Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Oh The Lengths I Go To….

Chicken Salad 005

Oh the lengths I go to keeping mayonnaise out of my food. 

This week it’s all about food.  For some  unexplained reason I have been in the mood to cook and that is a new development over the last few weeks.  It’s been hot and humid and our son doesn’t seem to eat at home much lately.  He and his friends are loving the new found freedom that driving brings and they are enjoying a few too many “field trips” to the fine fast food establishments in our city…if you ask me….and nobody did.  :)

Anyway,  I pulled out one of my oldest and favorite cookbooks called Renaissance Cuisine.  It’s one of those fund raising cookbooks that I received as a gift back when I was first married.  It was printed for a fundraiser to raise money for a hospital in Detroit, Michigan.  It’s full of great recipes and it’s fun for me to pull it out every now and then to read it and to find another recipe to try out.  On page 83 is the Chicken Salad recipe we served at my baby shower when my daughter was born.  My friend Cindy had a beautiful newly built house at the time and generously offered to host a shower for me.  It was so nice and I wasn’t the only one pregnant at the shower that day.  If I remember right there was me, Tammy, Tina, and Karen all sporting various sizes of belly.  This is the recipe for the Chicken Salad that was served.  It was delicious and the best part is that there was NO MAYO INVOLVED!!  Sour cream  was substituted and the sour cream is mixed with Cool Whip and a small amount of orange juice concentrate.  It’s really delicious. 

I made a small bowl today for me and my husband to have for dinner.  I found a great loaf of Ciabatta bread which helped make this a great sandwich.  I prefer red grapes in this recipe but my husband likes green better….but if you want it to look “prettier”….use red grapes. :)  Enjoy!

Chicken Orange Salad

4 cups white meat chicken, torn into bite size pieces

1 cup mandarin oranges, drained (optional…I only add when I have them on hand.)

1/2 cup green grapes, seedless  (I think red is prettier. :))

1 pkg. toasted almonds, silvered

1/4 tsp. Tobasco sauce (I prefer Texas Pete and I added after the sandwiches were made.)

2 cups sliced celery

Dressing:

1/4 cup mayonnaise…SUBSTITUTE SOUR CREAM HERE!!

1/4 cup orange juice, concentrate

1 cup whipped cream (I used Cool Whip)

Toss all ingredients together lightly with dressing.  Serve on a bed of lettuce and have good bread or rolls if you want sandwiches.    Serves 6

Chicken Salad 006

Now normally, the sight of something this creamy would gag me.  But, because I made it and I know exactly what all the ingredients are…delicious!  I served it with some chunked up Cantaloupe Melon and we had a great summer dinner.  My son took one look at that and wanted no part of it…he and his friends dined at CiCi’s Pizza instead.  Fine with me.   Leftovers the next day!  :)

7 comments:

www.thewhitefarmhouse2.blogspot.com said...

This looks really good Lisa! I make my chicken salad pretty much the same with the grapes and celery. I am going to have to try this one out though. You know another great trick to get mayo out of your food is to substitute plain yogurt for it. It may sound yuck but it is really good. In fact, the kids only like tuna fish salad sandwiches with yogurt in them. So much better for you than mayo.

Karen said...

That looks yummy. Another great option would be Greek yogurt. It tastes similar to sour cream but has tons of protein and little fat-Can you tell I write a fitness blog? LOL!

BTW,I can totally relate to your son's field trips. When my son got his you'd think Taco Bell had the world's finest cuisine.

Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions said...

Welcome to my world. Never knowing if they will be home to eat or going out with friends. It's a lot of fun trying to prepare a decent meal what with my son on his own schedule, and the hubby who works in retail. Anyway, I love chicken salad and had it at my daughter's baby shower. Everyone loved it, but it was made with mayo. I'll have to give this recipe a try though.

CosmoGirl Carla said...

Mmm, sounds like an interesting recipe. I may have to try it. You're not the only person I know to be a mayo-hater!

And, ditto here . . . my kids, anymore, would almost totally prefer to go the fast-food route. Unless I make mashed potatoes. They'll stay home to eat almost anything if it's served with a side of mashed taters.

Thanks for sharing the recipe, Lisa!

Confessions of a Plate Addict said...

Yum! This looks delicious, Lisa! How funny about the mayo! My daughter is the same way. I'll pass this recipe along to her! Have a great weekend!...hugs...Debbie

Karen said...

I remember that shower! Ethan was born in May, so I brought him with me--seems like the shower was in August? I remember when you wouldn't eat ANYTHING white, so I applaud you! :D

Georgia Girl said...

Alright I know what I will fix this weekend for around the pool area to eat during my mid noon lunch attack...can't wait to try this out and I just bought a cantelope for the weekend also yesterday so that will go with it.

Thanks for the recipe sharing...I so love when others share some yummy easy recipes.

Have a great weekend!