Twenty-minute prep-time max for this Chopped Chicken Salad: that's for me

Any recipe that bills itself as requiring only 20 minutes of prep from start to finish catches my attention. When I saw Prevention mag’s Chopped Chicken Salad featured as a 20-minute meal (August 2011 issue) , I grabbed it and ran to my kitchen counter. Twenty minutes was absolutely ALL I could spare to ready that night’s repast; I had the ingredients on hand—at least with a few subs.

Chopped chicken, avocados, carrots, red onion, plus the makings of the vinaigrette dressing—everything went together swimmingly. Shredded chicken? Waiting in the wings in the freezer compartment of the fridge. Didn’t have the cucumber Prevention suggested, but a couple of nice, fresh avocados should sub—after all, like a cucumber, they’re green. Mixed greens? Didn’t have those, either, but did have almost a full bag of fresh spinach. Carrots weren’t in the recipe, but I had some freshly grated ones from the Lightened Squash Casserole the day before—couldn’t resist adding some bunny food. Same thing with radishes—why not toss in a couple?

Thinking about it, pretty much the entire recipe was a makeover, but so what? I did have the red onion from my garden. With most everything burned up by now, we’re glad to have a few home-grown success stories still to brag on despite this heat.

The meal absolutely got turned out in 20-minutes flat; I looked as though I had slaved all day, and dinner was terrific and healthy. Who could ask for more?

Chopped Chicken Salad

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

8 cups (about 8 ounces) spring mix with herbs

4 large hard-boiled eggs, peeled and quartered

1 small cucumber, sliced

1 1/2 cups chopped chicken (about 8 ounces)

1/3 cup chopped red onion

In serving bowl whisk together, vinegar, oil, mustard, salt, and pepper. Add remaining ingredients and gently toss to combine. (Avocado, radishes, carrots, and spinach can be subbed.) Serve salad in bowls. Refrigerate any leftovers. Makes 4 servings.

No more teasing about a funny-sounding ingredient; Mediterranean Salad's power-packed

I doubt that I’m the only person that has succumbed to doing a “sounds-like” on bulgur’s funny name. When I first saw the title of Citrus Bulgur Salad about which I blogged some weeks ago, I couldn’t help myself—it just “sounded like” Citrus Vulgar Salad to me. I mean, who eats bulgur on a regular basis? Certainly not me—that is before I became a fan.

Well, no longer do I get anywhere close to tee-heeing about bulgur being “vulgar”. Citrus Bulgur Salad brought lots of accolades, including mine. So recently when Southern Living (in that same marvelous issue that spawned yesterday’s Praline Pecan French Toast) featured Mediterranean Chicken Salad that had bulgur as one of its chief ingredients, I yanked that recipe up quickly and had to try it.

The bulgur wheat, with its mild, nutty flavor, gets prepared in the same way one might prepare rice on the stovetop: two cups of water to one cup of bulgur; boil, reduce heat, simmer for 20 minutes or until tender. Into that mixture, once cooled, goes all kinds of good garden stuff: chopped tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, fresh parsley. Toss in cooked chicken, feta cheese, garlic, salt substitute, and fat-free Italian dressing. Chill a little while or serve immediately over spinach or Bibb lettuce. (Remember that bulgur’s main redeeming quality is that it’s a great source of dietary fiber and protein. As I mentioned earlier, just a single portion of bulgur provides nearly all of the daily requirement for whole-grain foods.)

Well, this salad recipe made oodles and oodles; we’ll be sorry to see it finally disappear from the jumbo salad bowl. Hubby uses this appellation a lot: “best salad ever”, but in this case, I think he may be right for all-times.

Mediterranean Chicken Salad

2 cups boiling water

1 cup uncooked bulgur wheat

1 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided (or salt substitute)

3 cups chopped cooked chicken

1 cup grape tomatoes, halved

2 garlic cloves, pressed

3/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/2 cup bottled fat-free Italian dressing

1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

1 (4-ounce) package crumbled feta cheese

1 medium cucumber, peeled and chopped

1 head Bibb lettuce or spinach leaves

Combine boiling water, bulgur wheat, and 1 teaspoon salt substitute. Cover and allow to simmer for 20 minutes or until bulgur is tender. Drain and rinse with cold water. Allow to cool slightly. Combine bulgur wheat, chicken, next 7 ingredients, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt substitute. Serve over greens. Makes 6 servings.

Cute bow-ties, healthy tomatoes and herbs make chicken-salad dish memorable

The bow-ties make it cute; the tomatoes and herbs make it garden-fresh.

Hubby almost couldn't find the bow-tie pasta when I sent him to the grocery to purchase some of the ingredients. Finally he discovered it under the label "farfalle", its formal name.

"Mediterranean," was all he could say after the resulting Herbed Pasta and Chicken Salad was prepared and served. Truly the recipe had many the elements (olive oil, herbs, etc.) of the Mediterrean cuisine that many are telling us is health-inducing and life-prolonging.

But the fresh tomatoes absolutely made the salad. I kept looking out the back door and longed for the day when our fall tomato plans are thriving and when all tomatoes that are called for in a recipe can be the fruit of our garden's handiwork.

Allowing this dish to chill in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours or overnight is mandatory. The mixture would have seemed rather insipid if it had not been for the lengthy melding of the flavors. Allow plenty of time; don't get in a hurry (the Mediterranean way, of course). You'll have the salad around forever, so don't rush things here--just as if you were enjoying the more-relaxed pace of the Old Country.

We did. It's still filling up our lunchtime plates after we enjoyed it for dinner one evening.

Herbed Pasta and Chicken Salad

4 ounces bow-tie pasta

1 cup chopped cooked white chicken meat

2 cups small cherry tomatoes, halved (or 4 regular-sized Roma tomatoes, cut into small chunks)

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/4 cup chopped black olives

2 ounces diced cheddar cheese

2/3 cup white wine vinegar

1/4 cup fresh basil

1/4 cup fresh parsley

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

Cook pasta according to directions, omitting salt Drin, rinse in cold water, and rinse again. Combine pasta, tomatoes, celery, olives , and cheeses in a large bowl. Set Aside. Combine vinegar and remaining ingredients, stirring with a wire whisk. Pour over pasta and toss gently. Cover tightly and chill in at bowl at least 8 hours. Yield: about 7 cups.

Hunt for the perfect chicken-salad recipe is over in this garden-fresh recipe

My love connection with the perfect chicken salad began when I was a child.

The lunch counter at McKnight Drugs on the square in downtown Garland made to-die-for chicken-salad sandwiches. In my earliest experience with take-out food, my mother would call McKnight's and order three chicken-salad sandwiches on toast with a dill pickle spear on the side of each.

My mother would drive me to the square, deposit me on the curb, plant some crisp dollar bills in my hand, and send me in to pick up our "to-go" lunch for that day. The sandwiches would be wrapped in waxed-paper squares held in place by a toothpick. Once at home my mother, my daddy, and I would slowly savor each delectable bite of this inimitable meal.

Ever since then I've been on the hunt for the perfect chicken-salad recipe.

My search ended a few days ago when I tried a recipe for Orange-Chicken Salad. No way it even compared to that of McKnight's, but it was a most unusual, interesting twist on a great summertime staple and featured garden-fresh green beans to give it special appeal. The recipe, from Family Circle magazine, long ago was clipped and ever since has been languishing in the "someday" pages of my summer recipe album. Worth the wait, I must say!

I loved the addition of the fresh green beans, spinach, and mandarin oranges (you could substitute fresh oranges that had been peeled and sectioned, with the white membrane removed.) Although doing so is unnecessary, I doubled the ingredients for the dressing and opted to used sugar-free maple syrup to keep the sugars at bay. With some slices of fresh cantaloupe on the side Orange-Chicken Salad made for an ideal summer dinner.

McKnight Drug is long since closed on the square, its owners retired, and has given way to the location for a storefront church in its old corner of the square in what is now known as Historic Downtown Garland (I'll be having a book signing three-doors down at 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 3, in The Generator), but I never stroll by that section of downtown without remembering my beloved chicken salad.

I'm glad I found Orange-Chicken Salad, made with healthy, garden-fresh ingredients to help preserve that memory.

Orange-Chicken Salad

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (5 ounces each)

2 cups chicken broth

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1 pound green beans, trimmed, cut into 2 1/2-inch segments

1 bag spinach

1 (15-ounce) can mandarin oranges, drained, juice reserved

(you can sub sections from fresh oranges)

1/2 cup chopped almonds

Dressing:

1/3 cup fat-free sour cream

2 tablespoons reserved mandarin orange juice

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

Place chicken, broth, and garlic powder in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce to simmer. Cook until chicken is done, about 10 minutes. Add beans during last 5 minutes of cooking. Remove chicken to cutting board. When it is cool enough to do so, cut in small chunks. For dressing, stir together sour cream, reserved orange juice, maple syrup, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and hot-pepper sauce. Add spinach and toss entire mixture. Scatter chopped almonds on top and serve. Makes 4 servings.