Lunch for Days

This morning I dubbed myself "Cooking Genius" and while that may be a gross exaggeration, this morning I really meant it.  There are two lunchtime dishes that I have become obsessed over: Sonoma Chicken and Broccoli Salad.  Both are carried at Whole Foods and Big Johns and while I LOVE them, they can be a bit heavy on the mayo, which I'm not big on to begin with, and they substitute ingredients for ones with sugar in them sometimes, which I'm also not big on.  BUT, the great thing about both of these places is that they list the ingredients on their packages so all I had to do was break them down and make them better...which I have!

The ingredients for these two salads will make 2-5 meals depending on who you are and how much you eat.  They are easy to make, require no real cooking, and will only get better as they marinate.

Ingredient:

1 whole cooked chicken. note: you can be cool and make your own if you want.  I only make a whole chicken when I'm making chicken soup.  Buy a cooked chicken, preferably one without much seasoning.  I used a BBQ flavor.
5 celery stalks, sliced down the middle and chopped
1/2 a bag of red grapes, cut in half
1 handful of parsley
1 container of olive oil mayo, make your own from my recipe (see "I gave crabs to Lance and Emily"), or buy it, but be sure to get the olive oil with no sugar and ingredients whose names you can pronounce.
2 large heads of broccoli, chopped into small florets
4 thick cutes of bacon, scut into small bits
2 small boxes of raisons, the kind you put in the kids lunches
1/2 to 3/4 cup nuts, I like almonds, but cashews also work really well
1/3 red onion, sliced and separated into strings
Salt and pepper

Sonoma Chicken/Broccoli Salad
Separate chicken meat from the carcass.  Be sure to remove all the fat, don't use the skin and don't forget the dark meat, it's very good for you.  Chop the chicken up and put onto a plate.  If the chicken is still warm, put it in the fridge while you prep everything else.

Heat a pan and toss in the chopped bacon.  This is the only cooking you do...woohooo!  On a plate place a couple layers of paper towel and put the bacon on there to cook when done.

Get TWO large bowls.
In Bowl 1: Add sliced grapes, chopped celery and parsley.  The toss the chicken on top
In Bowl 2: Add broccoli florets, sliced onion, nuts, and raisons.  Once the bacon is cooled add that.

In Bowl 1: Add 3 tbs. of mayo and mix thoroughly
In Bowl 2: Add 4 tbs. of may and mix thoroughly

TaDa!  It is done.  Dish out your lunch servings and leave the rest covered in the fridge for future use.

NOTE on Salt and Pepper: While they were one of my favorite groups back in the day, I find that for this recipe they are not needed.  Since I am a big fan of both, and usually heavy on salt, please take this into consideration and taste your finished product before adding Salt and Pepper