Waldorf Chicken Salad

All I have to say about this is... BEST CHICKEN SALAD EVER!!! (Yes, I am yelling at you via Internet speak, and if I were actually with you, I would probably be enthusiastically smacking your leg or patting your arm for emphasis.) Here's the recipe:

Waldorf Chicken Salad

2 c. prepared chicken, cut up
1 medium sweet apple, diced with peel (Red or Golden Delicious)
1 stalk of celery, diced
1 c. seedless red grapes, quartered
1 c. walnuts or pecans, diced (you may toast these first)
1 c. mayonnaise

Cut prepared chicken into bite-sized chunks and place into mixing bowl. Chop apple, celery, grapes and nuts, and add to chicken. Add mayonnaise and stir gently until well-combined. Serve as a sandwich spread or as a topper for crackers. This is especially elegant when served on croissants.

To Prepare Chicken:  Preheat oven to 375 degrees and take approximately one large chicken breast or three leg quarters--with skin--and place on baking sheet. (Be sure to first rinse chicken with water and pat dry with a paper towel.) Season chicken on all sides with a generous sprinkling of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until chicken is done.  After chicken has cooled, remove and discard skin. Remove all usable meat from the bone and set aside.

Though baking the chicken is my favorite way to prepare it (it holds more flavor this way), you may also boil it, or if you're in a real hurry, you can used canned chicken instead. However, taking the extra time and effort to bake it first is well worth it, in my opinion!

A key to this dish is using a good mayonnaise--you want to use one that has flavor to it and doesn't just taste greasy; however, I don't recommend using Salad Dressing (Miracle Whip) in place of mayonnaise--it will not taste at all the same. If you are concerned about calories, try using a low fat mayonnaise instead (I will warn you, though--the low fat won't be as yummy as the real deal.) I am currently a fan of Portmann's brand mayonnaise.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Cold, rainy days like these just scream soup for supper.  So, after I decided to make chicken noodle soup, it occurred to me that I could just take some pictures and jot down what I do, then post it on my recipe blog.  Usually, I just throw things together and don't measure anything when it comes to makimg soups and other similar things.  Making it this time was different because I went ahead and eye-balled my ingredients as usual, then stopped and measured before adding them. That being said, this is easily my #1 go-to soup.  We both like it; it's easy; it's really good, and it's pretty cheap (and I almost always have all the ingredients on-hand).  I totally understand that it's much easier (and faster) to go pop open a can of Campbell's chicken noodle soup than to make it from scratch, but trust me-- the homemade stuff is so much better!  After you try this, you won't mind taking the extra time to make it from scratch!



Chicken Noodle Soup

2 chicken leg quarters with skin (thigh and leg)  

2 medium celery ribs,diced, plus tops (about 1/2 c.)

1/3 of a medium yellow onion, diced (about 1/2 c.)

2 medium-large carrots, diced (about 1 c.)

4 chicken bouillons

1 1/2 c. small pasta shells

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. dried parsley

pepper to taste

1 T. butter

water

Place chicken quarters (with skin) in a large dutch oven.  Fill with water until chicken is covered with about 1/2 inch of water.  Cover with lid, and cook chicken until done (about 25 minutes).  Meanwhile, prepare and dice carrots, onion, and celery.  Melt butter in a medium saucepan and saute diced vegetables until onions and celery are translucent.  Remove from heat. After chicken has cooked, carefully remove it from the stock (it will want to fall apart; I recommend using a large slotted spoon), and place on a sizable cutting board.  Check the broth for any solids that may have formed and stuck to the sides of the pot, and discard. Place sauteed vegetables, salt, pepper and chicken bouillons into broth and return to a boil. Add celery tops. As soon as chicken is cool enough to work with, remove and discard skin and clean meat off the bones.  Cut chicken into pieces of desirable size and return to stock. Add pasta shells and cook until al dente (about 7 minutes).  Remove celery tops,  add parsley, and spoon into serving dishes.  Serve with crackers or grilled cheese sandwiches.  Enjoy!

   

Sauteeing carrots, onions and celery



Feel free to use any part of the chicken you like. I like the leg quarters because they help produce a nice broth and provide the perfect amount of meat. Also, leg quarters are cheap. (I think you can get an 8-10 pound bag of frozen leg quarters for about $5-6.) You don't have to use frozen chicken, but the fact that you can is an added element of convenience since you can stock-up when it's on sale.

  



I also like to use small pasta shells instead of traditional flat noodles because they are easier to eat and have a great texture.  However, if you prefer traditional noodles, you can use linguine or fettuccine noodles instead: just break them into pieces of desirable size and cook them for about 11 minutes instead of 7.