Grilled Chicken Salad Sandwich

Grilled Chicken Salad Sandwich

Ingredients:

• 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 3 1/2 cups cooked)

• 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• salt and pepper to taste

• olive oil

• 2/3 cup celery, diced

• 1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped

• 2 1/2 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise

• 8 slices bread - whole wheat or multi-grain

• lettuce leaves, optional

1. Wash and trim chicken breasts of any fat. Place one breast in a Ziploc bag or between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Using a meat mallet, gently flatten chicken into an even thickness. Repeat with the other breast.

2. Brush chicken breasts with some olive oil, and season with salt, pepper, rosemary and garlic. Allow to rest for 30 minutes.

3. Heat a grill on high. Brush grill grates with oil; reduce heat to medium-high. Cook breasts for 3 minutes, turn and cook for 2 or 3 minutes on the other side. Allow breasts to cool before cutting/shredding.

4. Once breasts are cooled, shred or dice and place in a large bowl. Add celery and onion and stir to combine. Drizzle lemon juice all over mixture. Add the mayonnaise and fold into the chicken mixture. Season with additional salt and pepper if needed.

5. Refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.

6. Assemble bread slices for making the sandwiches. Add some lettuce leaves on one slice of bread and top with some cold chicken salad. Place another slice of bread on top. Continue making the rest of the sandwiches.

7. Serve at once.

Yields: 4 servings

Notes&Tips:

• This recipe is a "from scratch" Chicken Salad Sandwich. Hence, the steps are included on how to grill the chicken breasts. In the warms months, I like to make optimum use of my grill and the warm weather. I get to listen to birds and the rustling of leaves while I cook - a very calming and relaxing experience.

• Grilled Chicken Salad Sandwich is a delicious and fulfilling meal. You can serve this with a side if you wish - some homemade potato chips works great. Or skip a side and just go for dessert: ice cream, sorbet or your homemade fruit popsicle!

• Since a Chicken Salad is a weighty filling, you want a bread to be able to hold up all that goodness. For these sandwiches, I used my homemade Rosemary-Garlic Bread. It complimented the chicken salad very well.

• Traditionally, a chicken salad sandwich is made using left over chicken. You may certainly use left over chicken to make the Chicken Salad; and in that case, I have included the amount you'll need in cups. Like many dishes, you can customize this dish to suit your taste and preference.