Recipes

[walker]

CHICKEN SALAD BAKE 

2 boneless chicken breasts, cooked and cubed

3/4 cup celery, chopped 

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1 (5 oz) can water chestnuts (sliced or diced), drained

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 small can shoestring potatoes*

Cook chicken, cool and cube.  Mix together with celery, onions, water chestnuts and cheese; add salt and pepper.  Combine mayonnaise with lemon juice and add to chicken mixture; mix well.  Place in 2 quart baking dish.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Serves 2-4.

* You could use crushed potato chips on top as well.  I had   extra time so I lowered oven temperature to 350 and baked about 35-40 minutes.  

[Gerri S]

OMG.....I was just looking for a DIFFERENT CHICKEN RECIPE.......thank you Walker, I'll make this tonight!  You saved the day.  Gerri

[novamc1]

That looks good!

I've put together different versions of similar chicken casseroles based on bite-sized chunks of pre-cooked white meat.

The mix  might include a can of  cream of chicken or mushroom or celery soup, chopped celery and onion,  chopped red/green peppers,  frozen peas,  mushrooms (I use a small can of mushroom stems and pieces), a little Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce,  water chestnuts and/or slivered almonds.

Topping might be  crushed buttered herb dressing mix, crushed potato chips or french-fried onions.

If the mix needs to be more creamy, a little bit of sour cream or milk is added.

I just mix it all together and bake in a casserole dish for about a hour.  It's one of those never-fail dishes for me and it seems to go over pretty well with others.

[walker]

@Gerri S ...hope you like it!  @novamc1 ...good variations!

This is not a creamy recipe so adding a little milk, sour cream, etc, is good idea too if you prefer creamier.  I would imagine using a creamed soup would make a difference as well.  Easy recipe to "tweak" a bit. 

[novamc1]

I forgot to mention.......swiss cheese has always worked well in my random chicken  concoctions.

[Kachina624]

My mother used to make this for special occasions.  I believe her recipe came from an old Philadelphia Orchestra fund raising cookbook.  It was called Hot Chicken Salad and is delicious.

Moms recipe is close to 50 years old. 

[novamc1]

@walker

I printed your recipe and was going to add it to my collection.   Discovererd that I already had two copies of  the same recipe in the file--cut out from different sources.

One  is attributed by The Food Network to Paula Deen.  Her version is word-for-word the same as yours but calls for slivered almonds instead of water chestnuts.  

The other copy is identical to yours (specifies water chestnuts). 

You will be happy to know that the Food Network copy indicates that it received 5-star "rave reviews" from readers.  I've got to try that thing soon!!  Thanks for posting it.

[walker]

@Kachina624 ...interesting as I don't know where the recipe came from only that it is an "oldie".  I got it from a good friend who said she has had it for years.  I always found church, school or any fundraising cookbooks had some of the best recipes.

[walker]

@novamc1 .... wow, thanks for that information!  I used to watch Paula Dean years ago.  Good recipes keep circulating! 😋

[Gerri S]

I hope you laugh.....we not only enjoyed this delicious recipe right out of the oven.....but the next day I finished the rest COLD....with a big spoon standing in front of the open door of the REFRIGERATOR.......