Lemony Chicken Salad with Apples and Peas

I told you I was going to do it! I re-created the awesome lemony chicken salad I tasted at the Brazilian Grill last weekend. Though my taste buds might never forget the flavors, my brain had a little trouble recalling the ingredients. Fortunately I have the inside scoop on my pathetic memory, so knew enough to record lots of notes between mouthfuls. Thank goodness for iPhones…

Ummm…not that helpful. It reads like a (really boring) food novel instead of a descriptive list of what I ate…Darn that digital voice recorder! Is it my Boston accent? Did I talk too fast? Stutter? And what are donated mushrooms?

So I winged it with what I could remember. Chicken. Crisp, sweet apples. And green peas. Not sure on the rest, so I decided to go Waldorf-y and add celery, lemon juice, and low-fat mayo. Quite simple, really, with the lemon juice really making this stand apart from typical creamy chicken salad. Necessary, yes, to prevent the apples from turning brown (ick), but also adds a nice zing.

This is really too simple. Make this light, fresh version of classic chicken salad when you’ve got leftover cooked chicken and some frozen peas handy (though fresh, shelled peas would be ahh-mazing). Mix all the ingredients together until they’re well combined. Then – and this is the all-important, marriage-strengthening step – remove all the peas from one portion and put then save that portion in a special container marked with a big goofy heart and deny any suggestions that you possibly forgot your husband’s extraordinary and well-documented dislike of peas. 🙂

Lemony Chicken Salad with Apples and Peas
Makes 3 cups

Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: None

2 cups cooked chicken, chopped
1/3 cup peas (from frozen, thawed at room temperature, or fresh raw peas)
1 medium crisp apple, peeled and diced
1 medium celery stalk, diced
One medium lemon, halved, seeds removed
1/4 cup low-fat mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine chicken, peas, apple, and celery in a medium bowl. Add the mayonnaise and squeeze the juice of one lemon half in. Stir, then taste, then add the remainder of the lemon juice, if desired. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve on greens, a whole grain roll, whole wheat tortilla, crackers, or even stuffed inside a tomato.