Leftover Love!

Greetings to you all!

I’m glad to report that healthwise, we are coming along slowly and are now in the process of going through the paperwork that comes with car accident – no fun. But the good news is that I am back to work, my hubbs is still recovering, and happily for me his appetite is back!

It was only last week that my good friend Hazel and her hubby took us to the supermarket (you two are a true blessing!) so I could re-stock the old food shelf & cupboard. However, it was a good thing that I didn’t decide to cook an elaborate meal, cuz grocery shopping is taxing on the brain and body. So instead, I chose something very simple; a little stewed beef, elbow (macaroni) pie, boiled rice and boiled plantains. I had also thawed out some frozen stewed lentils I had done in the pressure cooker some time ago and it tasted as good as the day they were made – don’t ask me which day I made them though… I honestly cannot remember, lol!

So, the weekend has begun, and the brain is ticking on what to make for breakfast.  Then, I remembered that a ‘vaps’ had kicked me and I had baked off a small tray of drumsticks some time ago, two of which were happily relaxing in the back of the fridge… and they were still good! (Woo-hoo!) So this would be the anchor of my Saturday breakfast… a scaled down version of my One Rotisserie Chicken Salad. Back when my Granny made it, though, she never called it chicken salad; for her it was ‘chicken spread’. No matter, it makes for an easy and tasty sandwich.

 So, let's get this party started! YEAH!!!

Simply take the meat off the bone using a knife... or you could do the Caveman thing and use your fingers... AAAAARRRRRRG!!!

Put the shredded chicken into a bowl with 1/2 a diced 'smedium' onion, 2 diced stalks of chive, 1 diced stalk of celery, a little chopped fresh parsley and a couple sprigs of thyme - just pull the leaves off and sprinkle them in. 

Now for the binder. My three main components are honey mustard (a squeeze), mayo (1/4 cup) and sweet relish (1 level tablespoon).

Into my mixing cup they went with a teaspoon each of lime juice and brown sugar.

Mixed it up and then reached for the Angostura bitters… yuh done know!

In it goes...

Mix it all together, then taste.

Needs some black pepper... though sometimes I would use a nice pepper sauce.

Voila! Yeah... I just couldn't help doing a little 'decorating' there, hahahaa!  Next, comes the making of my sandwich! :-)

I sliced a small tomato really thin...

Put them on one slice of warmed (not toasted) whole wheat bread...

I covered every inch of tomato...

SPLADAAW!!!

Sorry guys… I couldn’t wait any longer, it's SOOOO GOOD!!!

The remaining 3 halves, with my portugal for dessert! 

Okay, truth. The plan was to make two sandwiches, cut them in four and arrange them nicely on the plate with a little garnish of chive and a couple sprigs of parsley. However, the smell - make that... AROMA - that these sandwiches were giving off was just too much for the ol’ Halcie… I gave in and ate one of the halves as you can plainly see, LOL!   

As I mentioned before, this recipe can be done using an entire rotisserie chicken and doubling or tripling the other ingredients accordingly, but back in the day, my Granny used a whole baked chicken for her chicken spread. This scaled down version will give you about 4 sandwiches, depending on how heavy your hand is with the filling. Here’s the full recipe:

2 chicken drumsticks or one very large chicken breast (baked or rotisserie)

2 or 3 small stalks chive (chopped)

½ a “smedium” onion (fine dice)

1 small stalk of local celery (chopped)

Fresh Parsley (minced)

Fresh thyme (just pick the leaves off)

¼ cup regular mayonnaise

A squeeze of honey mustard

1 level tablespoon sweet relish

1 teaspoon of brown sugar

½ to 1 teaspoon lime juice

Angostura Bitters

Black pepper

How to put it together…

Strip the chicken from the bone and shred using a knife or your fingers. Place it into a bowl along with the chive, onion, celery, parsley and thyme. Set aside.

In a cup, mix up the mayonnaise, mustard, relish, sugar and lime juice with a dash of Angostura bitters. Pour the mayo mix into the chicken and fresh seasonings and mix well. Taste again, and add a dash of black pepper.

Serve it on hops or whole wheat bread, Crix or in a lettuce leaf if you’re feeling fancy, garnished with some parsley and chives.

So, here’s to another simple and fun meal in my kitchen. And as you're passing through, leave a little comment for me nah? Ask me questions or tell me what foods you'd like to see in future as well; I'll be sure to reply and give your suggestions a try on the blog for future postings.

Bye for now, my friends and like I always say… doh forget to mind the pot!