silly money, wise money and curried chicken salad

I love food. I love to enjoy food out and at home.  I love trying new dishes and recreate them own my own. One thing I do not love to do is to spend silly amounts of money eating out, especially on deli items at Whole Foods, PCC and Madison Market Co-Op when I am ill-prepared on busy days.  Last week was super busy with work, school, CrossFit and trying to have a social life and as a result I was ill-prepared on multiple occasions when it came to getting food into my body. Consequently, I spent silly amounts of money at Whole Foods and PCC in the prepared food section.  Now I know this is better than going to McDonald's (gag!) or even Subway but even at the "healthy" Whole Foods the ingredients aren't always the cleanest and often unnecessary.

Well, this past week while being unprepared, I grabbed a little of a favorite dishes in the prepared food section at Whole Foods- Curried Chicken Salad! For those of you that have had it you know it is to die for! It is soooo tasty but that also comes with a price...expensive, $11.99/lb,  and definitely has some unnecessary and not so "clean" ingredients like corn syrup, canola oil and citric acid.

As last week wound down, I vowed I would not be ill-prepared for the next week, eat cleaner and as a result planned to save money rather than spending silly money.  So, Saturday I made a trip to Whole "Paycheck" and spent a good amount of money but this wasn't silly money it was wise money (I think).  I left the there trying not to have a heart attack thinking about the amount of money I just spent...but reminded myself it was wise money which will last me a lot longer than the multiple trips into the prepared food sections for a quick bite to eat. 

Amongst the three (yes, 3) dishes  I cooked up on Sunday in order to prepare myself for the week was my take on the Curried Chicken Salad from Whole Foods and Madison Market.  I had a very productive Super Bowl Sunday, which did not involve actually watching the Super Bowl- you can tell where my priorities are.

I am so looking forward to enjoying this salad on a busy day!

What dish you like to recreate at home? :) 

{Leah's Curried Chicken Salad}

1lb chicken (I used breast)
olive oil
curry powder
salt and pepper
1/4 cup diced red onion
1 small shallot diced
1/2 diced jicama
1/2 red bell pepper, diced 
1/4 cup dried currants
2ish tablespoons cilantro, chopped
2-3 tablespoons curried balsamic dressing, recipe follows

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350. On a sheet pan or in a oven safe dish lightly brush chicken with olive oil and sprinkle with curry powder, salt and pepper. Roast chicken for about 30 minutes (more if the breast are larger).
When chicken is fully cooked remove from oven and let cool.  Once cool cut into bite-size pieces.

2. Combine chicken with red onion, shallot, jicama, pepper, currants and cilantro.   Toss with desired amount of dressing. Salt and pepper to taste.   For best results, let the salad refridgerate for an hour or two to allow the flavors to blend.

Enjoy!

Tips/Variations

• to save time- get a rotisserie chicken! FYI: Monday's at Whole Foods is $3/off a rotisserie chicken.
• instead of jicama use celery, which is what is often in the salad.
• additions: grapes, slivered almonds, walnuts...
• raisins are a great substitute for currants. 
• dressing alternatives: mayo with curry powder or greek yogurt with curry powder
• I like to eat my salad on top of arugula.

{Curried Vinaigrette}

Most of the chicken salads that you find in the deli section use mayonnaise.  I did not feel like making my own mayonnaise which is a process and I did not want to go there and instead I made a thick curry vinaigrette in the good ol' vitamix.

curried vinaigrette

1/2 cup  olive oil
1/4 cup  white wine vinegar (apple-cider vinegar would be okay too)
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2-4 tablespoons curry powder (add even more if you're a curry fan)
2-4 tablespoons water
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Place all ingredients except water in a blender and for 30-60 seconds or you can whisk by hand in a large bowl.  Add water to desired consistency.

Store unused dressing in refrigerator.

---