Southern Chicken Salad If you don't have any Southern style seasoning in your pantry yet, then pop it on your shopping list.  It is excellent with chicken and if you are a vegetarian its also great to season tofu. The best thing about a Southern Chicken Salad is how quick and tasty it is. Usually most kitchens will have all the ingredients and even if you don't have pineapple and strawberries, oranges and grapes will do just as well. My mouth is starting to water now, so let's get cooking.......

Ingredients for Southern Chicken Salad:
• 200 grams diced chicken thigh meat
• 1 tbsp rice bran oil
• 2 tsp Southern Chicken seasoning
• Pinch of salt if needed

For the salad:
• Handful of baby spinach leaves
• 1 tomato chopped
• 5 cm of cucumber peeled and finely chopped
• 1/4 green capsicum finely chopped
• 1/4 red capsicum finely chopped
• 1/2 a courgette grated
• 50 grams feta cheese crumbled (optional)
• 10 pitted black olives halved (optional)
• 1/2 beetroot chopped (optional)
• 1 slice of fresh pineapple chopped
• 5 fresh strawberries chopped

Dressing:
• 1 tsp honey melted
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar

Two of the pantry staples of Southern seasoning are Old Bay Seasoning and Slap Ya Mama Cajun Seasoning. The iconic yellow and blue tin ( Old Bay Seasoning ) needs no introduction, and it’s what we like to call, “a beginner’s guide to spice.” Old Bay has been around since its founding in 1940 in Maryland. It’s dependable, easily accessible, and—dare we say, a little bit expected. Sure, serious purveyors of seafood boils use it religiously, whether you’re a diehard for a Maryland crab boil, South Carolina shrimp boil, or Louisiana crawfish boil. However, Old Bay is also what most beginners tend to grab for at the grocery store before trying to whip up a coastal classic for the first time.

Slap Ya Mama Cajun Seasoning has curb appeal due to its sassy name, which can attract many different types of cooks. The family-run Louisianan blend has a big bark, but not necessarily the biggest bite unless you know how to use it. For this reason, true Cajun cooks can get away with wielding it correctly, which means very generously dousing it when making dishes like fry batter for shrimp or catfish, as well as jambalaya and red beans and rice. Novices might be too scared of the name to use it as bountifully as needed.

What ever Southern seasoning you choose, make sure you try it out for heat first, before adding large quantities. Remember, it's not a competition to see who can pass out first.