Twisted Spicy Grilled Chicken and Grape Salad

 

I’m quickly becoming The King of Leftovers.

I mean, I am getting pretty creative, right?.  
Of course, in the past, I’ve been accused many times 
of having an overactive imagination.  
But, I doubt that’s what they meant.

As much as I may love eating certain dishes, 
eating them over and over, 
night after night 
can be...,well, boring.  

I decided, not long ago, that I needed to start doing a better job and turning my leftovers into new dishes.  
(Is “upcycling” a word I can use to describe 
what I’m doing with my leftover foods?)  
Hmmmmmm…food for thought.

The other night I was on my way home, 
trying to figure out what we were going to eat.  
I had cooked up a big ole batch of grilled chicken 
the night before and had a couple breasts left over.  
I knew that I wanted to do something with that…
I had, at the very least, a protein…
a base for my meal.

I couldn’t remember what else we had in the fridge.  
I couldn’t think of anything that I might be able to throw together to make an entrée much less a whole meal.  
I was drawing a blank.

So, I called home and had my daughter call out 
items we had in the fridge.   

Anyone who knows my kids, 
knows that getting them to do anything 
with gusto is a task in itself…
not super enthusiastic about things outside of their own interests.   

Anyway, she started listing things in the fridge…
things that do not make a meal.   

“Half a jar of your weird mayo.  A lemon.  
A bag of grapes. 
I love grapes dad, do something with that. 
Chicken, but you knew that, right? 
Uhm…oh, there is also some weird herb…
you know the one…
you said that they make pickles with it…
Dill.  There’s dill in here.”   

To be honest, she listed a number of other things.  
Onions, celery, bell peppers, leftover steak, etc.  
But those first ingredients stuck in my mind.  

So, I did a quick InterGoogleNetWeb-type search just listing the chicken and grapes and dill.  
To my shock and amazement 
there was a chicken salad recipe that had those ingredients.  
What? Are you kidding?  
Apparently it’s a thing.  
Enough for me to run with.

When I got home, I started pulling things from the fridge, 
with no specific recipe in mind.  
I just knew I wanted to recreate my own version 
of the salad I read about.  

 Here is what I came up with.

Remember that you can tweak this and make it your own.  The options are endless.  This one worked and will be one that I make again.

Get creative.

Kraig’s Twisted Spicy Grilled Chicken and Grape Salad
WHAT:	HOW:
½ lb. Grilled Chicken Breast -   Chopped	1.      When you chop the Chicken, Pecans, Celery and Grapes, try to keep the chop of each roughly the same size.     2.      In a large bowl, mix together the first 5 ingredients.     3.      In a separate smaller bowl, mix/whisk together the Mayo, Lemon Juice, Dill, and a healthy dash of Cayenne (according to how spicy you like it.)     4.      Pour the mayo mix into the larger bowl and fold in to fully incorporate it with the chicken and grape mix.     5.      Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper. (Careful with the salt.  The dill can give it a “salty” flavor.)     6.      Serve in Lettuce leaves of your choice.  Or on paleo crackers, or bread.     7.      Enjoy!
1-2 Stalks of Celery – Chopped Smallish
½ Cup Fresh Dill – Finely Chopped (If using dry, only use about 2 Tbsps.)
3/4 Cup Pecans – Roughly Chopped
½ lb. Red Grapes – Roughly Quartered or Halved
1 Cup Paleo Mayo
Juice of ½ a Lemon - Fresh
Salt & Pepper to Taste
Cayenne – To Taste
Lettuce (bib, romaine, etc.) – For Wrapping