Chicken Salad

For some unearthly reason, it's still stupidly hot in Los Angeles (100 degrees on October 1st? F**k me.) so I'm not cooking at all much. Not only does cooking require heat (duh) but the actual act also makes me warm. Blah. So chicken salad it is!!

In my extensive years as Someone-Who-Eats-Food, I've noticed there are two types of chicken salad: sweet and savory. I have a recipe for each, my sweet chicken salad recipe practically an exact copy of the Corner Bakery version. However, this is the savory one.

Super delicious as a sandwich...

To make this recipe (or any chicken salad recipe) even easier, skip the whole cooking chicken breasts/ boiling a chicken thing and just pick up an already roasted chicken at the grocer. It also saves on the heat and energy use at your place. Unless you're also making soup that requires broth: parboil a raw roasting chicken and BOOM! The liquid is automatic broth. You're welcome.

If your store has "flavored" chickens-- bbq, smokey, lemon & olive oil-- and hardly ever has plain like mine, go with something using rosemary, thyme, lemon, or olive oil. It adds a little extra zest to the salad too.

...or by itself.

Yes... I used mayo. Smart Balance Mayo since that's what was left in my fridge. And I just read that SB isn't so smart. Mayo is from the devil. Blah blah blah-- I'm not going to apologize anymore! I keep trying and changing my ways, but if I want to use mayo in my chicken salad then dammit-- I will! While Greek yogurt is great for sweeter versions, I don't think it would mix well with the green olives in this one. Same goes with Miracle Whip.

One final note: the problem with this recipe-- adapted from my mom-- is that I "eyeball" everything. So you might need to do a little tweaking to get the consistency just right... but hey, it's a great way to get the creative culinary juices flowing, right? RIGHT?!

Savory Chicken Salad

1 whole roasted chicken OR 3 chicken breasts parboiled OR 1 raw roasting chicken parboiled, remove skin, de-bone, and shred the meat

1 to 2 celery stalks, chopped fine

1/8 onion, chopped fine (optional)

1 cup small pimento stuffed green olives, sliced

2 to 3 Tbsp green olive juice

1 to 1-1/4 cups mayo (basically figure out how creamy you like it and go with that)

Fresh ground pepper & salt to taste

Put chicken, onion, celery, olives, salt, pepper, and olive juice into a medium bowl and mix well. Add mayo and stir until everything is well-coated. Let sit in the refrigerator for one hour. Serve plain or as a sandwich.

Sweet Potato Chicken Curry

Sweet Potato Chicken Curry

This simple and exotic dish has a lot of spices and is perfect for a cold night or a night you're craving curry. Did I mention it's a Cooking Light recipe? I also made this in a Dutch oven, but if you don't have one-- don't be discouraged! Just use a large pot.

2 tsp curry powder

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground turmeric

1/2 tsp salt (I use Kosher salt)

1/2 tsp black pepper (fresh ground is best)

1/4 tsp ground red pepper (Cayenne Pepper)

1 bay leaf

1 1/2 tsp olive oil

1 1/2 lbs chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces (about 3 chicken breasts)

1 1/2 cups vertically sliced onion

1 1/2 tsp minced fresh ginger 

2 garlic cloves (minced or pressed)

1 - 14 oz can chicken broth (Low Sodium but the best is homemade broth)

1 - 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained

2 cups (1/2 inch) cubed, peeled sweet potato (about 1 potato)

3/4 canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup frozen green peas

1 T fresh lemon juice

Brown Rice

Combine the first 7 ingredients.

Heat oil in large Dutch Oven (or pot with lid) over medium high heat. Add chicken to pan; saute 5 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally.  Remove chicken from pan.  Reduce heat to medium. Add onion to pan; cook 10 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently.  Increase heat to medium-high then return chicken to pan. Cook 1 minute.  Stir in ginger and garlic, cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Add curry powder mixture; cook 2 minutes, stir.  Add broth and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour.  Stir in potato and chickpeas. Cook uncovered for 30 minutes.  Add peas and cook 5 more minutes. Remove pan from heat and stir in lemon juice. Discard bay leaf. Serve over rice

**Hodge Podge's notes:

• If you don't want to spend the money on spices you think you'll never use again, check in the organic/ natural food section at the grocery store for shelves with large containers of varying spices that you can measure out into baggies.  It saves money!
• Mix the rice in with the curry when packing up the leftovers-- that way it absorbs all the flavor.
• I'd also recommend tossing in a can of coconut milk to moisten it up and add even more deliciousness.