Mid-Week Minute: It's No Big Deal, Just the BEST Chicken Salad You'll Ever Make!

I had every intention of making this recipe last weekend so I could take a picture of it for this post but Paul started a new diet that prohibits like half of the ingredients and he looooves this chicken salad so I thought I would be considerate and not tempt him with it. It's fine though, even though it doesn't taste like your regular old chicken salad, it does pretty much look like it so really a picture isn't necessary. Anyway, here ya go...

Emily's Super Special Chicken Salad
Ingredients

1/2 cup light or regular mayonnaise

1/2 cup light or regular sour cream

1 heaping tablespoon honey

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

4-5 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, seasoned (I like Mrs. Dash or Kickin Chicken), grilled and chopped

3 cups red and/or white seedless grapes, quartered

1 cup chopped pecans or almonds (toasted optional)

Preparation

Season, grill, and chop chicken. Stir together 1/2 cup mayonnaise and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Add chopped chicken and grapes, tossing gently to coat. Cover and chill at least 1 hour. Stir in nuts just before serving.

The key to this recipe is that it's all about the chicken. Don't boil it or bake it -- season it with your favorite seasoning and grill that shiz. It makes all the difference. Also, don't be shy with the honey. It makes it soooo good! I've found that the mayonnaise mixture sometimes turns out to be more than you need so don't dump it all in at once. Stir in about half and then add more until you get the consistency you want. If you aren't planning on eating all of the chicken salad that day you might want to add a little extra mayo mixture because it will partially absorb into the chicken overnight and be less moist than you want the next day. 

Last night I made another yummy hodge podge stew, this time with just vegetables... lots of vegetables. It turned out really good and super colorful and I did actually take a picture of it:

Veggie Hodge Podge Stew
Ingredients

One onion, rough chopped

Two medium sized squash, quartered and cut up

One green bell pepper, chopped

2-3 medium carrots, chopped

One can diced tomatoes, drained

1 1/2 cups frozen corn or 1 can corn, drained

1 can pinto beans, drained

1 can chicken or vegetable broth

Basil, oregano, garlic powder, S&P to taste

Preparation

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion. Chop the carrots and add those to the pot. Chop the bell pepper and add to pot. Then cut up the squash and add to pot. These four ingredients need some extra cooking time before adding the other ingredients. The onion needs the most time and the squash needs the least time, so add them in that order. Cover pot and let them cook for about 5 minutes after the squash is added, stirring occasionally. Then add the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil and then simmer covered for 20-30 minutes. 

Anyway, that's all for now. Hope you enjoy the recipes and join us back here on Friday for the unveiling of Wilder's latest milestone.