Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Sometimes in the summer I just don't want a heavy dinner. Tonight was one of those nights. Enter = Chicken salad! It's so light & yummy but filling at the same time. And, a bonus, it doesn't heat up the house! Woo hoo! Let's go!

You'll need:


Cooked chicken, red grapes, celery, slivered almonds, mayo & black pepper.

Come by the cooked chicken whatever way you'd like - leftovers, a rotisserie from the grocery store, grill it, bake it, boil it - today I threw some frozen breasts in the crock pot with a little bit of broth & seasonings. Just make sure if you cook it fresh for this that you give it time to cool. Hot chicken salad isn't quite as yummy as the cold stuff!

Mix everything but the pepper & mayo in a bowl.


Then add in your mayo & pepper! Start out light on the mayo & add more as you see the need. You can always add more but once you have too much there's not a lot you can do.

I started out with 1 cup of mayo for 4 cups of chicken & ended up adding about 1/4 cup more.


You can cover it & chill it until you're ready to eat or just serve it up right away!


YUM!! The celery & almonds give it 2 different types of crunch while the grapes add a splash of sweet. And of course the creaminess of the mayo with the chicken.... goodness. YUM! As a throwback to my childhood we had a loaf of whole grain WHITE bread here at the house so that's how we served it up. But you choose - Hubby at all the leftovers scooped out of the bowl with Ritz crackers! Put it in a pita, a tortilla, a little dinner roll.... oh the possibilities!!

Doesn't this just look like the perfect summer dinner!!?

Chicken Salad Sandwiches:

4 cups cooked chicken, diced or shredded
1 1/2 cups diced celery
1 1/2 cups red grapes, either halved or quartered
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 - 1 1/2 cups mayo
1/2 tsp black pepper

Combine all ingredients & mix until thoroughly combined. Cover & chill or serve immediately.

Pedersen Cheese Ball

I know, it's Wordless Wednesday & I've already thrown up my picture of the snow we got this past week. But.... I really wanna share one last maybe-make-it-for-Thanksgiving recipe for you. This is the famous (within our family, at least!) Pedersen Cheese Ball! This rare gem only makes an appearance 3 times a year - Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Years Eve. The recipe is compliments of my father-in-law. It's a cherished piece of nostalgia for my husband & his sisters - like an old Baribe doll or your favorite Star Wars action figures from childhood. That quilt grandma made just for you that you still cuddle on the couch with, even though it's all ragged & torn. This cheese ball is a childhood full of great memories for my husband's family because it was always there at some of their most cherished family experiences. And now it's finding its way into our kids' memories. I hope you enjoy it!

The ingredients:


Cream cheese, Blue cheese, American cheese, yellow onion, parsley & pecans.

Dice up your pecans, onions & parsley. Then throw everything into the bowl, reserving 3/4 cups of the parsley and about 1/4 cup of the pecans.

*A word of caution on dicing the onion - don't use a food chopper. It breaks/crushes the membranes, unlike a good sharp knife, and releases too much of the onion juice & then the onion will completely over-power your cheese ball. So just take an extra minute & use a knife!


The best mixing tool for this is a potatoes masher. If you don't have one I suppose you could use clean hands.


Now form it into a ball, pressing firmly to make sure it's all compact & solid. Then roll it around in the reserved parsley & pecans.


Stick it on a plate & chill for at least an hours before you serve it. Overnight is fine, too.


Ahhhhhh, behold. THE cheese ball.

I'm sorry I'll have to leave you hanging without a picture of us digging into it, as it's being saved for our dinner at the fire station tomorrow. Once it's had a chance to chill put some Wheat Thins on the plate with it & watch it disappear!

Pedersen Cheese Ball

1 8-oz block of cream cheese
8-oz of American cheese slices
1/3 cup blue cheese crumbles
1 small yellow onion
1 heaping cup pecans, chopped
1 cup parsley, chopped

First allow the cheeses to sit on the counter for about an hour before you make this - give them a chance to soften up.

Dice your onion, pecans & parsley. Throw everything into a bowl, except for about 1/4 of pecans & 3/4 cup parsley. Using a potato masher, thoroughly blend everything together. Form it into a ball & roll it in the remaining parsley & pecans until well coated. Chill for at least an hour before serving. Serve with crackers.