Hi friends! I hope you are having a great week! Today I have a tasty and satisfying recipe for an easy chicken salad. If you like chicken salad, you are going to love this! It’s been so hot here this week, and there is nothing like a cool and creamy chicken salad to fill you up with something to boost your energy! This one is a winner winner chicken salad dinner!

Many thanks to my dear sweet husband Troy who helped prepare and photograph this week’s tasty recipe! And now, without further ado, let’s begin!

Ingredients:

• 4 cups cooked chicken, chopped
• 1 red delicious apple
• red grapes (about 50 grapes)
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 3 stalks celery
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• a few sprigs of dill chopped
• 1 cup mayonnaise (I used “light” mayo)
• 1 Tbsp dijon mustard
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp salt
• ground pepper to taste
  

For your chicken for this recipe, you can purchase a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. Or you could use some chicken you have on hand. Or, you can cook it up yourself, which is what we did.

We used split chicken breast with the bone still in. We basted the chicken in olive oil, and salt and peppered it. We just baked it for about an hour at 400°. Then when it cooled, I removed the skin, and cut the meat into bite size pieces. I got plenty of chicken… probably 5-6 cups of chicken.

So as the chicken was cooling I cut up the other ingredients. First cut about 50 grapes. If they are huge, cut them in half and then one more time.

Next dice up your apples in nice bite size pieces.

Wash and slice/dice 3 stalks of celery.

I try and chop it quite small.

Throw the chopped ingredients in a bowl with the chicken. Don’t forget to add your chopped dill, and sliced almonds. I used prepackaged sliced almonds.

Now lets mix up the dressing.

1 cup of mayo (we used “Light Mayonnaise” and that should help reduce calories.

Add in your lemon juice and dijon mustard, salt and pepper.

Stir it up and add it to the bowl of chopped items.

Gently incorporate it all together, and now it needs to chill in the refrigerator for about an hour.

At this point, before I chill it, I put it in a fresh bowl that I intend to serve it in. Cover and chill.

And that is all there is to it! Now you are ready to enjoy!

Fill your table with things people might enjoy with the chicken salad. We like to eat it with crackers, or mini croissants, or whole wheat bread, or even straight up on a bed of lettuce.

Some nice sides might be a fruit salad, watermelon, fresh veggies, a cheese plate, and maybe some mini muffins.

Below I put a scoop of chicken salad on a leaf of lettuce.

And below is a sandwich made on mini croissants from the grocery store.

This is so good, you will want to keep eating it!

This is feel good, look good, taste good food! My son Jake gives it 2 thumbs up!

My husband loves it too! I put my flowers on the table from the window sill.

Because a hard day’s work deserves a celebration meal to replenish and revitalize! Just on the heels of Labor Day, I have been thinking about how hard people work and how it should be honored and celebrated maybe even a little bit each evening.

Isn’t it something how a pretty spread of food makes you just feel so good? While we were cooking this, there were so many delicious aromas in the house. And then you put it all on the table. You hold nothing back. And the hungry dear souls come and begin to refuel. And soon they feel their strength start to rise. And you, dear cook, have once again saved the day with a delicious meal! And of course you get to enjoy it, too! Isn’t it a blessing to be that person who meets such a very real need to others? The call of an empty stomach is a powerful feeling. But then when its met with a delicious spread of hearty food from someone who loves you, well it just doesn’t get much better than that!

I hope you have a fantastic week!

I’ll be back Friday for another Fashion Friday!

Love Always,

Amy

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word… all of which have the potential to turn a life around.   ~Leo Buscaglia