Recipe from the OCD Cook

Many of you have been party to or at least heard about my problem with touching anything dirty. This includes raw meat. There had better be plenty of hot water and paper towels around. Don't get me wrong. I am no vegan. I like to eat meat, but don't ask me to touch it without being a very close personal friend. I usually find some way to get it into the pot without laying a finger on it, so when my mother found Members Mark canned white meat chicken at Sam's Club, I soon became a very big fan.

I have tried many brands of can chicken in an attempt to make chicken soup and salads without having to see raw chicken first. Unfortunately, they usually don't look much like chicken when you open it. The taste of most canned chicken products is usually over salted. I didn't really realize this until I had to use my last can of some other brand of chicken while waiting for another delivery of Members Mark. Let's just say, the former brand left much to be desired.

My favorite thing to make lately has been chicken salad. Remember, I have a touch of OCD so I could eat the same food everyday for about a month before I get bored. I have sometimes done this for much longer.

So let's get started making this chicken salad.

You will need about 5 cups of cooked chicken breast. Please feel free to cook your own chicken. Just know I won't be cooking mine. (I use two cans of Members Mark chicken breast.)

Next, prepare the mix-ins. I add a half a Granny Smith apple - chopped (or halved grapes), a quarter of a red onion - diced, and 2-3 stalks of celery - chopped. You might also consider adding chopped walnuts or almonds. (I always forget.)

Mix these ingredients together. Then add mayonnaise. I will say that it takes about a half a cup of mayo to get the salad to stay in a sandwich. You can use less. I don't think it makes a difference if you use low fat or regular. The calorie count that I give you at the end will just be a little different.

Before I start mixing the ingredients again, I put about two tablespoons of Vidalia Onion dressing from Tastefully Simple. I don't know what you could substitute for this. Just know it adds a little touch of sweet. I think in the past I might have used a touch of apple juice, but I think it made it a little too wet, so be careful.

You will have about 6 generous servings of about 290 calories each. This salad is best served chilled overnight. It doesn't take long to make or clean up and my good friends know that easy clean up is key for me.

You can put it on any kind of bread or eat alone with a green salad and tomatoes. Serve it on a croissant from Le Madeleine's, and I'm in heaven.

Sorry there are no photos to go with this one. My family was asleep as I was making it and I thought the flash might wake my youngest. I will try to remember next time.

For now, this is the OCD Cook, signing off. Happy eating.