Super Summer Salad Saturday

Summer – how hot is it? It is so hot trees are running around looking for shade; the hens are laying hard cooked eggs, the melt time for a Popsicle is 20 seconds…

With this in mind, at this time of year, I cook as little as possible.  Salads, sammies, smoothies – you name it. In the South, we love our cold plates: tuna or chicken salad with sides of pickled beets, tater salad, coleslaw, bean salad, macaroni salad, sliced fresh from the garden tangy tomatoes – I keep bowls of layered salad, chicken salad, five cup salad, marinated veggies (see blog on Quickles) all through the summer.

A lifesaver to me this time of year is my eight quart stainless steel Presto pressure cooker. I grew up with these being used and have no fear of them. I respect them and know how to treat them and in return, they are good to me. When chicken breasts go on sale, I will usually buy about 20 pounds at one time. I rinse off, and do two cookings in my pressure cooker. In about 30 minutes, I have cooked all that chicken. I purchase with the skin on, bone in for best flavor. Into the cooking water I add some celery, onion, salt, freshly ground pepper, chopped parsley. When the chicken has cooled, I pull it out and de-skin and debone, then put into freezer bags of two cups each. The rich broth is strained and frozen for future use. The cooked chicken can be used for future casseroles, salad additions, and my famous chicken salad. My mama taught me how to make this. Again, we go with the simplest is best policy: no grapes, cranberries, nuts, pineapple – good quality simple ingredients. To make enough for my husband, inlaws, folks at work and church, and for several meals and sammies, I use 3 pounds of whole chicken breast. This recipe makes a lot. Common sense will tell you how to break it down.

Celia’s Chicken Salad
Chicken breast, cooked, de-boned, skin off, and shredded
Hellman’s Mayonnaise – 1 cup, more if needed
3 stalks Diced celery
A few finely diced sweet gherkins or,
2 TBS sweet pickle relish
ground mustard to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Put shredded chicken into large bowl. Add celery, pickle, good heavy sprinkle of ground mustard, and a couple of tablespoons of the chicken broth. Add mayonnaise. Using your hands, mix all ingredients well. Mess but the best way. I use those thin disposable plastic gloves. The chicken will be tender enough it should basically just all blend together with the other ingredients. Wait about 20 minutes and taste. Adjust seasonings. Add salt, pepper, more pickle, celery, mayonnaise as needed. I personally like a lot of diced celery and about a tablespoon of pickle added. That’s it! Put into sealable container and refrigerate. Use for cold plates, stuffed tomatoes, sammies, bribes, etc.

Layered Salad – Classic Recipe
3 cups torn lettuce
1/2 shredded carrot
1 medium Vidalia, red, or equivalent in scallions, chopped
1 medium cucumber. chopped
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup bell pepper, chopped
1 cup frozen small green peas, thawed
1/2 Hellman’s mayo
1/4 cup buttermilk ranch dressing
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheese
3 tbs. crumbled cooked bacon

In a 3 qt. trifle or deep bowl, layer ingredient, first ingredient into the bottom of the bowl, etc. Stop after you add the green peas. Mix mayo and dressing and spread over top of ingredients, going to the edge of the bowl and sealing. Add cheese and bacon. Cover and chill several hours before serving. OPTIONS: alternate toppings are freshly grated parmesan cheese, crumbled feta cheese, toasted sunflower seeds, toasted almonds, cooked chicken breast. The chicken breast would be one of the items layered into the salad  The beauty of this salad is that you can use what items you like, more or less of them, make in a deep dish or spread out on a 9×13 dish.

 

Five Cup Salad (not really five cups of stuff)
1 cup (11 oz. can) mandarin oranges, drained
1 cup (11 oz. can) crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup sour cream
1/2 chopped maraschino cherries
1/2 cup freshly grated or thawed grated coconut
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. I save the mandarin oranges for last and gently fold in.Cover and refrigerate for several hours before serving. Serves about 6, so increase as needed. Variations: If desired, substitute half sour cream with half whipped cream, or Cool Whip to reduce the tartness of the sour cream. I personally like the tartness of the sour cream. Add more coconut, pecans, cherries to your own taste.