Chicken Salad
 

okay, totally not sure if this is the right subset of this forum to post this in...but I can't seem to find another appropriate one...so here goes and the moderators will reassign it if needed

my wife has Alzheimer's... so I'm doing all of the meal prep, cooking, menu planning and buying, etc...no big deal, I signed on for life, she's the love of my life. We both liked to cook and we took many cooking classes together over the years...so I know how to cook

however...now I'm faced with taking care of 'the left overs'....lol... in the past that was always way above my pay grade thankfully....lol

so, a meal that we make often is 'Basil Chicken'...chicken breasts with skin on and bone in, and we stuff about 8 basil leaves under the skin of each breast....fantastic taste

anyway...there's always a lot of chicken left over....which in the past my wife made into chicken salad for sandwiches.

so here's my question....should I just rough chop the left over chicken and leave it in big chunks, or should I fine chop the chicken for the sandwiches....yes I'm going to add celery and mayo

hey...what can I say...I was always the chef or the sous chef and never had to bother with the leftovers (I'd always help with the drying of the dishes though)

thanks for any advice you may share...

it's tougher than I ever thought it would be being 'the care taker'...and I just want to be able to please my wife with a great chicken salad sandwich. We go on picnics a lot now that covid-19 is here...it gets us out.

I am so grateful that we are in TV...there are so many folks that will help....and it truly does make a huge difference. We are blessed that our church family is so great...and that we have 1st cousins living in TV

And this forum gives me a lot of joy...and a break from being "on" 24x 7

please, just tell me how you chop the left over chicken for sandwiches...it's really just that darn simple of a question...and I feel silly reaching out on this, but I am :)

Remove the skin of course.

Chop chicken in size you want it, add celery and mayo and in my case yellow mustard and pepper. Sometimes some chopped up onion and pickles.

One of my favorites and will make a batch and eat it for days.

thank you...what size do you usually chop to 1/2 inch, 1/4 inch??

Chicken salad is one of my standards. In fact, it rarely starts with leftovers. Those skinless, boneless chicken breasts get gently blasted in a pressure cook for just a few minutes.

(I used to poach them but now it is always the pressure cooker.)

Then the chicken gets shredded. I just use forks to do the shredding because I do not want the chicken to be too smooth — just a rough shred. Chopping would work fine, too.

I use tarragon, celery, and Hellmann’s.

My mom sometimes put grapes and nuts in chicken salad and served it on a lettuce leaf, on a pretty plate, for her bridge club. But I don’t play bridge.

How did your wife make her chicken salad. As you being the care giver, consistency in everyday life helps.

Large chunks are harder to chew. I dice onion, celery, and chicken all same size, add condiments, I use dukes mayo, and refrigerate overnight.

Yum, sounds so refreshing! I like to chop mine pretty small so the chicken isn't dry. I use mayo and pickle relish and when I am feeling a little spicy add either a hot mustard or a little buffalo sauce. I am sure she will love it no matter what you do!

ahh...tarragon...now that's different. thank you

Dukes is my favorite mayo down here....

good call to ask how my wife used to make it...thanks!

I’d just like to throw in my vote for fine chopped. Better to spread the mayo around. And let’s be honest, that’s the best part. :a040::a040:

Never measured it but approximately 1/4 x 1/4.

I prefer shredded chicken for my chicken salad. Just like at fresh market. I simply cut it in strips along the fibers (if you will) then I hand tear (rip/pull) it then S & P, mayo, a touch of brown mustard, celery salt then 3 drops of Worcestershire sauce, yes Worcestershire sauce.

I grill chicken breasts specifically to make salad. I don't like large chunks so do a pretty fine 1/8 inch dice. Same size as the celery. I often eat it as a croissant sandwich, but add chopped walnuts if I'm having a scoop by itself. Condiments of choice are Miracle Whip and spicy mustard.

For those who sometimes just want a quick meal, the offerings at Chicken Salad Chick on Bichara are good if a bit spendy.

You are a wonderful man and she is a lucky lady!

I'm the guy in the house and do all the cooking too, so can appreciate your question. One thing I find helpful is Allrecipes | Food, friends, and recipe inspiration You can search for anything you like and there are a lot of helpful recipes from everyday people. Also many videos showing how to do stuff.

As a former caregiver for my mom, I would suggest making the chicken as small as possible because your wife may have issues chewing it. I personally love it when it is chunks, but my mom would never have managed it. Chop it all up in very small pieces to make it as easy as possible for your wife. Everyone here focused on your recipe (although I love the use of tarragon in yours), but I focused on the fact your wife has ALZ and I remember how hard it was to get mom to eat. We eventually ended up pureeing everything to get her nourishment.