Chicken and Wild Rice Salad

So this is one of my family's FAVORITE salads. And this is coming from the person who wrote 101 Things To Do With Salad, so that's sayin' something! This recipe is actually from a good FRIEND of mine and appears in her book called Baby Showers. Thanks Jen for a FANTASTIC recipe!

Chicken and Wild Rice Salad
1 cup wild rice, uncooked
1 (14-ounce) cans chicken broth
3 tablespoons lemon juice (I always use more)
1 pound cooked chicken, cut into bite-size pieces (rotisserie chicken works well here)
3 green onions, sliced (optional)
1/2 to 1 red bell pepper, diced
2 ounces sugar snap pieces, cut into pieces (I always use more)
1 cup pecan halves, toasted (optional)
2 avocados, cut into chunks

Dressing
2 cloves garlic, crushed or minced
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup vegetable oil (olive works too)

Rinse the rice and then cook in the broth until done; toss with the lemon juice. Let cool completely. Stir in the chicken, onion, bell pepper, and peas.

Combine the dressing ingredients and then toss in the salad mixture along with the pecans and avocado.  Makes 6 to 8 servings.

TIP: I usually drizzle lemon juice over the avocado before tossing in the salad just to make sure they don't turn brown. We eat this for dinner and then for lunch the next two days and it is still just as yummy as the first day! If it does seem a little dry, toss in a little more oil, vinegar, and lemon juice and just give it a stir.