We attended a birthday party/potluck over the weekend, and were asked to bring a side item.
Leave it to me to find the most delish side item to bring! I knew no one else would think about making chicken salad or anything close to it.
I was supposed to make a pasta salad, but that wasn’t making my skirt fly up when thinking about it. Chicken salad sounded much more appealing to me.
The chicken salad was beyond yummy. When I started noticing how quick the chicken salad was being eaten and started hearing the comments, I knew I needed to share what I had whipped up. People were devouring this chicken salad as if it was the main course. I heard one fellow partygoer say, “they obviously came for the chicken salad!” Of course, this made me heart and stomach smile. I love creating dishes people can’t get enough of. Next time you’re in need of a great dish to take along to a party – whether it’s a BBQ, potluck, or picnic (it’s great when it’s hot outside), remember I told you that you would be a hit with this recipe.
April’s Simple Chicken Salad
Makes six servings
1 rotisserie chicken (homemade or store bought)
2 stalks of celery, cut up finely
1/2 cup of mayo
1/2 cup of sour cream or plain yogurt, whichever tickles your fancy
Salt
Pepper
Hawaiian Round Bread
Now, the best thing about this recipe is it’s very easy to make your own. The add ins for the basic recipe are endless. You can add almonds, grapes, lemon juice, fresh herbs – just whatever you feel is necessary. I left mine more on the basic side for this particular event due to the kids and allergies, and just not knowing what people like all. I figured the basic recipe everyone would enjoy, and boy, oh boy, did they.
You start by boiling your fryer chicken, if you have chosen that route. I went with a store bought chicken this time for time restraint reasons. After you have your chicken cooked and cooled, pull off the pieces of chicken. I chose to do larger pieces.
Mix together your half cup of mayo, half cup of sour cream or yogurt, salt, and pepper. If you doing other add ins (grapes, onions, pecans, almond slivers), put them in now. Before you add your chicken and celery, do a taste test of your base to make sure you don’t need more or less of something. Always start with smaller likings because you can always add more! Afterward, add your chicken pieces and celery. The celery is the perfect crunch. I like to cut it in smaller pieces due to not knowing what everyone likes; this makes it much less noticeable, but you still get that desired crunch.Stir everything up together for yumminess! It’s really best to let this chill overnight for all the flavors to mash up well. At least four hours at a minimum. I like to cut out a Hawaiian Round Bread to create a bread bowl and then fill it up. Then I tear up the extra bread and place it on the side of the serving dish along with crackers.For this particular group, I knew there would be many people, so I made two pounds. Obviously, that wasn’t enough, as it was gone well before anything else or before the food came off the grill! Therefore, the next time you’re in need of something to take to a party or just a great filling for your sandwiches that week, try my basic chicken salad recipe, and let your imagination run wild!