6 portions)

Spicy Honey Chicken
Lettuce
2 mangoes, diced
2 avocados, diced
1/2 cup crispy rice noodles (not chow mein noodles)
1/2 cup almonds, glazed
several thin slices of a red onion
can of mandarin oranges, drained

Dressing:

1 mango, diced and pureed in blender

3/4 cup mayo (probably could use plain greek yogurt- I'll have to try it sometime)

1/3 cup sugar (can use honey)

3 Tbs. vinegar

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

***I have two different brands of chipotle chili powder.  One is much spicier than the other, even though there isn't a specified difference on the labels.  You won't really know how spicy you like the chicken until you make it- and then you can adjust the amount of chipotle pepper the next time.  The first couple of times I made it, I used a powder that wasn't very spicy, so following the recipe was fine.  I wondered why they called it spicy honey chicken.   Then I made it with a different brand (not knowing that it was more spicy) and I may have spilled a little (very little) extra in, but I didn't worry about it because I knew that it wasn't very spicy in the first place!  As I served it to my friends, I told them not to worry, that it wasn't very spicy.  Only to have them just about choke with the first bite and grabbing for glasses of milk/water because it was so hot.  I was very surprised, tried it and had the same reaction.  While it is still good, if it is too spicy, it overwhelms the flavor of the mango and avocado.  It is good to find a balance where it is still spicy, but your taste buds aren't burning so you can't taste anything else!