Bean Chicken Salad

I use the big 12.5 oz can of chicken breast from Costco to make my chicken salads, so they make 3 salads. I make them in a big bowl and dish them directly into plastic sandwich containers that fit in my lunch box. I use generic canned beans but read the labels and get the one with the lowest calories.

Bean Chicken Salad
1 can (12.5 oz) chicken breast in water
1/2 c whole wheat mini-noodles of your choice
2/3 c petite green peas (frozen)
1/2 c dark red kidney beans (rinsed and drained)
1/2 c black beans (rinsed and drained)
6 tbls fat free ranch dressing

Drain the water/broth from the chicken can into a small cooking pot. Add 1/2 c water and bring to a boil. Add the noodles and let this cook (per directions on the noodle box) while you work on the rest. Flake the chicken into a big bowl. Add 2 tbls ranch dressing and mix it in. (It's easier to mix the dressing in stages.) Add all the beans and another 2 tbls ranch dressing and mix all this together. When the noodles are finished, turn off the stove and add the peas to the pot. They only need 1 maybe 2 minutes to heat up (or they turn mushy). When they are finished cooking, drain and rinse the noodles/peas with cold water. Let all the water drain away and add these to the chicken mix. Add the last 2 tbls of ranch dressing on top and mix it all together. Makes 3 servings each: 230 calories/1.5g fat/25g protein.