Today it was 97 and humid here in the Chicago suburbs. This is why I am not a fan of turning on the stove in the summer. I find we tend to come home late from the pool and I am looking for something cold, superfast and nutritionally balanced. I am looking for a five minute meal.

This takes some time to make (as in about 20 minutes with virtually no cleanup) but take a scoop put it on a bed of lettuce and you have dinner. You may need two scoops for some people but the dinner salad on a hot day is a very good thing. Also we tend to have spent the day at the pool snacking on popcorn, mango chips and other shelf stable “snacks” so we are not exactly coming home with hearty appetites.

I am unaware of canned kosher chicken, but you can always use poached chicken breasts and yes I do have a recipe for those. They are a major time saver and allow you to avoid the cans. Eventually I will post it.

If you cannot have eggs use vegenaise. If both eggs and soy are on your do not eat list, I don’t think this recipe will work. I can only attest that it works with mayonnaise which means either safflower mayo for the soy intolerant or vegenaise for those who need to avoid eggs.

Also you can add 1/4 cup of dried sweetened cranberries (like craisins) to this to make it prettier and give it a really interesting texture.

Ingredients
1 c celery chopped into 1/4 inch cubes
1 can or 1 2/3 cups shredded chicken and salt to taste
1 c unpeeled apples chopped into 1/4 inch cubes
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup minced onions
1/4 cup cranberries (optional)
pinch pepper
Large box or bag of prewashed dark greens or baby spinach

Equipment
Paring knife and cutting board
Large bowl
Measuring cups
Can opener if using canned chicken

Instructions
Chop apples, celery and onions and put them in the bowl
Open can and drain chicken (if using canned chicken) and put remaining meat in bowl. If not using canned chicken, defrost the chicken and shred it and add it to the bowl
Add mayonnaise, salt if using, and pepper
Mix all ingredients well
Serve on a bed of prewashed dark greens