Tag Archives: salad

Ultimate, Classic Chicken Salad

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I can’t believe it’s been two weeks since I’ve posted on here. It’s been a crazy two weeks. I’ve been dealing with shingles, which if you’ve ever been unfortunate enough to have it you know it’s so painful. Miserable!

Then, I headed to Chicago for the weekend to meet one of my longest and best friends. We’ve been best mates for 23 years and counting. She lives in Switzerland now and we continue to meet every year in some city. We’ve never missed a year

Then, my sister from California was visiting and we went to Branson and just hung out. So it’s been hectic.

But now, I am back in the kitchen cooking up a bunch of rotisserie chicken recipes. Here’s my classic chicken salad, which is always popular. Everyone loves chicken salad.

You can serve this as a sandwich or appetizer with Ritz crackers. I love it either way

Ultimate Classic Chicken Salad

3 ½ cups chopped rotisserie chicken

½ cup coarsely chopped pecans

2 tablespoons dried cranberries

½ cup chopped celery

½ cup halved white grapes

1/3 cup chopped red onion

¾ cup mayonnaise

2 teaspoons white wine vinegar (can substitute apple cider vinegar)

1 teaspoon sugar

Salt and pepper to taste

Remove skin from the rotisserie chicken and pull the meat off the bones. You will use most of the chicken for this recipe, but not all. Chop chicken into chunks.

In a large bowl, add first six ingredients (through the red onion) and toss gently.

In another bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, vinegar and sugar. Stir together until chicken salad is well coated. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve or cover and refrigerate until it’s time to serve.

Curried Chicken Salad

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Curried Chicken Salad

I make amazing curried chicken salad!

It’s wonderful stuffed in pita pockets, scooped out on a pile of lettuce for a salad, stuffed in a whole wheat tortilla wrap or even served at a party as an appetizer in puff pastry cups or as a dip with tortilla chips. It’s so versatile.

And it has everything from dried cranberries to shredded coconut, it’s wonderful.

When I serve it as a salad, I like to add chopped green apples on the side and sometimes red bell pepper.

Curried Chicken Salad

1 rotisserie chicken

2/3 cup sliced green grapes

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

1/3 cup chopped red onion

2 stalks celery

1/3 cup shredded sweetened coconut

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1 1/4 cups mayonnaise

1 cup Light Miracle Whip

1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder (or to taste)

salt and pepper to taste

De-skin and de-bone your chicken. I save the skin and bones for stock. You can freeze them for that if you don’t plan to make stock any time soon. Then tear all the meat off the bird and chop it. I use everything, down to the wings.

Place in a bowl. Take about 20 grapes and slice them in thirds. Add the grapes to the chicken. Chop cilantro, red onion and celery and add it. Top with shredded coconut and dried cranberries.

In another bowl, mix mayo and Light Miracle Whip. Stir in curry powder and add a little salt and pepper. I use 1 1/2 teaspoons but if you have a poor quality curry powder, you may need as much as a tablespoon. Taste as you go so you don’t ruin it.

Then stir mayo mixture into chicken mixture. Cover and refrigerate an hour before serving to let the flavors marry.

This chicken salad is so creamy and delicious! If you have a better recipe, please post it. I want to try it.

Celery Leaves have many uses. And what do you do when you over salt soup? Hump Day Hacks and Tips

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It’s Wednesday, which I am calling  “Hump Day Hacks and Tips!” I am excited about this new feature on my blog that will appear every Wednesday.

Sometimes I share content I find, sometimes I share my own. Today, I share my own and I have two tips for you.

My parents used to live in the Dominican Republic and when I visited them (back in college), I discovered the beauty of celery leaves.

Most American cooks cut the leaves off and toss them– I used to do that–  but it’s a mistake. First, I am advocate of using as much of every food as possible. And second, the leaves are intensely flavorful and nutritious.

Celery leaves are high in iron, magnesium, and vitamins A and C.

In the Dominican, they used the leaves in marinades and that is a wonderful use, especially with chicken.

But I have lots of other ideas, too.

Celery leaves are great in stocks and broth. Because I have a ton of rotisserie chicken carcasses each week, I make my own stock. But on that rare occasion that I don’t, I still drop celery leaves, onions and bay leaves in commercial stock and boil for 10 minutes before I use the stock. I adds a lot of flavor. The more celery leaves, the better.

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Slice the leaves and use as substitute for parsley.

Toss chopped leaves into a salad to impart a celery flavor. It’s excellent. You can also add some to tuna salad or chicken salad. It adds extra flavor and nutrition. Mayo helps mellow out the celery leaf flavor.

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The leaves are excellent in homemade beans, both in the cooking process and sliced on top as a garnish.

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You can use them to garnish risotto or in rice pilaf or quinoa salad.

Use the leaves and a few stalks to infuse vodka for a fantastic Bloody Mary. Let’s see, it’s Wednesday, so go home tonight and add the leaves and stalks to vodka and Sunday morning, strain the vodka and enjoy a flavorful Bloody Mary. You can also add jalapenos if you like it hot.

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And save back a stem with some leaves on the top to garnish that Bloody Mary with olives. A thincelery stalk with leaves on top makes a great olive skewer.

Ok, I hope you never throw away celery leaves. There are too many reasons not to.

My second tip is a lot quicker.

I was at a friend’s house about a month ago and she over-salted her soup. I told her next time she does that, to place a few small potatoes or slice up a large potato, and put it in the broth as it cooks and the potato will extract some of the salt. You should peel the potato before you add them.

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You don’t want to cook the potato through and you may have to repeat the process, but it will help reduce the salt. Just think about how much salt potatoes need. It’s a great solution for over-salted stock.

That’s it for today. Join me all week for rotisserie chicken recipes and Hump Day Hacks and Tips on Wednesday.

I will start adding a weekly travel feature, too. I am thinking about Travel Tuesday or Travel Thursday. I have visited 57 countries, every continent and 45 states, so I have LOTS of travel tips and advice.

Thank you for reading today.

Barbecue Ranch Chicken Salad- my brother-in-law says It’s the bomb.

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Does this salad look good, or what? It’s fabulous.

This restaurant quality salad is amazing and serves two as a main course or up to six as a side dish.

I call it restaurant quality because it’s really a restaurant rip off. The Cheesecake Factory serves an amazing salad like this, which was my inspiration for this recipe. That is one of my favorite things on the menu.

Salads don’t often “wow” people, but this one usually does.

Directions:

1 head of romaine lettuce

2/3 cup of canned corn, drained

2/3 cup black beans, drained

1 1/4 cups chopped chicken

2 Roma tomatoes, chopped

3 slices of bacon or 1/3 cup real bacon pieces

1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese

French’s Fried Onion rings (like you use for the green bean casserole at Thanksgiving)

 

 

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Dressing:

1/2 cup Ranch dressing

1 1/2 tablespoons barbecue sauce

1 tablespoon salsa

Get a large serving bowl for this recipe. For the photo, I made this look pretty by stacking the ingredients, but you will need to toss this together with the dressing before you serve it.

Chop lettuce and place in bowl. Add corn, black beans, chicken, tomatoes, bacon and cheese,

Mix ingredients for the dressing together then pour dressing over salad and thoroughly toss to distribute ingredients and the dressing. Allow to rest for 5 minutes and then serve.

Asian Chicken Salad (three ways)

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I love, love, love chicken salad and am constantly creating different versions.

My top three recipes are this one, my rosemary chicken salad and my curried chicken salad.

My Asian version always wows people and I think it’s because it’s so unique. I love it because it’s easy, delicious and I can serve it three ways.

. I have served this on Ritz crackers at parties and it’s a huge hit;

I have piled it in the middle of a salad and devoured it for lunch (pictured here).\;

And I have served it on French bread as a sandwich and that’s pretty fantastic, too. I recommend topping the sandwich with thinly sliced cucumbers.

Every version is fantastic. In my recipe, I recommend using celery OR water chestnuts. I prefer celery but have made it both ways.

They key to this salad is you must have Soy Vay Veri Veri Teriyaki sauce. If you’ve never used that sauce, you should. It’s one of my favorite kitchen condiments.

It’s AMAZING on stir fried vegetables, soba noodles, on chicken. The great thing is, it’s a complete sauce so you don’t need to add other sauces.  I have used it for dipping sauce, as a marinade, etc, etc. It’s so versatile. Once you try it, you will ask that bottle: “Where have you been all my life?”

If you can’t find it on your local store, you can order it online: https://www.soyvay.com

You can search stores in your area on the website to see if they carry it.

This salad is perfect for entertaining or enjoying at home. Take it on a picnic or out on the boat. It’s lovely. Enjoy.

Asian Chicken Salad

3 1/2 cups chopped rotisserie chicken, skin removed

3/4 cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup Soy Vay Veri Veri Teriyaki

2 stalks of celery OR 5 ounces water chestnuts, minced

3 green onions, sliced

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Pepper to taste (you don’t need salt)

2 tablespoons shredded carrot (optional) I add carrots when serving as a salad

Ritz crackers to serve, or bread, or a bed of lettuce

Dark meat is great in this dish, so if you’re not crazy about legs and thighs, try adding the meat to this. It makes a wonderful appetizer. A buttery Ritz is a wonderful complement, or serve it on a slice of cucumber when it’s hot outside for a refreshing appetizer.

While I am not an iceberg lettuce fan, if you are serving this on lettuce, iceberg is the way to go. It’s so crisp and light and is a beautiful compliment to the salad.

Directions:

In a large bow, mix mayonnaise and Soy Vay sauce together. Then add chicken, celery or water chestnuts, onion and cilantro. Stir until thoroughly combined. Add pepper to taste.

If serving as a salad, serve it over lettuce with cucumbers and topped with carrots.

In serving for a party, you an sit it out surrounded by crackers or plate each individual cracker. Cucumber slices are a nice addition if it’s self serve. You an also use cucumber slices to serve the salad if you are avoiding extra carbs. You can garnish with extra cilantro, if desired. I did it more for aesthetics for the photo.

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Or serve on bread.

Baby Kale, Strawberry, Chicken Salad with Candied Walnuts and Raspberry Vinaigrette 

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This salad is incredible and comes together so quickly. It’s perfect for lunch or dinner on a hot summer night. It’s a restaurant quality salad on the table in less than 10 minutes.

And it’s healthy.

Kale is packed with vitamins K, A and C, (a serving has more than 800 percent of your daily vitamin K needs);  walnuts have Omega 3 fatty acids, and the nuts and chicken give it protein to keep you full longer.

However, sunflower seeds do add a lot of calories and fat, so if you’re watching your waistline, you may want to omit those and double up on strawberries.

A sprinkle of goat cheese crumbles is great on this salad, too.

If you can’t find baby kale, you can substitute spinach or arugula. I bought baby kale in a plastic tub next to other salad greens.

It’s important to use honey roasted sunflower seeds as it adds sweetness. I used applewood smoked chicken, but that is not available at all stores, so regular is fine. I would stick with traditional and not use a lemon-pepper chicken.

Dress this salad with your favorite raspberry vinaigrette. I used Walmart’s generic brand, Great Value, and it was awesome. Enjoy this healthy, EASY meal.

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Baby Kale, Strawberry, Chicken Salad with Candied Walnuts and Raspberry Vinaigrette

3 cups baby kale greens

2 tablespoons honey roasted sunflower seeds

2 tablespoons candied or glazed walnuts

4 strawberries, hulled and sliced

1/2 cup to 2/3 cup chopped rotisserie chicken

1 tablespoon dried cranberries (optional)

Your favorite raspberry vinaigrette

Spread kale on a large plate. Top with all the other ingredients. Toss with vinaigrette and serve.

I like this with a crisp white wine.

Goat Cheese, Strawberry, Chicken, Spinach Salad with Sweet Balsamic Vinaigrette

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 I don’t know what the weather is like where you are, but it’s sunny and gorgeous here. It feels like spring! And that means, I am thinking about spring and getting fit for the season. So a salad is on the agenda today.

This easy, healthy salad is on the table in about 7 minutes. It’s great for lunch or dinner.

This serves 1.

Directions

½ cup sliced rotisserie chicken

2 cups loosely packed spinach (don’t actually pack it, just scoop up 2 cups)

1 ounce crumbled goat cheese

¼ cup slivered almonds

5 strawberries, hulled and sliced

Dressing

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon ketchup

This salad is lightly dressed, if you like a good drenching, then double the dressing recipe.

Place salad ingredients in a large bowl or plate and then make the dressing.

Place salad dressing ingredients in a jar, seal and shake until well combined (you can also just whisk the dressing together if you don’t have an empty jar. But it’s a good idea to save empty jars for this sort of thing).

Pour over salad, toss, and let rest 5 minutes. Then serve.