Chicken Salad with Cucumber & Tomato Salad

Leftover Rotisserie Chicken can be used in so many ways. I rarely leave Sam's without one to nibble on when I get home. For less than $5.00, we can eat at least 3 meals. We'd already eaten off of it twice and there was enough left to make chicken salad. But I really wanted a green salad tonight. So it was a compromise. In addition to the chicken salad, I made a cucumber and tomato salad too, and piled up both salads on a bed of crispy romaine. There is no vinegar in this tomato cucumber salad, so it's different from your run of the mill salad dressed with bottled dressing.

Mostly this dish was inspired by the fact that I have a ton of cucumbers from the garden. If I don't use them up right away, I've been known to end up tossing them into the compost heap. You can only eat so many cucumbers in a week. But I've learned to make pickles too. I make a Refrigerator Bread and Butter pickle that is spicy and flavorful. No canning for me. These keep well in the refrigerator for quite a long time. I end up giving most of these away too. Two gallons of pickles is a little much for two people. I also altered a zucchini bread recipe to use cucumber instead of the zucchini. It's more of a savory bread. I left out some of the sugar, added a little more salt, and used dill to flavor the loaves.

But I digress. Here's how I made this very satisfying and refreshing salad. Very easy!


Chicken Salad with Tomatoes and Cucumbers

1 head romaine lettuce - washed, rinsed, cut up and crisped ( put in the frig for about 1 hr after cutting up and rinsing.

Chicken Salad
Rotisserie Chicken - about 2 1/2 cups cut up into chunks
1/2 C. mayonnaise ( alter to taste)
2 t. dried tarragon (about 1 T minced if using fresh )
Salt
Pepper
1/2 t Garlic powder (fresh garlic is too strong here I think)
Mix all the ingredients together and stir well. Set in the refrigerator until ready to serve.


Cucumber and Tomato Salad
2 small or 1 large English cucumber
2 large Roma tomatoes
1/2 c olive oil
2 cloves garlic - finely minced or pressed through a garlic press (more to taste)
1/2 t salt
1/2 t coarse ground black pepper
1/2 c finely grated mozzarella cheese

Cut the cucumber into chunky slices, about 1/4 inch thick.
Chop the tomatoes into chunks also.
Put all the ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Re-season to taste with more salt and pepper if necessary. Set in refrigerator until ready to use.

Assemble the salad by placing a large handful of romaine in the center of a salad bowl or plate. Top the lettuce with a scoop of chicken salad on one side, and a scoop of Tomato Cucumber Salad on the other side.

Garnish - Place several of your favorite crackers around the salad. My husband likes Saltines - I like Melba Toast or Stone Ground Whole Wheat.