Chicken Grape Salad

This is one of my mom's recipes. When she and my dad were married but before they had children and were living in Colorado, a woman she worked with taught her how to make this salad. I didn't like mayonnaise or creamy dressings when I was a kid but I finally tried this salad when I was in high school, and I've been in love ever since. She told me that you can sprinkle toasted sliced almonds on top, but she generally didn't when she served it at home. It's especially nice in the summer a little cold from the fridge, but it's good any time really.

My local grocery store makes this salad, and while I don't like that it's overdressed and they keep the grapes whole, I do love that they put cashew pieces in it. So now I put cashews in it too. ;) Still not sure whether I prefer the chicken cubed or shredded. I think shredded chicken helps the dressing stick a little better but I very slightly prefer the texture of cubed. Try both and decide for yourself.

Notes:
2/15/19: Admittedly I think the recipe amounts could use some adjustment. As written, it makes kind of a lot of dressing for the amount of salad ingredients. I find that if you put in too much celery it's hard to taste the sweet flavors. Try not to make the dressing too thin or it will sit at the bottom of the container instead of sticking to the ingredients. I have been working on alternatives to Miracle Whip. For this latest batch I used a mix of plain Greek yogurt and Kewpie mayonnaise, because it's what I had and I thought straight regular mayonnaise might be too heavy. It worked all right but I think I needed to add a little more sugar and lemon because it was lacking the tang that Miracle Whip adds. I was using a particularly crappy brand of bottled lemon juice which didn't help.

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RECIPE:

Chicken Grape Salad

Salad:
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast

1 tsp olive or canola oil
1/8 tsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
¾ lb red grapes, washed
2 stalks celery

Dressing:
¾ cup Miracle Whip
1 tbsp lemon juice (fresh is best but bottled will do)
1 tbsp sugar, or to taste
¼ to 1/3 cup milk

Garnish (optional):
Sliced almonds or cashew pieces, toasted

Preheat oven to 375°F. Rub oil on chicken pieces and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Bake until interior is no longer pink, about 20-25 minutes. Allow to cool enough to handle. While the chicken cools, chop celery into small pieces and cut each grape in half. Place celery and grapes in a large bowl. You can also prepare the dressing if you need more time for the chicken to cool.

For dressing: place Miracle Whip, lemon juice, and sugar in small bowl and mix with wire whisk until just combined. Add milk a little at a time until desired consistency. Set aside until ready to use.

When chicken is cooled, cut into bite size pieces or shred with a fork, and add to the bowl with the celery and grapes. Pour dressing over the salad ingredients and mix gently to coat. This tastes best when refrigerated for several hours before eating. Sprinkle with slivered almonds, if desired. Sprinkle toasted almond slices or cashew pieces immediately before serving, if desired.