Wednesday, August 31, 2011

End of Summer Celebration

It is hard to believe it's the end of summer already, but it is!   I for one am very excited and ready to move on past these record breaking temps we've had this year just about ALL Summer long!  Three digit temps is waaaay too much to bear for soooo long, even for this born and bred southern gal.  I'm so thrilled to say goodbye to our hot summer that I will be celebrating with a few friends today over at;
 A Musing Potpourri for an
 End of Summer Celebration.


While we are still hitting temps here in the 90's, there has been a cooling down over the last few days in the mornings and evenings.  That's a good sign that summer is starting to move out.  Our new pool has finally dropped it's temperature to it's first all time low of 83 degrees. Burrr!!!  LOL!  It's quite refreshing though!



I've put together a few fun things in order to celebrate the end of summer.  First I've created a few mosaics of all my summer highlights.  Then, I am also sharing a very easy Chicken Salad recipe I've been working on perfecting this summer.  So thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy!

Yes ladies that is canned chicken.  I know, I know, I can just see you shaking your heads and rolling your eyes, and I'm sure many of you are considering clicking off right now...but wait!!!  I promised to share an EASY chicken salad recipe with you didn't I?  Well, yes I did! 

 I love chicken salad and there is about a bazillion ways you can make it for sure, but I really wanted a recipe that was simple and easy.

Besides taking a mini vacay, building a pool,tablescaping, and various other projects that I've been working on I've also been trying to eat lighter.
  I have been buying chicken salad like crazy this summer from our local meat market but it cost almost $7.00 for a small tub.  It had a very simple taste and the more I ate of it, the more I decided that I certainly could make this myself.  I kept looking at what was in it and then started looking for recipes online that might come close to what I was tasting.  After omitting all the recipes that required me to cook fresh chicken first, (because I knew that would not work with me)  
  I finally found a recipe I liked from allrecipes.com and tweaked it just a bit.

The tweaking was a short process and used up a few of these.  I was pretty excited to find these at Sam's Club sold in a pack of 5 cans for about $9.00.   I know the preferred "southern" method to make chicken salad is by using roasted chicken then shredding that but come on, me, really? I just don't have the patience or time for that because I literally want chicken salad for lunch almost daily. I do have the time for this though and think the secret is in using white meat.

After draining the can I dump the chunks into a bowl and use my fork to break it up and shred it more.

Then I used about two to two and half stalks of celery very finely chopped.  First I cut the then slices...

then diced it down, very small!

Add that to the chicken...

...then I added two heaping tablespoons of mayo.

Next I added three heaping "tea" spoons of dill relish.  The recipe calls for sweet relish but I prefer the dill relish.  I just don't care for a sweet sweet pickle taste but do love dill pickles.

Next add one half of a teaspoon of onion powder.  I love this!  It may taste slightly pungent the first day immediately after you make it but after being refrigerated tends to be less strong but helps flavor the chicken.

Then you add your salt and pepper.  I only used about an eight of a teaspoon of each, but this could be changed due to your tastes too.  This was just enough for us!

Continue to mix it all up good with your fork and then spoon it into a lidded tub to refrigerate.

Here's mine that I recycled from the meat market.  Sorry guys!

I've been using these for an even lighter lunch lately.  Yum!

After spreading my chicken salad on the bread, I add a few pieces of lettuce and that's it.

Roll it up and ENJOY!  I sure do!

Here's my version of the Chicken Salad recipe;

(1)13oz can of premium white chicken chunks
2 large stalks of celery very finely diced
2 heaping "table"spoonfuls of mayo
3 heaping "tea" spoonfuls of dill relish
1/2 teaspoon of onion powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Mix it all together in a bowl until chicken is finely shredded and store in a container w/sealed lid in refrigerator.  Tastes great on sandwich's and salads and no extra condiments needed for serving. 

It's a great light lunch for summer and will be even tastier this winter on toasted wheat or rye!
Yum!  I can hardly wait!

Thanks for visiting today!
Come again!


9 comments:

  1. Great recipe and it looks sooooooo good. I love chicken salad and that is always my go to when out to lunch. Hugs, Marty

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Mary,
    your mosaics are full of nice summer impressions. Thank you for the recipe of this yummy salad.
    Best greetings, Johanna

    ReplyDelete
  3. Looks like you've had a very exciting summer Mary, the pool looks great:@)

    ReplyDelete
  4. You have been a busy bee this summer. I agree. It has been too darn hot this year with very few breaks.

    Your chicken salad looks good. I can never quite get mine right. I think I'll give your recipe a go. I use canned chicken sometimes, too.

    Thank you for joining the celebration today. Have a fantastic holiday weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hey friend....looks amazing..I love easy recipes and I use this chicken all the time...I right now need to go stock up the pantry...and I'm still jealous over that wonderful pool,I want one.
    ~JO

    ReplyDelete
  6. That looks just like the stuff you buy at the store!! I will have to try it. I love chicken salad. I made a new one tonight with mayo, lemon juice, chicken, basil, green onions, and lemon pepper. It was different but really good!

    I love your mosaics! We just got back from Tennessee and I am so behind. I tried to comment on a few of your posts from my dad's, but it wouldn't let me.

    So glad it is finally cooling down! Hallelujah!! Have a great long weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  7. The chicken salad looks great, Mary.

    Wonderful mosaics!

    We are having triple digits in St Louis. Hoping the weather kinks are worked out soon and we get into some fallishness!:-)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Mary, this looks soooo good! I feel the same way about sweet pickles & wouldn't you know, DH prefers them? I make many of our salads without either & then divide them into separate containers. He puts sweet in his & I put dill in mine. Compromise...the secret to a happy marriage. LOL

    I love getting a peek at your beautiful rooms, especially that vintage wooden storage unit that has your son's photo on it. BEAUTIFUL! I'm envious of all your heirloom treasures.

    Hope you had a nice Labor Day weekend & that it will finally cool off for you.
    Hugs,
    Rett

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks for the chciken salad recipe, Mary. John and I both love chicken salad but I tend to forget to serve it so this is a good reminder. Thanks for stopping by too and enjoy going into Fall. Thanks for stopping by my spaces and yes the pool is quite big. I think it is 47 x 18 x 26 and I only usually just swim in the 26 ft. end, except when I want to go on the seat with turbo jets....Christine

    ReplyDelete

Hi Fellow Dreamers! Blogging is all about sharing. I enjoy reading your comments so please feel free to drop me a comment to let me know your here if you see something you like. Thank you so much!