Being a mother of 6 children and residing on a single income in a double income world, I need to be frugal. Not to mention feeding 5 of those mouths are hungry boys.
I make this chicken salad several times during the month. In fact, I have brought chicken salad sandwiches for pot lucks with this secret recipe. It’s always a hit!
How to Make Poor Man’s Chicken Salad
- 1 can of chicken (you can use a whole chicken and shred it)
- 1 c of Mayonnaise or more or less to your liking (I use the kind with Olive Oil)
- 2 hard boiled eggs
- dill pickles cut into chunks and reserve some pickle juice
- 1 sleeve of crushed saltines….Shhhhh!
Mix all the ingredients together and add a some pickle juice to spice it up. Sprinkle some paprika to make it look fancy if you must. Refrigerate but not necessary if you are eating it immediately. I just prefer it cold.
Voila!
I have yet have had someone question the saltines. It’s the secret ingredient!
We usually eat this on Wednesday nights with fresh fruit and veggies or this easy brocooli salad because we participate in AWANA’s. I always make ahead at time at lunch. Makes great left overs, too!
FYI ~ I have used this recipe with tuna but used unsalted saltines. Taste wonderful!
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Do you have any secret ingredients in your chicken salad to share?
More frugal tips here.
Yum, I’ll have to try that! Boneless/skinless chicken is on sale for $1.49 at Davids this Saturday, perfect timing!
My “secret” chicken salad stretcher is brown rice–it’s chewy texture blends right in with the chicken 😉 (I usually use half chicken/half rice)
Another great idea…got try that one! Thanks Rachel.
This sounds delicious! We will definitely give this a try. I think I have all of the ingredients on hand. Gotta love that! Thank you for posting this.
The recipe sounds great! Just make sure you disclose your secret if serving to diabetics, as it would effectively change the number of carbs consumed.
Would also comment: we also participate in AWANA. In case you didn’t know, it is an acronym from 2 Timothy 2:15: Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed (no “s”). It’s neat to “meet” another family learning Scripture that way!
Oh goodness! I scanned the recipe quickly and thought the secret ingredient was “1 sleeve of crushed sardines”! I sat here for AT LEAST 5 minutes trying to figure out what a “sleeve” would look like of that, and then, how/why on earth would I crush them?! HA HA HA HA!! Whew… glad I re-read it again. 😀
When I make my chicken salad I used leftover chicken when I roast it. We eat a lot of chicken. I usually use sweet pickles or pickle relish in mine. Of course using a few of each wouldn’t hurt. When I have any hard cheese in my fridge I will I will put some of that in it. That also goes with Potato chips if the older kids have bought some. At the holidays when I buy a small bottle of green olives I will use that. If I have any bell peppers on hand I might add a little of that. I have also added radishes, Celery and onions. I toss a lot of things when I have them to my Chicken or tuna salad but not so much with the tuna. My bunch usually just likes tuna pickles, and Miracle whip in that.
So glad your kids like AWANA. I was a leader until my health prevented me from going (I have Osteopenia along with Osteoporosis and we had some kids that liked to kick. With bones that are brittle I can’t take the chance) My daughter teaches cubbies and I taught sparks.
Thanks for sharing this, I never heard of that secret…I also like the other person’s secret of brown rice
What size is the chicken can? I LOVE chicken salad and am eagerly wanting to try this. Thanks.
I think it’s a 12.5 oz can. It’s the larger of the two. HTH!