My mom always does a great job of taking leftovers and creating something new. I’ve seen her do it several times, turning left over chicken into chicken salad. I figured it was about time I came up with my own recipe!
Before I started, though, I stopped to think about why I never made a chicken salad. Then it dawned on me; in my house I never have any leftover chicken! But on a recent evening, I had the opportunity.
As a matter of convenience to get dinner on the table, I picked up a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. Oddly enough, when I got home and was ready to serve it, no one wanted any. Nicole was out of the house and the kids nibbled at the drumsticks before saying they were tired and going to bed. I was left with more than half of an entire chicken. Time for chicken salad!
I let the carcass rest in the refrigerator overnight. The next day I prepped my ingredients and brought everything together. For the first time around, I thought it was a good effort. The only thing I would change is perhaps cutting my fruits and veggies a little bit smaller. But hey, any recipe worth perfecting takes a time or two to get right. I figured I was getting off to a good start.
Rotisserie Chicken Salad
About 3 cups of cooked chicken, cubed
¼ Cup red onion, diced
1/3 Cup carrots, diced
1 Bartlett pear, cored and diced
2 Celery stalks, diced
½ Red pepper, diced
1 Tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
½ Cup Mayonnaise (I used Kraft Olive Oil which is delicious!)
In a large bowl, mix all of the ingredients well. Chill for one to two hours before serving.
Serve on crackers, toast, or a bed of lettuce.
Rotisserie chicken works in so many things…definitely chicken salads. Adds another level of flavor. Nice pic too!
YES! i loved the way the flavor of the chicken carried over to the salad. i used a BBQ flavored one for this recipe. i can imagine how the different flavors would make this a new dish each time.
thanks for the pic compliment!