Chicken Salad with Grapes and Walnuts

(adapted from a recipe at food.com)

3 c diced cooked chicken

1 c finely chopped celery

1 c seedless grapes, halved

1 c chopped walnuts (about 4 ounces or 1/4 lb) (optional)

1 small minced onion

1/2 t salt

1 t Worcestershire sauce

1/2 c mayo

1 t lemon juice

Combine chicken, celery, grapes, walnuts and onion in a large bowl. Mix well. Combine salt, Worcestershire sauce, mayo and lemon juice in a small bowl and mix well. Add mayo mixture to chicken mixture and mix well. Chill for about an hour. (If the chicken was cold to begin with, you don’t need to chill the salad.) Divide lettuce among four plates or bowls and top with chicken mixture. Or add the lettuce to the chicken, celery, grapes, walnuts and onion, and then add the dressing to the chicken and lettuce mixture and mix well. 

Oat and Lentil Loaf with Mushrooms and Walnuts

This vegetarian main dish provides a complete protein, thanks to the combination of oats and lentils. It can be made vegan by omitting the eggs and substituting flax seed (or simply adding some extra vegetable broth or tomato sauce; this will change the texture but still be tasty). If you would like to incorporate meat, you could substitute cooked ground beef or pork for the lentils. Grated cheese, either mixed into the loaf or sprinkled over the top, is also a nice addition.

1 cup brown lentils
1 cup oats
1 onion, chopped
1 cup mushrooms, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup diced tomatoes (canned or fresh)
2 eggs (or 2 Tbsp flax seed soaked in 4 Tbsp warm water)
½ cup walnuts, finely chopped
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
½ tsp dried basil (optional)
½ cup ketchup or BBQ sauce (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook lentils in boiling, salted water until tender, about 25 minutes. Drain and transfer to a medium mixing bowl.
3. While lentils are cooking, sauté onion and mushrooms in olive oil or butter until onion is translucent and mushrooms are soft, about five minutes. Add garlic and cook for two more minutes.
4. Add oats, diced tomatoes, and cooked onions and garlic to cooked lentils.
5. Stir in eggs or flax seed, chopped walnuts, salt, pepper, basil, and ketchup or BBQ sauce.
6. Pour mixture into a loaf pan or small casserole dish and bake until top of loaf is crispy, about 40 minutes.

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Waldorf Turkey Salad

(part of the  LEFTOVERS from my Thanksgiving Dinner for 12 for under $50)

The leftover apple/celery/grape/nut salad plus enough sliced celery to make 5 cups

3 cups leftover turkey, in large dice

1 cup cranberry sauce

Combine the leftover salad, the celery and the turkey. Add the cranberry sauce and mix it well. Add some more mayo if it needs it. Sprinkle each serving with some more chopped walnuts. If you have some lettuce, you could put each serving on a lettuce leaf.

Apple/Celery/Grape/Nut Salad

(Part of my Thanksgiving Dinner for 12 for under $50)

We always used to have this at Thanksgiving and Christmas, except we used raisins instead of grapes and we added marshmallows. The grapes and no marshmallows were to make it a bit lower carb so I could eat some, too. Either way works. I cut three apples, or a pound and a half (I happened to use one each of three different kinds, but use whatever is cheapest) into eighths, cored them, and then sliced them cross-wise. I cut half a pound of seedless black grapes into halves, and cut about a fourth of a head of celery into thin slices. (I just cut it off of the end, instead of pulling off the stalks and cutting them. It’s a lot easier.) I mixed the apples, grapes and celery with a cup of chopped walnuts and about half a cup of mayo and it was done.