chicken salad recipe with raisins
Ants on logs? You should offer this 'snack' to your kiddos if just for their reaction. When I was young, ants on logs was the descriptor for celery piped with peanut butter topped with raisins. I picture the clever mother who coined the term: a tease or dare to get her little ones to reach for a healthy snack. A handful of my friends and I have been playing with our food. Specifically we have been inserting 'ants' (raisins) into everything from Gluten Free Chicken Tagine to balsamic & raisin glazed salmon to DIY granola bars (here is great round-up from Relish Magazine)*. On this blog over the past few months I have ants prancing through [my killer] granola, into pumpkin bread and frequently folded into chicken salad (recipe follows).
When I fabricate a chicken, I use the bones/carcass for stock and cook the thighs, legs and breasts separately. I slice or shred the cooked meat, then use it to make chicken enchiladas and chicken salad. Please know that I don't use a formal recipe to make my salad---and you don't need to either. It is all about mixing it up, tasting and adjusting. This is what might go through my head while I am tasting: does it need a little more salt? pepper? It tastes a little heavy on the mayo, so I will add more acid (lemon or vinegar)... not sweet enough: more raisins or apples. It needs more crunch: sliced almonds or more celery. Got it? Easy as raisin pie.
Chicken Salad serves 2-4
approx. 3 cups cooked, shredded chicken 1/4 mayonnaise (give or take) 2 tsp Dijon or specialty mustard 2-3 tsp lemon juice (OR apple cider vinegar) Coarse/ground pepper/salt 1/4 raisins 1/4 cup sliced celery 1/4 cup diced red onion 2 T minced flat-leaf parsley Optional: small handful sliced almonds, diced apples, 1-2 tsp curry, etc.
*I am a Blog Ambassador for California Raisin Marketing Board. My recipes, incessant chatter and penchant for snacking on raisins are my own.
