Easy Chicken Salad

2 lbs. of Chicken Salad

Chicken Salad Crescent Sandwiches

Chicken Salad Meal

It's best to use fresh chicken breasts for a pure white color, but canned or shredded rotisserie chicken also works. To poach fresh chicken breasts, place them in a saucepan large enough to hold them in a single layer. Add cold water so it just covers the chicken. Bring to a boil and simmer over medium-low heat until chicken is cooked, about 15-20 minutes. Transfer chicken to a cutting board and allow to cool before dicing.

Water chestnuts add extra crunch to this salad and can be found in Meijer's Chinese section of the International aisle. They come sliced in 8 ounces (226 gm.) cans.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

A favorite among children, this light and simple meal is fun for them to assemble and hold in their little hands. It’s also easy to brown the chicken and mix the sauce beforehand and cook just before serving. For children this works as a main course, but for adults this probably would work better as an appetizer for dinner or as a main course for a light lunch.

Ingredients:

1 lb. minced chicken

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. hoisin sauce
¼ tsp. sesame oil
1 can water chestnuts, diced

6-8 button mushrooms, diced
12 leaves Boston or Romaine lettuce

½ cup roasted almonds or peanuts, chopped
2 green onions, sliced thinly
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Separate lettuce leaves, rinse and pat dry with paper towels.
2. Whisk 1 tsp. oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, hoisin sauce and sesame oil together until thoroughly combined.
3. Add remaining oil to a non-stick skillet on medium heat, and cook chicken thoroughly for about 20 minutes, until browned.
4. Add sauce to chicken in pan along with water chestnuts and mushrooms.
5. Season with salt and pepper to taste and simmer for 2 minutes.
6. Remove from heat and transfer to a serving dish.
7. To serve, place 1-2 Tbsp. chicken in a lettuce leaf and garnish with nuts and/or green onions.

Tuna and Chickpeas Hash

The inspiration for this recipe came from my brother during one of our telephone conversations.  I plan to try his sometime soon, but here is what I came up with. The packaged tuna fish can be replaced with any fish fillets that have been poached and flaked. Generally, a hash is made with potatoes but in an attempt to reduce the carbohydrate content, the chickpeas (garbanzo beans) came in handy. Diced water chestnuts in this hash gives it an interesting crunch.