roast chicken: making it last a week without getting bored - nite 2

this is nite 2 of a series called "roast chicken: making it last a week without getting bored." yesterday i roasted a whole chicken and enjoyed a good meal for $3. now lets look at how i repurpose the chicken breast meat and create something that tastes new and yummy without spending much more cash.

this recipe comes from ina garten's barefoot contessa at home, one of my favorite cookbooks right now. i took the 2 chicken breasts, peeled off the skins and diced the meat into 1/2 inch chunks. the meat was still moist and tender from last nite and nicely seasoned already. to that i added 3 stalks of celery chopped, a cup of green grapes sliced in half lengthwise, a couple tablespoons of chopped fresh tarragon, a 1/2 cup or so mayo, salt and freshly ground black pepper.

i combined all the ingredients well in a large bowl and transferred the chicken salad to a tightly covered plastic container to chill in the fridge and let the flavors meld.

after an hour, i took sliced off half of the dutch crunch roll i bought yesterday and split it in half. i spread some grey poupon dijon on the bottom half, layered a few pieces of thinly sliced parmesan, added some fresh greens and topped with a serious serving of chicken salad veronique. oh and 2 garlic-stuffed olives for good measure.

mmm! this chicken salad is a great combination of flavors and textures. the mayo to meat ratio is perfect. the crunchy celery goes great against the tender meat. and the liquorice profile of the tarragon is matched by the sweet and slightly tart green grapes. i ended up eating extra spoonfuls of the stuff between bites of the sandwich!

and what's great? it tastes nothing like last nite's roasted chicken meal. very different and satisfying. and how much did this cost? well, if we count just costs for tonite's meal, it comes out to about, oh $2.75. nice huh? so far, this week, i've spent only $5.75 on 2 fantastic dinners. tomorrow, roast chicken & wild rice soup.