Roasted Chicken Salad with Pears and Grapes

There are some recipes you just don’t even need to tweak, and recipes from Land O Lakes fall into that category.    For this one from "Land O Lakes Taste of Summer” I purchased a rotisserie chicken from our market’s meat counter.  It cost $5.48 for about a 3# (cooked weight) chicken; and if you pick them up at the right time, it’s as good as anything I can make, and cheaper. A whole, uncooked 4# chicken would have cost me over $6, and then I would have had to heat up my kitchen to roast it and not gotten any more chicken.  Myrna, I’ll say it again, you are right about this! 

We got 3 meals for 2 people from the chicken – we ate the thighs and drumsticks for lunch the same day, and I used the breast for this salad, and cooked the carcass for chicken stock for soup.  When I made this salad, pears were just starting to look good at the market, and I got some good-tasting red grapes too.  I used Gorgonzola for the blue cheese, and the Balsamic vinegar.  We love sautéed caramelized pears, so this salad was perfect.   We’ll be having it again.

               Roasted Chicken Salad with Pears and Grapes

     ¾     tablespoon  Olive Oil

  3         stalks  Celery -- sliced 1/4-inch thick (1 cup)

  1         medium  Vidalia Onion -- coarsely chopped (1 cup)

  2         teaspoons  Garlic -- finely chopped

  2         each  Fresh Pears -- 1" pieces (1 cup)

  1         cup  Red Grapes -- seedless

  4         cups  Roasted Chicken -- 1" pieces

     ½     teaspoon  Pepper -- coarsely ground

     ¼     teaspoon  Salt

  2         ounces  Blue Cheese

     ¼      Cup  Mayonnaise

  1         tablespoon  Balsamic Vinegar -- or red wine vinegar

In 10" skillet, heat oil; add celery, onion and garlic and stir fry 5-6 minutes.  Add pears; continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until pears begin to caramelize (6-8 minutes)  Stir in grapes.

In large serving bowl, place chicken, sprinkle with pepper and salt.  Stir in cheese, mayonnaise, and vinegar.  Add fruit mixture; toss to coat.

Cover, refrigerate at least 2 hours or until serving time.

Serves 6.

2012 Cost: $5.79 or 97¢ per serving using rotisserie chicken

Per Serving: 337 Calories; 17g Fat (44.1% calories from fat); 32g Protein; 16g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 90mg Cholesterol; 363mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 0 Grain (Starch); 4 1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 1 Fruit; 1 1/2 Fat.