22 December 2011

Not Grandma's Chicken salad

Growing up I never liked mayonnaise.  Hated the stuff.  But, I liked grandma's chicken salad.  Loved it.  It was the only thing I would eat that contained mayo until I was about 25.  It took 24 years for me to get grandma to finally give me her chicken salad recipe.  When I first started making it I was still so grossed out by mayo I used the kind that came in the squeeze jar and I eyeballed the amount so I wouldn't have to wash any icky mayo covered measuring cups.  Things have changed.  I love mayo now and I buy the biggest container of it I can find. 
Anyway, since it took me so long to get Grandma's recipe I'm not giving it to you.  I invested a lot of time being the Best Granddaughter Ever to get it.  And I think I will keep it as my only "secret" recipe for now.  But, I will give you a variation of it that I like almost as much as the original.

*I will give you a tip: Grandma uses Hellman's Mayo.  To this day it is the only brand I will buy.

Not Grandma's Chicken Salad
7 oz pasta rings
1/2 C- 1 C Hellman's Mayo
2 Chicken breasts (cooked and cubed)
3 hard boiled eggs (sliced)
3 stalks of celery (sliced thin)
1 clove of garlic (diced)
smoked paprika
dill
salt
pepper

Cook pasta.  Drain.  Rinse in cold water.
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.  The final mixture should be rather "juicy".  The chicken and the noodles seem to soak up the mayo quite a bit.
Refrigerate several hours or overnight if possible.

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