Curried Chicken Salad Pita

My life is really quiet right now. I'm spending a lot of time at home, alone, studying. After the excitement of finishing school and the holidays, it seems rather dull. But it leaves lots of time for recipe-searching and cooking, which I'm definitely loving! But even when I have the time, I don't always want to spend hours preparing a meal. Sometimes I'm too hungry or tired or impatient to stand over the stove at all. That's when I rely on recipes like this. Dishes that don't require much investment, but are still rewarding.

This chicken salad can be eaten warm or chilled, in a pita pocket, on a bed of lettuce, or between slices of toast. To save even more time you could purchase and dice up a rotisserie chicken. Or try this method (see the NOTE) for baking chicken breasts, which I find to be just as easy. I never use all mayonnaise when I make chicken salad, opting for at least half plain yogurt. I promise you won't miss any of the flavor- not with all of the other ingredients going on here. The pear was my favorite part- sweet and smooth and unexpected.

Curried Chicken Salad Pita

INGREDIENTS
12 oz. boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked and diced or shredded
3 Tbsp. plain nonfat Greek yogurt
3 Tbsp. mayonnaise
freshly squeezed lemon juice, to taste
2-3 tsp. curry powder (to taste)
1 firm ripe Barlett pear, cored and diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1/3 cup sweetened dried cranberries
1/3 cup green onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 whole wheat pita halves
alfafa sprouts

DIRECTIONS
1. In a large bowl, toss to combine chicken, pear, celery, cranberries, green onions, and almonds. In a small bowl, whisk yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon juice, and curry powder until smooth. Pour over the chicken mixture and toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper and curry powder. Serve in pitas with alfalfa sprouts.

Serves 4.

(Adapted from Eating Well)