Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Chicken Salad By The Ounce

I love roasting a chicken.  I get multiple meals from a single cooking session, and I can toss the chicken carcass in a bag in the freezer next to my Soup Packs if it's not a good time to make stock.  I had some leftover chicken meat after these Mu Shu Chicken Burritos, and a chicken salad sounded like a nice lunch for my daughter.  Me,  too!

http://www.farmfreshfeasts.com/2013/05/chicken-salad-by-ounce.html
The pigs have heard the peeler, and are ready for a snack.
Before my girl was due home for lunch, I was playing around in the kitchen and had my scale out.  I knew I wanted a carrot in the salad, so after I peeled the carrot (peels, top and tip to the composting pigs who start wheeking when they hear the sound of the peeler) I tossed it on the scale for grins and giggles.  It was exactly one ounce.  I grabbed the red onion and sliced off what I thought would be a good amount.  It too was exactly one ounce.
At this point, I resisted the temptation to get on the scale and see if I, too, weighed exactly one ounce.  Best not to press my luck?
You know I had to measure out exactly one ounce of celery.  Ditto the sunflower seeds.  The chicken? Eight ounces.  Since I had it out already, I figured I'd chop everything with the food processor.  I'd previously chopped dates for these muffins, and I estimate there was about one tablespoon of chopped dates left in the bowl.  I ate this over chopped romaine with a drizzle of balsamic vinaigrette, and my daughter turned hers into a sandwich.  I'm just glad I grabbed the camera and got one photo before we dug in!

http://www.farmfreshfeasts.com/2013/05/chicken-salad-by-ounce.html
This chicken salad has plenty of crunch from the carrots, celery, and sunflower seeds, plus a hint of sweetness from the dates.  It's delicious as lunch, on a cracker or pita round for snack, or even for a warm weather supper. I like all sorts of chicken salads, and I'm happy to add this version to my repertoire.

Chicken Salad By The Ounce

1 ounce red onion, chopped
1 ounce carrot, chopped
1 ounce celery, chopped
8 ounces cooked chicken, chopped
1 ounce salted sunflower seeds
1 1/2 ounces mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon chopped dates
salt and pepper to taste

Mix everything together in a medium-sized bowl.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve over a salad, on a sandwich, or just eat it with a spoon.  If you like, add more mayo or a tablespoon or two of plain yogurt for a moister salad.

This post is shared with What's Cookin' Wednesday at Buns In My Oven, the brand new From The Farm Blog Hop, and the Clever Chicks Blog Hop, Food on Friday and Foodie Friends Friday.
http://www.farmfreshfeasts.com/2013/05/chicken-salad-by-ounce.html
Simon would like to point out that he's being ignored on the blog.

19 comments:

  1. Poor Simon! I'm sure he gets plenty of attention, though. Tell him he is being Drrrrrrramatic!

    I am addicted to my scale too. Especially for baking. And when I worked at a restaurant I used to play a game with myself when scaling out pizza dough and other portioned doughs, trying to hit the target weight dead on the money. :)

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    1. Jenni,
      I am so glad I'm not the only one who plays games with her scale!
      I love not scooping and fluffing, and pretty soon I will be cutting back on the pizza size so the scale will come in handy.

      Thanks!

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  2. I love all of the animal pictures in this post. :) And I love my kitchen scale too. I use it for so much more than I thought I would.

    This chicken salad sounds good! I'll have to keep it in mind for the next time I need a 'just for me' dinner, since my husband's not a fan. His loss, my gain. :)

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    1. Beth,
      I feel slightly guilty pimping out the pigs for this post, but since I only managed to take one photo of the actual recipe, I wanted to spread the love.

      I have a whole repertoire of recipes I eat when my spouse is away, and I kinda miss them when he's been around for a while. Time to dust them off and bring them out!

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  3. I roast a whole chicken at least once a week - it is so versatile (and economical!). The piggies are sooooo cute :)

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    1. Alyssa,
      That's a great idea. I wish I was more organized than just the weekly Friday Night Pizza Nights. I would benefit, as would the family.
      Thanks!

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  4. Chicken is a big favorite for us too - and I love roasting whole ones, and getting so many uses from one bird. This salad is looking really tasty, and though I'm not a huge fan of dates, For some reason they sound really good in this! Thanks for the great idea :)

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    1. Donalyn,
      It's hard to pass up roasting chickens on sale (and even though I don't roast them, I love to get spent laying hens from the folks who pasture our eggs--great for stock) so I often have one in the freezer.

      Thanks!

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  5. I feel so rich when I have cooked chicken packages in the freezer. Even better if I have frozen carcasses to make stock, or even the stock! Love, love, love chicken salad. Thanks for reminding me of it. And for the suggestion of carrots and sunflower seeds. Perfect additions! And I actually have celery and leftover chicken. I know what I'm having for lunch tomorrow. Want to come? I'll set an extra plate just in case you are free. :)
    Sarah

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    1. Sarah,
      You live close to Alanna, so I know I could drive down there, but I'm spending as much time as I can with my spouse before he departs, so enjoy all of the chicken salad yourself.
      Thanks!

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  6. Poor Simon. And he's so cute too. Don't ignore him on the blog anymore. Oh and I would make your chicken salad in a heart beat.

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    1. Marlene,
      Poor Simon nothing! I've been tracking my walks on Map My Walk, and Simon walks over a marathon a week, between each family member taking him along. He's doing fine.
      And, he photobombs my outdoor shots!
      Thanks!

      Delete
  7. You tell Simon I understand and support his woes since I would love to see him more often. I'm digging the flavors in this chicken salad. I know the Hubby would love it, and speaking of the Hubby, he's taken to making SALADS when I'm not around. Will wonders never cease.

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    1. Meghan,
      Just when you think you have your spouse pegged . . . they up and pull a switcheroo on ya!
      Simon will jump into any photo he can, the camera hog.
      Thanks!

      Delete
  8. I love your perfectly symmetrical chicken salad...by the ounce. Roasting a chicken is such a great way to get a number of meals out of one afternoon of cooking. I really need to do that more often.

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    1. Dara,
      I need to do a lot of things more often, but I don't. Perhaps if I annotate my calendar to include chicken? Nah. Then I'd need to remember to buy chicken and it would snowball from there.

      Thanks!

      Delete
  9. Looks lovely. I hadn't thought of adding other things to our chicken salad (ok, having a duh moment)! Pinning this one too!

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    1. By the way, I LOVE your little cavies! They are adorable!

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    2. Kristi,
      We love our pigs, too. The rescue folks may be glad we rescued them, but we're happier to have these critters in our lives.
      Thanks for hosting!

      Delete