There are certain things that remind me of summer, and chicken salad is one of those things. It's hot outside, you're spending time by the pool, at the park, or at the beach. You open up the cooler and pull out ice cold chicken salad. Yes time.
I might be a chicken salad snob. I usually don't like grocery store chicken salad. There's always something wrong. I have certain chicken salad rules that put me in the position of making my own or eating my moms. Chicken salad must:
1. have something crunchy in it. Celery or onion or pickle. It can't all be mush.
2. have something sweet in it. Grapes, dried fruit, apple, etc.
3. can't be too creamy. It's like too much dressing on a salad. All you taste is dressing. Gross.
4. none of the above apply to a shredded chicken salad. Those are a category all their own. I recommend the chicken salad from Brown Bag Deli or Nielsons Deli for examples.
This one is going to be short and sweet. We have a sick 10 month old in the house who happens to also be getting in three top teeth and this mom needs some sleep. If you prep the chopping, etc. this is a great recipe to make with a helper. Essentially it's a lot of dumping things into bowls followed by stirring. Kids get that kind of stuff.
Honey's Chicken Salad
Ingredients:
8-10 pickled okra, sliced
1/2 a small onion, finely chopped (about half a cup)
2 large stalks of celery, finely chopped (about half a cup)
1 cup of red grapes, cut in half (I used a cup and a half because I like the sweet)
1 apple, cut into small pieces
1/4 C chopped walnuts
1 whole chicken (I just pick up a rotisserie chicken)
1/2 C full fat mayo
1/2 C regular sour cream
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
Chicken Salad is great because you can make it into exactly what you want it to be. If you like more grapes, put more grapes in. If you want it saltier, put in more pickles or okra, or whatever. Make it once to see what the flavors are like and then adjust accordingly. What I love about Honey's Chicken Salad is the light curry flavor in the dressing. Next time I might add more Curry Powder to bring it out.
So here's what you do... take your chicken and shred/chop it. I hate having a chicken salad with huge bites of chicken. So I do a combo shred and chop. It makes it so that with each bite of chicken you have room for the other ingredients to sneak in.
After you have taken your chicken apart, chop, slice and cut everything else and throw it in a bowl. In a separate bowl mix your sour cream, mayo, curry, and garlic. The sour cream really cuts the richness of the mayo. I might try this again with some greek yogurt taking the place of a portion of mayo, but today I was a traditionalist. Once you have the dressing mixed and it tastes the way you want, dump it into the bowl of ingredients and stir.
Stir and taste and stir and taste, etc. Adjust the flavors you feel are lacking. Chop more of this, add a pinch of that, do what makes it taste best to you. It's your chicken salad after all! It won't last long. This is a great one!
If you want a bonus, take the chicken carcass and drop it in a pot. Fill with water and boil to make homemade chicken stock to freeze for rice, pasta, soups, beans, or other recipes. Our little rotisserie carcass was not thrown out. If you want to cut the fat from your chicken stock, put the cooled stock in the fridge overnight and spoon the fat off of the top the next morning before putting it away.
** Not So Sweet May Update - it seems like lots of other people are giving up sugar recently. I'm a trend setter. This is the halfway point. And not to be undone, it is also nation cookie day. Jerks. Here is where I am:
It is getting easier. I am happy to say that. I am getting used to turning to fruit instead of junk sweets.
My energy is the biggest tell. It used to be so hard to get out of bed. Now, even if I have a horrible night's sleep, I can get up more easily and get my day going. This is huge.
Again with the not as bloated, but I have also lost two real pounds. Not water weight or fluctuation, real pounds.
So we are going along. The smoothies are what has made this doable for me. They are sweet and I sometimes imagine they are milkshakes. I will keep them forever and always. It is giving me a daily dose of fruits and veggies that I wasn't getting before.
Hope y'all are seeing some positive differences. It's so hard. 16 more days!
-RT
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