If I am eating a homemade chicken salad sandwich, I know two things. It is most certainly summer, and that I have recently been to Costco. Perhaps,chicken salad sandwiches don’t top your list of “easy” summer meals. Perhaps you don’t relate them to being a “fresh” meal, since most of you probably make these only when you have leftover chicken that you don’t know what else to do with. Well, we’re going to change that right now. Thanks to Costco rotisserie chicken, my world has been changed! I have used rotisserie chicken in many recipes for a while, but this in this recipe, I have noticed a significant difference in the overall result. The main ingredient is no longer a leftover, dry chicken, it is straight off the bones to the meal at hand. Plus, this meal is so easy to put together, that it is one of my go-to meals to take camping. Say what?!? Yup. (I’ll explain below). So, the next time you have a hankering for some good ol’ fashion chicken salad, try this recipe. It is so easy and delicious!
Chicken Salad Croissant Sandwiches
(Makes 5 -7 large croissants sandwiches)
1 – 3 lb. rotisserie chicken (Costco)
4 ribs celery (chopped)
1/2 sliced almonds
1 c. grapes (sliced in half)
1/3 c – 2/3 c. mayonnaise
1 – 2 tsp. Lowry’s Season Salt (or to taste)
Large butter croissants (Costco)
Strip the chicken off the bones and slice into bite sized pieces. Put chicken in a large, gallon ziplock and place in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours or until chicken is cold. ( You can place flat in the freezer for about a half hour if you are in a rush). Meanwhile, chop celery and grapes. When chicken has sufficiently chilled, add the celery, grapes, and almonds and stir to combine. Mix in 1/3 c. mayonnaise and stir. If the mixture is still dry, continue to add mayo slowly until it is the consistency you like. When mixed, sprinkle a 1/2 tsp. at a time, and continue stirring until desired flavor.
(The reason I give a range of season salt and mayo is because there will be discrepancies in the actual amount of meat you strip off the rotisserie, size of grapes, celery, etc. By adding a bit at a time you won’t over-do either the mayo or the salt. The last time I made this, I used about 1 tsp. The key is to taste in between 🙂
If you are not ready to serve immediately, keep in the refrigerator until you are ready. When you are ready to serve, slice croissants and fill with chilled chicken salad. Enjoy.
So back to the camping comment…I do everything I would normally do to make these in advance only I don’t mix anything together yet. I strip the chicken, place in a ziplock and chill. Then I chop the celery and grapes, measure the almonds, and season salt and then I place them each in their own separate ziplock bags. Then I tuck all the indvidual bags in the gallon ziplock with the chicken. This way I have all the ingredients minus the mayo in one convenient package. If you combine them at this point, it will probably be a soggy mess by the time you get to it. Place the gallon ziplock and your mayo in your cooler and keep it there until you are ready for it. When we are ready to eat it a day or two later, I dump all the contents of the smaller ziplocks in with the chicken, add mayo and season salt and mix right in the bag. When combined, bust out the croissants and fill. You don’t need extra utensils, bowls and you have very little waste.My kids love this meal and love think think I’m quite the wilderness gourmet!
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