You can always say you'll being sandwiches then scoot on over to the store and pick up some premade ones. Don't get me wrong- nothing wrong with those but the problem with them is that you just don't know what's in them! And in my opinion, they use way too much mayonnaise. And I don't even know what they use for mayo- something else that I'm not a huge fan of, I'm a Hellmans girl! This way you know everything that goes into it and the taste is a million times better. It's not as easy as just going out and buying sandwiches, but it's worth it and people will notice the difference 100%.
-4 large boneless skinless chicken breasts -1/2 tsp onion powder
-1/4 cup olive oil -3/4-1 cup mayo
-1 tsp salt -1 stalk celery
-1/2 tsp pepper -1 granny smith apple
-1/2 tsp garlic powder -1/3 cup dried cranberries
-A few sprigs each of fresh rosemary and thyme
1. At least a half hour before cooking, throw the chicken in a big zip bag with the olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and the rosemary and thyme. Get all the air out and close up the bag. *Make sure your bag is closed!* Move the marinade all around to get it all over every bit of chicken. Stick it in the fridge. You can marinate for hours- longer the better I say.
2. About 5-10 minutes prior to cooking take out the chicken and let it come to room temperature a little bit.
3. While waiting for the chicken to rest, go and start you grill! Grilling the chicken really is the best way to make this salad. However, if you can't get to a grill or it's buried in snow or something, you can cook in the oven or stovetop of course.
4. Grill up the chicken!
5. After your positive the chicken has cooked through, let it rest for a few minutes so that the juices don't fly out everywhere when you cut it.
6. While waiting for the chicken to rest and cool a bit, finely chop the celery, apple, and cranberries and set aside.
7. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, cube into half inch pieces and throw into a large mixing bowl. In my opinion, this is where the salad differentiates itself- a lot of sandwiches you see in the stores have ground meat. With this chicken salad the cubed meat really makes a big difference in texture and flavor!
8. Once the chicken is all cubed and in the bowl, stick it in the fridge to cool. Don't want to put mayo on hot chicken. I mean, you could, but I don't recommend it.
9. When the chicken has cooled, take it out of the fridge and it's time to get down to business. Add the mayo, celery, apple, and cranberries. Mix well! *Quick note- you may have to add mayo later on because the chicken and other ingredients will absorb a lot. Keep an eye on it.*
10. This is the part where you can really just adjust everything to your liking. I guarantee you'll most likely need more salt and pepper. Maybe more or less mayo depending on how you like it. Get the salad to how you want it tasting then stick it in the fridge to marry the flavors a bit for a few hours.
You're done!
Now you could get yourself some really yummy fresh finger rolls or go for what I did and get a bigger roll, slather that baby with butter, grill it off, and pile it high!
Of course there are other types of the typical "store" sandwiches that my dad has amazing recipes for! Ham salad- AMAZING. Turkey salad- AMAZING. You could even try with seafood, make yourself little lobster rolls? The world is your pickle, go for it!
-Meaghan
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