Chicken salad and switching it up freezer style

Until about a month ago, I had never made chicken salad. Never. I had no recipe for one, and I had no idea how to make it. And it wasn't because I didn't like it. Oh no. I love a good chicken salad at a nice cafe. I just never thought to make my own.

That changed when I had a bunch of left over chicken from one of our freezer meals. And there was a boatload ton left over. So much, in fact, that I had no idea what I was going to do with it. Could I have chopped it up and saved it for soup? Yes. But I do that all the time. I was over that. Could I have used it for chicken enchiladas? Sure. But I do that all the time too. I needed something fresh and new. Luckily, my friend Janis said to me, "Why not make chicken salad?"

I said, "Why, by golly. I think I will."

Okay. I didn't actually use the words, "by golly." But I was thinking it. I promise.

So I went to Food.com and searched for chicken salad recipes. And let me tell you - there were tons. I finally settled on one that sounded easy enough. And the plus was that I had all the ingredients in my pantry. Bonus! I love when that works out.

So, I got to work. My masterpiece consisted of mayo, curry powder, celery, granny smith apples, craisins, and scallions.  Let me tell you - it was the best damn chicken salad I have ever had. I served it for dinner that night on croissants. I felt like it was "Cafe Graber" at our house, because that's how good it was. I even got the thumbs up from my oh-so-picky husband.

And since then, I have been a chicken salad making machine. Yup. I have. And now I just wonder why I never made it before? 

Meanwhile, we are up to swap number six with our freezer swaps. You can read about that here if you don't know what my freezer swap is. This coming month, we decided to get a little crazy and switch it up. We were getting a little burnt out on the dinners - so we decided that we are just doing a mish-mash. Some things that have been suggested include green bean bundles, blueberry muffins, granola bites, and breakfast sandwiches! Fun - right? Who says freezer swaps have to be all about dinner? I am actually proud of us that we have kept the momentum going for all these months. Cheers to my freezer girls!

Hope you all have a great weekend! I will be running a 4 mile race on Saturday and maybe hitting the parade if it's not too cold out! Happy St. Patrick's Day!