Silly Thirty Cooking: Chicken Salad

Everyone has a few "go to" recipes that they whip out when they cannot think of anything to eat, but want something that will be satisfying and delicious.  For me, one of those recipes is chicken salad.  I love chicken salad because the base - chicken (obviously!) and binding agent - are fairly simple, but you can jazz it up with whatever you decide to add to it.  I like to make a big batch of this and graze on it all week long, for dinners or lunches etc.

As far as the chicken goes, I like to pick up a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket.  Of course, you can always use your leftovers or roast a chicken if that is your preference.

I guess you could say that a "traditional" chicken salad usually calls for mayonnaise, but if you are trying to make healthier choices, why not use plain yogurt?  What I like to do is pick up a plain zero-fat Greek yogurt (make sure you read the labels so you don't accidentally pick up a vanilla flavored yogurt) and add some Dijon mustard to give it a kick. 

As far as the other ingredients, this will be up to you - what other veggies or fruit do you like?

 (So many options!!!!)

A Waldorf-style chicken salad has apples, dried cranberries and walnuts.  If you prefer a salad that is crunchier and with a little tang to it, then use celery, carrots and red onion.  Another option is a Greek-style salad with red and green peppers, red onion, a few sprinkles of feta cheese and chopped black or kalamata olives.  For those of you that like an Asian-style salad, add a splash of soy sauce, some mandarin slices, green onion, carrot, and dried noodles as a garnish.

Just remember that there are some fruits and vegetables that work better with chicken salads that will be freshly served.  Red grapes, tomatoes, and cucumbers would fall into this category since they are watery.

Here is a chicken salad I recently made.

 

I used a Greek yogurt and Dijon mustard base and then added an apple, red onion, celery, and red pepper.  I usually season with salt, pepper, and a little bit of garlic powder at the end to finish the salad.

As with any salad, there are no hard and fast rules about quantities - if you like a lot of red onion then add a lot of red onion.  If you like salad with a lot of dressing, then add more mayo or yogurt.  There isn't a wrong way to do this. 


Take care and talk to you soon!