Fruited Curry Chicken Salad

My favorite chicken salad recipe is an original combo of two that I found years and years ago on AllRecipes. Both are great; either would be awesome; but I think my combo is phenomenal. Friends request it for pot-bless lunches and brunches and showers. It is one of the most delicious things you’ll ever eat!

Anyway, you’ll need some cooked chicken to start with. For most chicken dishes, I like a mixture of light and dark meat. And you know, this is really handy and cheap because a rotisserie chicken from Costco or Sam’s Club fits the job perfectly! It’s also great in the summer, because then you don’t have to heat up the house by having the oven going full blast for over an hour. (On winter weekends, you may want to try a delicious roast chicken recipe, because it’s surprisingly easy and one of the best things I’ve ever cooked.)

Once you have your cubed, cooked chicken, you’ll need some other ingredients. I won’t lie and say you don’t have to stand at the counter and chop, chop, chop for a million years. It does take a long time. This is an easy recipe; just not necessarily a quick and easy one. But it is worth it. At least it is to me! I tend to make really large batches. If you made a smaller batch it wouldn’t take as long, obviously, to cut everything.

So you’ll need fruits and veggies:

• diced celery
• diced apple
• diced onion (green onion is good, but white, yellow, or red will work too)
• grapes, halved (any color)
• raisins (any color)
• nuts or sunflower seeds (without shells, of course)

Now that you’re done standing at the cutting board, put your favorite mayo in a mixing bowl and shake some curry powder into it. Mix well.

Combine all your chicken, veggies, and fruit with the curried mayonnaise. Done!

It is de. lish.

Okay, you want amounts? I will give you amounts, since this is supposed to be a chicken salad recipe, but think of them as suggestions only. You should freestyle depending on the time and ingredients you have.

Fruited Curry Chicken Salad Recipe (Carolyn’s version)

• 2 cups cooked, cut up chicken. A mixture of white and dark is great. Canned chicken will work in a pinch, but roasted or rotisserie is really good.
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• 1 apple, cored and diced
• 1/4 cup diced green onion
• 1/3 cup of grapes, halved
• 1/3 cup of raisins or craisins (sweetened, dried cranberries)
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans, walnuts, or sunflower seeds (pecans are tastiest in this recipe, but use what you have)
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup of mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon curry powder, or more if you really like it
• salt and pepper to taste

Combine all the ingredients and refrigerate overnight or until you can’t wait anymore to eat it. Serve between bread slices for a sandwich, with crackers as hearty dip, or on top of salad greens for a light lunch. Or make a doulbe batch and do all of the above.