Spicy Three Bean Chicken Salad

Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by Tabasco. However, all thoughts and opinions were my own.

Do you ever have those days where you step into the kitchen with the best intentions and ideas and then all of a sudden your cooking world comes crumbling down on you? Yes, that totally happened to me. It seemed like no matter where I turned, disaster struck.

I tried to cook chicken drumsticks and the skin didn’t turn crispy. I tried to fry chicken thighs and, thanks to the pregnancy, I couldn’t follow through with the task at hand since the look of the chicken made me feel sick. I tried to prepare rice and I ended up with a kitchen that smelled like burnt rice. I tried to slice an onion and the slices came out all wrong. I tried to season a dish that was pretty much all done and then I dropped the hot sauce bottle into the pan.

Yes, all of this happened in a matter of hours in my kitchen. I felt like I couldn’t do anything right. I felt like I was going to explode with frustration. I felt like I was a huge failure doing one of the things that I love most …

… and then in walks my husband. The kitchen was a disaster. I’m talking opened cans everywhere, chicken overflowing from the garbage can, cabinet doors wide open, smoke throughout the house, and a kitchen sink that had definitely seen better days. Oh, and yours truly was a disaster as well. Hair completely disheveled, kitchen apron (with the baby bump making it stick out) covered in remnants of  failed recipes, a defeated look about my face, and the constant need to scream into a pillow. I was at my wits end. It just wasn’t my day.

Observing the scene, my husband walked over to me, kissed me on my forehead, told me I was cute, and then asked me to stop what I was doing. I gave him an “are you serious?” look and said, “I can’t just stop. I’m not going to quit. I need to put together a recipe and photograph it before I lose my natural sunlight in a matter of minutes.”

His next ask was simple, “Wash your hands, walk over to your computer, and turn on music. The house is quiet and you’re cooking in an asylum.” Aha … light bulb moment. With a defeated tone, I said, “I feel like I’m in a cooking insane asylum.”

So, I walked over to my computer, turned on my music, and walked back into the kitchen to survey the scene. My mood immediately changed and I quickly put together this Spicy Three Bean Chicken Salad recipe that was exactly what I needed to boost my energy. With only a few ingredients, this recipe was packed full of spicy flavors to awaken my senses.

Music and food, when paired together, sure do make for an amazing mood, don’t you agree?

Spicy Three Bean Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 4 chicken breasts
• 2 tablespoons TABASCO Original Red Sauce
• 1 15-ounce can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 15-ounce can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 15-ounce can of garbazno beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cups of arugula
• 1/2 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese
• 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil