Hey, gals!
‘Tis the season of eating good and good eats.
I am seeing recipes for soups and chilis on all of the blogs I follow. Decided I better get on the bandwagon lest you think I don’t cook over here (feel pretty sure you know I eat).
PC and I are truly trying to eat healthier and get in better shape. We went to the grocery store together on Saturday afternoon, my Prince pushed the cart as I consulted my list and a dozen recipes for everything we needed to buy.
Tonight not only did we skip the gym but I fell back on making an old faithful casserole rather than any of the meals for which I shopped over the weekend. But tomorrow is another day and we will do better.
Among the recipes that I am going to be making over the next few weeks is one that I first tried in September for chicken salad. I took bits and pieces from two recipes to create my own and it was mmm, mmm, good, if I do say so myself.
The recipes I combined were Sonoma Chicken Salad, below left, that I found on Pinterest, originally pinned from Cooking Classy and Skinny Chicken Salad, below right, another Pinterest pin, from Skinny Mom.
Let me say upfront that I never measure when I cook. So to say I followed a recipe or even two, as would be the case here, means I looked over the recipe(s) then threw the ingredients I liked of those listed in the directions into a bowl. Then stirred.
This is my recipe, kinda.
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups cooked, shredded chicken (about 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast halves)
**(I used canned chicken mixed with maybe one chicken breast)
- 1 cup diced celery (about 3 stalks) – eh, a cup is a lot of dicing…maybe 1/2 cup?
- 2/3 cup chopped pecans – more like one small package worth
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries, such as Craisins, roughly chopped – no time to chop OR
- 1 cup red, seedless grapes, cut in half – I can cut that much
- 2 Tbsp finely grated Parmesan cheese – possibly a little more, I love P-cheese
Dressing
- 2/3 cup light or fat-free mayonnaise OR 1/2ish cup plain, nonfat Greek yogurt + 1/4 cup light or chubs-free mayo
- 1/4 cup apple juice
- 3 Tbsp honey
- 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp prepared yellow mustard (optional) – probably a little less
- 1 Tbsp poppy seeds
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Throw it in a bowl uand mix it up. Chill before serving. Serve on pocket bread. Let’s eat!
Just noticed I used white grape juice that looked like apple juice. Oh, well, tasted good. I am thinking with the leftover turkey that this season brings, this might be a great way to use it.
Hope you can make heads or tails out of this recipe.
It is truly tasty.
If you try it, let me know!
But only if you like it!
Hugs and kisses,
I laughed out loud reading this Les. Neither one of us could ever host a cooking show and together we wouldn’t be able to talk for laughing. You’ve always been a wonderful cook no matter how you mix it up! 😊
You are too sweet! And give me more credit than I deserve. I should measure but it is so much easier not to! Ha! Call me lazy Leslie.
Looks delicious! I never measure either…I sometimes think that maybe I should.
Not measuring keeps things exciting. You never know how even the most familiar recipe is going to taste!
Oh, I am so making this!! Sounds DELISH and I love chicken salad so much!! Great leftovers! Thanks for sharing 🙂 XOXOX
Hope you like it! It was my first stab at making chicken salad. Need to make it again.
this post made me SUPER hungry!!! lol Im going to have to try and recreate this!
http://www.confessionsofafrumpymommy.com
I love the crunch of the nuts and the tart-sweetness or sweet-tartness of the grapes/cranberries. Like pattern mixing in clothes!!!
I LOVE chicken salad – one of my very favorites. Thanks for this yummy recipe!
One of our new favs, too! How are you doing? Hope you have been able to get to Arizona safely and have comforted and found comfort with your mom. XO
This looks yummy! I’m not much of a measure-er either!
We are probably the best cooks – those of us who don’t measure. Should make a club and have a secret handshake!
I really need to start eating healthier. I was doing so well and then I got sick (and I haven’t been sick for awhile now!) and it all went downhill. So, I need to get back on track. This chicken salad sounds so good! I am going to try it. I need to figure out better lunches to eat during the week and I could make a big batch of this up to eat all week for myself!
Carrie
curlycraftymom.com
It is hard to eat and cook nutritiously all of the time. Just wolfed down a pb sans j, for lunch topped off with some Chex mix.
I like chicken salad – but never think to make it. Thanks for reminding me about this – and for the recipe.
Lisa
Daily Style Finds
Somehow I think what I call dinner – chicken salad sammy – and what PC calls dinner, meat, potato, veggie, roll, salad, dessert – don’t always match up. But he likes an occasional batch of Hamburger Helper so I am going to keep him around.
OH YUM!! This sounds very much like a Martha Stewart one I make but I like the addition of parm cheese! YUM!!! I will try this for sure! XOXO
So good! I love parmesan cheese but worried a little about adding it to this recipe, wasn’t sure it would go with chicken salad but it was a yummy addition!