by Judy Zabriskie

Created on: January 14, 2009   Last Updated: June 07, 2010

The best chicken salad ever

Summer is here and noone has time to fuss with cooking so for a delightfully light and filling meal why not an easy, delicious chicken salad?  In our house it has become the summertime staple. 

Ingredients:

Cooked chicken – either bake, roast, boil or grill chicken, or better yet purchase one of those already cooked chickens at the grocery store  - you know the rotisserie chickens that are so yummy or better yet use leftover chicken from a prior meal (dual purpose works for me.)

Chopped onion or celery – Vidalia or any sweet onion will do but not use uncooked yellow or white cooking onions.

Slivered almonds (walnuts work just as well, it is just a matter of taste)

Golden raisins (OK, so dark ones if that is what you have on hand, but not nearly as pretty in the salad as the golden)

Mayonnaise – homemade is great but Dukes or Hellman’s or whatever your preference is fine.

Procedure:

Tear chicken into bite size pieces and place in a bowl. Chop onions or celery into a small dice and add to bowl.  Add the slivered almonds and raisins to taste. Mix the dryingredients well prior to adding the mayonnaise to desired consistency and season with salt and pepper (we prefer white pepper, but black is fine as long as it is freshly ground as this adds the oils as well as the peppery taste)and dried tarragon (if you like the taste – we love the sweetness) but any herb you prefer or none at all.  There you have it - the simplest, but best chicken salad ever.

To fancy it up a bit serve on large lettuce leaves surrounded by cut up tomatoes and cucumber slices and maybe a little hardboiled egg for garnish.  Add some crusty bread and iced tea and you have achieved the perfect, easy to fix summer meal which is a hit with children and adults alike.

If you like things hot and spicy, use a bit of cumin and hot red pepper for seasonings and serve in ready to serve taco shells for an added zing and a taste of Mexico. 

This salad lends itself to endless possibilities – all you need do is experiment with spices of your choice and accoutrements your family prefers.  All I can say is enjoy!

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