Tangy Hot Chicken Salad

Tangy Hot Chicken Salad

Good evening and come on in for a visit and a cold drink for it is almost 70 degrees on a February night.  We have rain coming and thank goodness for we need every drop but I hope we don't get the wind and hail like we did last weekend.  We had 3 leaks in our great room where the rain blew in around a vent and the roofer could not find the hole where it was coming in.  We finally decided it was the strong wind blew it under the vent flashing and now we will have to paint our ceiling but it needed anyway so this will just speed up the process.

Have you ever tried to buy a winter coat in February?  Don't try for they are not there and I looked in 5 stores in Valdosta and could not find a wool, dress coat.  You see I lost my winter coat!!  Don't ask me where or how for if I knew it wouldn't be lost, would it?  I looked everywhere I had been or remembered where I had been and I could not find it.  It just disappeared.

It was not a disaster for I had grown dissatisfied with it but since it was still presentable in public, I wouldn't get a new one.  Now was my opportunity to get what I wanted - a gray, walking length, fitted, wool coat.  It seems according to the fashion experts that a slightly fitted waist makes you look slimmer and I need all the help I can get other than liposuction and a tummy tuck.  The fitted waist coat will be a whole lot less painful and tremendously less expensive so the search began.

After the 5th store and not finding any dress coats at all I just gave up and decided to try the Internet.  That was not very successful either until I remembered there was a company that had "coat" in its name and I thought that sure they would have what I wanted and sure enough I found one, ordered it, it came today and IT'S TOO LITTLE - awwwwww. 

Now I have to go through the process of returning it and that is always a hassle plus I have to pay the postage.  Have you mailed a package lately?  It is outrageous and I have to mail it back, order another size and when they get the coat back they will remove the charge from my credit card.  What a hassle but I am determined to get that coat for it is supposed to make me look slimmer, chic and beautiful - good luck, right?  This is a little difficult to achieve with a dumpy, short, older, white haired lady who wants to look slim, tall and younger.  I want to try though and I WANT THAT COAT so I will jump through the hoops and play the Internet return game and hopefully the next coat will fit.  When it gets here, I will post a picture of how lovely I look in it - time to laugh now.

I cooked a casserole yesterday that I haven't cooked in a long time.  While shopping in Sam's the other day I sampled some chicken salad which gave me a craving for some but I wanted something hot.  I remembered  that I used to make hot chicken salad so I dug out my recipe but wasn't quite satisfied with it so I found another one, took what I liked from both and added my twist and it is really good.

It called for slivered almonds and I wanted the crunch so I toasted them and added chopped carrots for an additional vegetable and increased the finely diced onion to 1/2 cup.  To lower the fat and calories, I used 1/2 cup sour cream and 1/2 cup mayonnaise which also added a little tang which I like.  The addition of the freshly grated Parmesan gives it a little tang also and a twist to the flavor.  The carrots, toasted almonds and celery added a little crunch and texture and since I didn't have any pototato chips I used Cheese Nips for my crumb topping.  I know this tastes better than the chips for there is an additional layer of flavor.  Try it and let me know what you think.

Tangy Hot Chicken Salad

Ingredients :
2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds
1 cup diced celery
1/c cup diced carrots
½ cup finely chopped onion
2 cup cooked chicken meat, cubed (can use 2 cans of canned chicken)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
½ cup sour cream
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese divided into ½ cup portions
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
2/3 cup crushed Cheese Nips
Paprika

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 13 by 9 inch baking dish with vegetable oil cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl combine the chicken, celery, onion, carrots, toasted almonds, salt, pepper, lemon juice, mayonnaise, sour cream and1/2 cheese. Place the mixture in the prepared baking dish. Spread the crushed Cheese Nips and ½ cup cheddar cheese and Parmesan Cheese on top. Sprinkle with paprika . Bake for 20 minutes, or until bubbly.

It was good, cold the next day as a sandwich with a toasted bun.  I am going to try freezing some to see if any of the ingredients break down but I don't think it will.  You can also prepare it the day before leaving off the crumbs and cheese on the top and bake it the next day after adding these.  Enjoy.

I will let you know how the saga of the coat ends and hopefully it will be with me having a gray, walking, nipped in waist coat before next winter.  Not getting my hopes up.

Nuff said,

The Georgia Peach

Hot Chicken Salad

Good evening and come in out of the cold.  We have had our first, mild, cold, winter day down here in Georgia.  The wind has been blowing quite briskly the last 2 days and the temperature has dropped into the 40s at night but the days have been quite wonderful.  The sun has been bright and warm and it has been beautiful.  Of course, I would rather have hot and getting hotter but into every Southern Lady's life a little winter must fall and I will just have to pull out the sweaters and jackets. 

As I was cleaning out the refrigerator today I realized I needed to do something with half a baked chicken and thought of several options but decided to try something new.  Wanting something hot but easy I began looking at various recipes but nothing seemed to be what I wanted.
 Chicken salad was on my mind but I wanted it hot and all the recipes I found were more casserole than salad and that is not what I was looking for.  So I decided to base a chicken salad on a hot tuna salad we use to make tuna burgers but with a little twist.  I had some lemons I needed to use and I know that dried cranberries are good in most everything so I began to cook. 

This hot chicken salad was the results and Roy suggested it would also make a good, hot dip for crackers and I think so also.  Tonight we ate it with Triscuits and I put mine on a bed of torn lettuce.  The hot salad on the cold lettuce was good. It would also be good on toasted buns of your choice or croissants.  Try it and let me know what you think.

Hot Chicken Salad

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked, chopped chicken – not shredded ½ cup chopped onion
½ cup chopped dill pickle
½ cup chopped apple – unpeeled
½ cup chopped bell pepper of banana pepper
½ cup dried cranberries
1 cup coarsely grated cheddar cheese
1/ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup salad dressing
2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Mix chicken, onion, pickle, bell pepper, and chopped apple
2. Mix salad dressing and freshly squeezed lemon juice
3. Add salad dressing and lemon and mix well.
4. Fold in chopped eggs, cheeses and cranberries blending throughout.
5. Pour into casserole which has been sprayed with no-stick spray
6. Cover with additional grated cheddar cheese
7. Cover and bake until hot – about 30 minutes. Do not over bake.
8. Spread between hot, toasted buns of choice or serve with choice of crackers as a dip or spread
9. Can also be used as a main dish

I think if you sprinkled the canned fried onions or cracker crumbs on top that would be good also.  Of course, like me you can leave out any ingredients you don't like or add others.  Let me know how you changed it and I will add it to the recipe for others to see.

Ya'll come back to see us, be careful going home and thanks for dropping by my 'Net porch for a visit.

Nuff said,

The Georgia Peach

Good evening and ya'll come on in to the 'Net Porch. I am slap dab tired and need to sit and rest a minute. I have cleaned out the cabinets under the sink, relined, threw away, and put everything back. 1 down and lots to go but will do 1 or 2 per day until I finish.

I found out several years ago that you can buy pretty wallpaper rolls on sale and this makes great shelf liner. You need to use the ones with the vinyl coating so it will be waterproof and last longer but it does a great job and you have a larger choice of patterns and colors. If it tends to roll, get some double stick tape to hold down the corners but after you put the "stuff" back it will hold it flat.

When I got ready to fix lunch/supper (lupper) yesterday I looked to see what I needed to use now. I found a bag of frozen, chicken nuggets, some boxes of Rice-A-Roni and set about to come up with a good casserole. Onions, celery, carrots and garlic are most always in my fridge and canned tomatoes are a staple in our home so out these came to join the other ingredients. Chicken, beef and vegetable stock are a necessity now that I discovered how useful they are and this house without garlic cloves is not happy.

I began to cook and combine and this recipe came into being. It is really good, inexpensive and feeds a whole passel of folks or you can freeze part of it. Let me know if you try it and what you think about it.

Chicken Nuggets and Rice Casserole

1 box Chicken flavored Rice- a-Roni
3 cups chicken broth or stock
Flavor packet
3 Tbsp. butter

Prepare the rice following the instructions on the box but substitute the broth or stock for the water. When rice is tender, remove from heat and don’t drain.

8 - 10 frozen, fried chicken nuggets (leftover fried chicken or baked chicken) about 2 cups
2 Tbsp. olive oil or vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
½ cup chopped bell pepper
¾ - 1 cup, chopped carrots
1 large garlic clove, finely minced
2 tsp. freshly grated ginger or 1 tsp. powdered ginger – fresh is really better
1 can diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
Salt and pepper to taste – taste after you have combined everything

Slightly thaw the chicken nuggets and slice OR microwave for 1 min. and slice
Heat oil in large skillet and add chopped vegetables. Grate the ginger over these and sauté until tender-crisp. Add the tomatoes, soy sauce and chicken and simmer for about 3 minutes. Add the rice to the vegetables and chicken and if too dry add a little chicken stock. You don’t want it to be dry and sticky. Combine, cover and cook on low for about 3-4 minutes for the rice to absorb the flavors from the vegetable mixtures. This will feed about 8 or more people and it freezes well.

Serving suggestions:
Serve with garden salad and toasted French bread
When served, sprinkle with fresh parsley
I also thought about using shrimp instead of the chicken

For dessert we had Strawberries with Orange Sauce over vanilla ice cream with chocolate chunks in it.

Strawberries with Orange Sauce

2 pints of frozen strawberries

1 orange

1/2 cup Splenda

Place the strawberries in microwave proof bowl, zest the orange over the berries and add the juice from the orange. Microwave 5 minutes. Add the Splenda, stir, return to microwave and cook for 1 minute more.

Serve over ice cream, pound cake or eat it with whipped topping on top.

You can use fresh strawberries but cut the cooking time to about 2 min. You want the strawberries cooked but not mushy.

I hope you enjoy these suggestions and ya'll come back to see me.

Nuff said and good eating

The Georgia Peach

Quartet - by Frances Robson

Good evening, ya'll. Come into the house for the Net Porch is too chilly. The wind has been blowing like March and brought in some rather cool air. I hope it is warmer tomorrow for on Saturday it was in the middle 70's and I had on sandals and capris. Today it was shoes, socks and jeans. Welcome to the South Georgia in the spring. If you don't like the weather wait until tomorrow.

We had our food pantry open at our church this morning and it is always a joy to work with my team and to meet the people who come for help. It is so wonderful to be a member of a church who cares enough to help feed people. We are seeing more young couples come in which is a reminder that this recession is affecting people who would rather work but can't find jobs. Being able to help them with food, though not a lot, blesses them and me.

Being rather tired tonight I am going to share a good recipe I cooked this weekend and then sign off, take a bath, curl up with my book and probably go to bed soon.

I bought chicken thighs on sale this weekend for 89 cents/pound and had enough to cook a good meal and freeze 3 packages for later. I found this recipe in my Rival Crock-Pot recipe book. It is easy, delicious, cheap and nutritious. What more could you ask. Of course I tweaked it just a little and will probably tweak it each time I make it but I am a compulsive "tweaker."

Mediterranean Chicken

4 - 5 chicken thighs, breasts or legs - salted and peppered to taste

1 can or jar pasta sauce - I used Hunts spaghetti sauce with mushrooms - use your favorite

1 large onion - thinly sliced

2 cloves of garlic - finely minced

1/2 cup chicken stock or dry white wine - I used the wine

1/2 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

Salt and pepper to taste

Optional - 1/2 cup sliced, pitted, green olives

Combine pasta sauce, sliced onions, garlic, stock or wine, cumin and Italian seasoning in crockpot. Stir and add salted and peppered chicken turning the pieces to coat with sauce. I sprinkled it with a little fresh rosemary to add another level of flavor. Cook on low for about 8 hours or high for about 6. Serve over cooked pasta or rice. I used spinach pasta cooked in chicken stock. Wild rice will be good or pasta of choice. Cooking your rice or pasta in stock adds a great flavor and if you don't have stock add chicken bullion to cooking water. This is so much better than plain, salted water. I like to leave the bones in while cooking because it adds flavor.

I took the leftover pasta, poured the chicken and pasta over it and refrigerated it to use later. It should freeze well also. I think I will sprinkle it with cheese when I get ready to heat it. I hope you enjoy it and let me know.

That's about it tonight for I am quite worn out. Talk to you tomorrow and ya'll come back to see me.

Nuff said,

The Georgia Peach