Cheaters Chicken Salad



I made this random collage to distract you
from the fact that I didn't take any photos
of the chicken salad - whups.



I think I’m supposed to start this entry by apologizing for not posting for a long time. Then I should ramble on about how hectic and exciting my life has been (blah blah blah). Finally, I'm probably supposed to promise to be a more diligent blogger. Can we skip all that mess and talk about food? Awesome, thanks!  

I took a pretty simplistic view to cooking this week. Lots of meat + veggies + salsa. I did one old standard my hubby likes too – chicken salad. It’s good for him because he’s on the road a lot for his job. And since most of my cooking needs to be eaten hot, he often has some less desirable lunch options (Read: hoagies/pizza/various Wawa items).

 My chicken salad, like most of my cooking, is simple. In my early days, I would grill chicken, cool it and then dice it up. Then I discovered the Whole Foods rotisserie chicken and my life got waaaaay easier. I like the balanced flavors of this recipe…it’s creamy, a little sweet, and still savory.  



Cheaters Chicken Salad

•  1 rotisserie chicken
• 1 medium-large bunch celery
•  1 large red onion
• 1 medium green apple
• Lemon juice
• ½ cup raisins
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1-1.5 cups paleo mayo
• Salt and pepper to taste

Slice the celery bunch (all at one time) into ¼ inch strips – doing the whole bunch at once saves a lot of time, which is good because I’m lazy. Throw in a large bowl. Then chop your red onion into a small dice and toss on top of the celery. Do the same with the apple, but toss it in lemon juice before you add it to the large bowl. Throw in the raisins. Coarsely chop the walnuts and add them to the bowl as well.



Strip the chicken from the bone in large chunks, keeping the skin if you like to have it in your chicken salad (I do, natch). Once you have the large chunks, tear it into smaller pieces and add it to the rest of the yummy goodness. At this point, it’s time to get everything mixed together. I stick my hands in the bowl and toss it until everything it’s incorporated. Sprinkle with you preferred amount of salt and pepper and repeat the hand toss. Finally, plop on your mayo and mix it up (I switch to using a spoon once the mayo goes in). Adjust the salt and pepper if needed. This recipe yields between 6-8 servings depending on your (or your husband's) hunger level.