Mama’s Chicken Salad

I have a confession to make:

I am almost an exact copy of my mother.

Scary? Yes, but I think I’ve grown-up about it. We frequently finish each others’ sentences. And she has this odd (freaky, really) ability to read my mind, especially when I have a silly grin on my face, which makes it difficult to keep a secret when I’m around her. I’m O.K. with that, though (most of the time). It gives me someone to tell secrets to.

I'm going to get yelled at for putting a picture of her on here...

We do have our differences.  For example, eyebrows. Mine are from Dad. Also, she doesn’t like to cook…

What? I know, I know. But she doesn’t refuse to cook.  She just doesn’t enjoy it. She does, however, enjoy the simple things in life. Like her chicken salad, which she whips up occasionally. She loves this stuff, and so do I. It’s simple to make and can provide a quick lunch or dinner. I eat it by itself, but it also makes a great sandwich.

Mama’s Chicken Salad

Ingredients

1 apple, chopped
4 celery stalks, chopped
2 cups chicken (white or dark meat), chopped
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons milk
Salt and pepper, to taste

Chop the apple and celery into similarly sized chunks. Pull and chop chicken (I used a in-a-bag Rotisserie, which cuts prep time drastically). Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix. I like this recipe, because you can add all sorts of goodies to it: walnuts, crasins, carrots, whatever you’re craving. Except maybe chocolate cake. That would be kinda weird…

 

Garlic and Rosemary Chicken Burgers

Who could say no to this?
One. Vegetarians. 100% chicken in there.
Two. People who don’t like rosemary. And garlic. Together in food harmony.

If you don’t fall into one of the above categories, I’ve got good news for you. Go to your herb garden. Mine consists of two red and white striped hot cocoa tins. They’re empty at the moment, seeing as I just moved into my new place. Soon they will be filled with little green herb babies. (If I call them plants, I’ll end up killing them. I don’t know how I’m going to keep up a garden, but I’ll try some day.)

Anyways. Back to your herb garden. Now, take a sprig of rosemary. Roll it between your hands a few times. What do you smell? Rosemary, of course. What else would it smell like?

Garlic and Rosemary Chicken Burgers
Adapted from Giada At Home

Ingredients

Mayonnaise
1 cup mayonnaise
2-3 sprigs of rosemary, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced

Burgers
1 lb. ground chicken
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
Handful of baby spinach
4 buns

Preheat the grill (or Mr. George in my case). Mix together the mayo, rosemary, and garlic in a bowl. Grab a bigger bowl and toss in the ground chicken, salt, pepper, and 3/4 of the mayo mix. Using your hands–clean hands–combine ingredients until even. Mold 4 patties and place them on the grill. Cook for 7 minutes on each side.

Spread the remaining mayo on one side (or both sides) of the burger buns. Serve with a few leaves of baby spinach on top.

The end result.