Chicken Salad By The Ounce

I love roasting a chicken.  I get multiple meals from a single cooking session, and I can toss the chicken carcass in a bag in the freezer next to my Soup Packs if it's not a good time to make stock.  I had some leftover chicken meat after these Mu Shu Chicken Burritos, and a chicken salad sounded like a nice lunch for my daughter.  Me,  too!

The pigs have heard the peeler, and are ready for a snack.

Before my girl was due home for lunch, I was playing around in the kitchen and had my scale out.  I knew I wanted a carrot in the salad, so after I peeled the carrot (peels, top and tip to the composting pigs who start wheeking when they hear the sound of the peeler) I tossed it on the scale for grins and giggles.  It was exactly one ounce.  I grabbed the red onion and sliced off what I thought would be a good amount.  It too was exactly one ounce.

At this point, I resisted the temptation to get on the scale and see if I, too, weighed exactly one ounce.  Best not to press my luck?

You know I had to measure out exactly one ounce of celery.  Ditto the sunflower seeds.  The chicken? Eight ounces.  Since I had it out already, I figured I'd chop everything with the food processor.  I'd previously chopped dates for these muffins, and I estimate there was about one tablespoon of chopped dates left in the bowl.  I ate this over chopped romaine with a drizzle of balsamic vinaigrette, and my daughter turned hers into a sandwich.  I'm just glad I grabbed the camera and got one photo before we dug in!

This chicken salad has plenty of crunch from the carrots, celery, and sunflower seeds, plus a hint of sweetness from the dates.  It's delicious as lunch, on a cracker or pita round for snack, or even for a warm weather supper. I like all sorts of chicken salads, and I'm happy to add this version to my repertoire.

Chicken Salad By The Ounce

1 ounce red onion, chopped
1 ounce carrot, chopped
1 ounce celery, chopped
8 ounces cooked chicken, chopped
1 ounce salted sunflower seeds
1 1/2 ounces mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon chopped dates
salt and pepper to taste

Mix everything together in a medium-sized bowl.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve over a salad, on a sandwich, or just eat it with a spoon.  If you like, add more mayo or a tablespoon or two of plain yogurt for a moister salad.

This post is shared with What's Cookin' Wednesday at Buns In My Oven, the brand new From The Farm Blog Hop, and the Clever Chicks Blog Hop, Food on Friday and Foodie Friends Friday.

Simon would like to point out that he's being ignored on the blog.