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Friday, July 23, 2010

Last Minute Luncheon - Fruity Chicken Salad


Three girlfriends; Kathleen, Becky (Lace and Lures/One Shabby Old House Blogs) and Kellie. We were all free on the same day...a rarity! Spontaneous idea to get together for lunch...Not much time to prepare food...

I decided to make a chicken salad using a rotisserie chicken from Publix...but there were NONE ready...not even COLD ones. I wanted petit fours and mini-eclairs from the bakery...none were ready! Publix actually FAILED me! Guess I hit the store too early. OK... move to Plan B...

Menu:
Fruity Chicken Salad

Publix Mixed Fruit Salad
(cut into smaller pieces and add some blueberries)

Mixed Baby Greens

Cuban Soda Crackers

(planned to make Date Nut muffins, but I did not have time)
Pomegranate Mint Lemonade
or Mint Iced Tea
(recipe found in 7/8/10 post)
Publix Two-Bite Cupcakes



Fruity Chicken Salad in a Hurry Recipe (there isn't one!)

In the microwave, cook 3 boneless chicken breasts for about 10 minutes. (I used the Pampered Chef Covered Baker). Cut breasts into bite-sized chunks. Put into a bowl and pop into the freezer for a few minutes to quickly cool. When chilled, add 1 small can diced or sliced water chestnuts (drain), a handful of raisins, craisins, or dates, a handful of blueberries, and green grapes (cut in half). Add mayonnaise, salt and pepper to taste.

Line 1/2 of a dinner plate with mixed baby greens. Top with a generous scoop of the chicken salad. Place a scoop of Fruit Salad on the other half of the plate. Add a tiny dish of Poppyseed Dressing (I used an egg cup.) so your guests can add to their salads, according to their tastes.

For the table...I used a 1 1/2 yard rectangle of fabric, turned at an angle. Turquoise sea grass placemats added a tiny touch of color, followed by rattan chargers and coral (orange) plates. I used lime green and turquoise egg cups to hold individual portions of Poppyseed Dressing. Turquoise napkins and orange, yellow and white daisies completed the table.

The centerpiece is a handmade basket, made by a friend filled with flowers from...PUBLIX. A medium bowl was inside the basket and filled with water. To hold the cut flowers in place, I used a grid made of painter's tape. It helps to hold the short stemmed flowers.

Simple...quick...inexpensive! And what fun we had!
Wish you could have been with us....
Jane

Visit Michelle at http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com for more Foodie Friday posts.

9 comments:

One Shabby Old House said...

4 Amigos = Fabulous fun. Thank you for being such a creative friend. Your friendship is such an inspiration to me.
Love you
Becky

M & M said...

pretty fancy stuff for so quickly done! Wish I could have been there too; love chicken salad!

M & M said...

ps not sure when the p's come home...they are expecting probably Sept or Oct. We will see.

rjerdee said...

Publix failed you? How could they? I guess it happens sometimes...I miss Publix when I'm up north in the summer.
Looks as if you surived!!!
Have a great weekend, Jane.

Deanna said...

Jane, What a great time you must have had and the food does sound like a winner to me!

I luv chicken salad on salad greens.

Brought back memories of when I fixed tons of chicken salad for a wedding rehearsal. I pulled it off and away we went.

God bless you and I wish I could have popped in to visit and eat. I might have brought some strawberries with whipped cream.
d

The Quintessential Magpie said...

Jane, this sounds really good whether you're in a hurry or not. YUM! We had chicken salad today in tomatoes, and it was good.

Once I cheated and used the canned chicken breast, and it wasn't bad because I doctored it up with chutney. It was a recipe I found calling for chutney, apples, grapes, rice, etc, and you really could not tell it was canned chicken. I was pushed for time, and a friend suggested the canned kind of chicken breast. If you ever get in a bind, try that and let me know what you think. I don't know how it would be in regular chicken salad, but it honestly worked well in the other. I used a recipe from a Jr. League cookbook called, "Come On In!"

XO,

Sheila :-)

Linda@ Lime in the Coconut said...

The ability to make do...and make happy. One of my favorite traits in a person!

Thank you so much for your warmth and thoughts and prayers. They were so strongly felt.

Vicki ~ FL said...

What a nice get together and that chicken salad sounds wonderful.

Moore Minutes said...

Oh fun! I wish I could join you. :) The menu sounds perfect for summertime and ladies.

Also, it showed I wasn't a follower anymore?? I fixed it so I should see your posts again. I don't understand how that happened...you're the second person I've noticed that with lately...hmmm :(