Chicken Salad with Greens

I apologize for the lack of posting in the last week.  Unfortunately, we caught the flu that has been lurking around, and there hasn’t been much cooking in this kitchen.  But we’re all better now and excited to share some delicious meals.

As I’ve mentioned before, Sam and I like to make our own vegetable and chicken stock.  It’s healthier- you know what ingredients you’re putting in, especially the amount of salt.  Throughout the month I save odds and ends of various vegetables, and add them to a bag in the freezer.  Using up these scarps (asparagus ends, broccoli stems, celery ends or parsley) also helps with less garbage, and better use of all of your groceries.  The broth or stock is then frozen, and can be defrosted any time we need it for soups.

My favorite part is actually taking the chicken meat, and making something with it.  The last time I posted a recipe like this it was the Indian Chicken Soup, which is a top 3 most viewed post on this blog.  To make the Indian Chicken Soup, or this Chicken Salad, you can also use cooked chicken breasts or leftover rotisserie chicken.

This is a perfect recipe for an easy lunch, or dinner.  And with the weather getting nicer by the day (spring, where are you?!?) hopefully you’ll be attending cookouts and get together with friends soon enough.  Eat it with a fork, or enjoy it between two slices of fresh bread.  It’s light, refreshing and it’s got a little crunch.

Chicken Salad with Greens
A Fifth Floor Kitchen Original

4 cups of shredded chicken
1 small onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 celery stalks, chopped
2 cups of fresh spinach, chopped
1 cup green peas
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Add all of the ingredients into a large bowl, then stir together.  Taste test if the salad is wet enough for you, if not add a little more mayo/yogurt mixture.  Also, check on the salt and pepper amounts if they are to your liking.

*The wetness and salt amounts will differ on what kind of chicken you’re using- rotisserie or fresh, or one that has been used to make broth.

Triple Green Chicken Salad

About every other month we make chicken stock.  Yes, the kind you boil water, add some veggies, a whole chicken, and some salt and pepper.  It’s delicious, flavorful and I can never wait to add it to future soups.

We always use a whole chicken, and I feel like all the meat should be used.  Since last week we also made bread, I thought a chicken salad would be perfect for lunch!  I wish this past Sunday would have been nicer in DC (it was raining the whole day), otherwise we would have had a little picnic on the Mall for Earth Day.

Need another idea for how to use up leftover chicken?  Try tabbouleh with shredded chicken (and you can make your own pitas too)!

I liked this chicken salad since it had some crunch in it, but rather than using celery, there were other veggies in this.  I also liked it in a tortilla with some lettuce and hot sauce- perfect lunch wrap!

Triple Green Chicken Salad
Adapted from: Bon Appétit Magazine (April 2012)

If you don’t have any leftover chicken, you can poach and shred chicken breasts, or use rotisserie chicken.  More yogurt and less mayo will also give this a great taste, but remember to add some mustard- gives it better flavor.

Dressing:
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 tbsp mustard
2 tbsp olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Salad:
4 sprigs of tarragon, minced
4 shallots, minced
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb shredded chicken
1 cup sugar snap peas, thinly sliced
1/2 cup snow peas, thinly sliced
1 cup green peas (defrosted or fresh)
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1/4 cup chives, chopped
1 tsp lemon zest

In a bowl combine the following ingredients for the dressing: yogurt, mayonnaise, mustard, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

In a larger bowl combine the rest of the ingredients for the chicken salad: tarragon, shallots, garlic, chicken, sugar snap peas, snow peas, green peas, parsley, chives, and lemon zest.  Mix all of the ingredients together, then add the dressing.  Continue to stir until everything is well mixed.

Indian Chicken Soup

I’m a soup lover!  If soups varied every so often, I could eat it every day, for every meal.  Growing up, my Mom had always made a lot of soups- and I never get sick of them.

Why the love for soups?  There are so many reasons, such as:

1) they are easy to make
2) fast to make
3) lots of different flavors
4) can be vegetarian, or meat-based
5) there are a million ways to make them, and you don’t have to repeat the recipe!

So there is simplicity, deliciousness and variety.  If those are not the best qualities a dish can have, what is?  For the most part, I like to take ideas for soups, and make them my own.

This week we actually bought a chicken, celery, onions, carrots and leeks to make our own stock.  So the soup featured below used the stock as well as the chicken we had used in the preparation.  Very convenient, and if you’re looking for budget meals- this would definitely be one!

I’ve decided that we’ll have to do a step-by-step on how we make stock.  If you have never done this before, it’ll be a must as soon as possible!  You’ll never go back to the store bought broth or stock.

Indian Chicken Soup
Adapted from: The Whole Kitchen

2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
5 carrots, peeled & chopped
1 celery bunch (about 10 stalks), chopped
1 bunch of swiss chard, leaves & stalks separated; stalks and leaves chopped
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp curry
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 cup wild rice
6 chicken stock (or veggie)
1 cup water
6 small red potatoes, roughly chopped
1/4 cup coconut flakes
2 cups shredded chicken (cooked)
*naan bread

While heating up a soup pot, drizzle olive oil.  Once it’s warm, add the onion, carrots, celery and swiss chard stalks.  Saute for about 10 minutes, or until the onion is translucent.  Then add the salt, garam masala, curry, chili powder and cumin.  Stir the spices and the vegetables for about 1 minute, so everything is well incorporated.

Then, add the rice, chicken stock and water.  Cover the soup and bring to a boil.  Once it’s boiling, uncover and cook on low for about 20 minutes.  Add in the potatoes.  Simmer for another 15 minutes and continue to stir the soup.

Finally, add the coconut flakes, chicken and chopped chard leaves.  Stir the ingredients and cook them for 5 more minutes.

* This meal would be good with some naan bread.