Chicken Salad with Walnuts and Dried Cranberries

As a rule I stick to the same old boring lunches day in and day out. That's one of the ways I monitor my calorie intake. If I stick to the same few choices I allow myself for lunch, I know that I am appropriately managing my daily calories. Sometimes, I don't want the same old, same old though. I call these days my wild and crazy days. OK, not really wild and crazy, but I do occasionally step out of my rut. Don't we all?

Chicken Salad Sandwich

The other day I was hankering for something out of the ordinary for my lunch. A look in my refrigerator gave me the ingredients for this chicken salad with walnuts and cranberries. Yes, that is what I wanted for lunch.

I had two chicken breasts as a result of cooking a chicken to make a stock for soup. Chicken salad was a perfect use for them, don't you think?

Chicken Salad with Walnuts and Dried Cranberries

Chicken Salad Ingredients

2 boneless chicken breasts, poached and diced
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 green onion, chopped
1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
1/3 cup dried cranberries, chopped
1/4 cup mayonnaise
salt and pepper to taste

Now, I know you don't need me to go step by step through the process of making a chicken salad, but there are a couple of tips I'd like to share.

First, put the diced chicken, onion and celery together in a bowl. Toss them around and then add your salt and pepper to taste. I find that seasoning the base ingredients gets me to the right level of seasoning right off the bat.

Season Well

Second, you could toast your walnuts for additional nutty flavor. I didn't because I was in too much of a hurry to make myself a sandwich. If I was making this for guests I would take the time to toast the nuts. ...Just sayin'.

Third, go ahead and chop the nuts and dried cranberries, but not too much. You want to be able to taste them and appreciate the variety of textures in this chicken salad.

Chop the Walnuts and Cranberries

I used a torpedo roll lined with shredded iceberg lettuce as a bed for my chicken salad. Doesn't it look delicious? Yes, indeed, this was a nice treat for my wild and crazy lunch. A wrap would have been terrific as well, but I didn't have one.

Chicken Salad with Walnuts and Dried Cranberries

There's no printable recipe link for this sandwich. You really should customize the ingredients to your own taste. It will be great, however you decide to make it.

Enjoy!

Comments

Kimberly DavisSeptember 23, 2011 at 10:23 PM
Looks so yummy! I shouldn't have read this so late at night. Now I need a late night snack :)
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thrasherswifeSeptember 24, 2011 at 8:02 PM
Chicken salad is one of my favs. I too love nuts and something sweet. I often use red grapes and I use greek yogurt instead of mayo and can not tell a diff. Think a few of my lunches next week with include so chicken salad now that you have my mouth watering!!!
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Donna UrsoSeptember 24, 2011 at 8:40 PM
Thrasherswife, I need to try making it with Greek yogurt. I bet it is delicious, especially with the grapes or dried cranberries. The contrast of sweet and tangy must be yummy.
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