Had the folks over yesterday.
The opportunity presented me with something I rarely do – cook.
Cue in The Most Interesting Man in the World meme:
I don’t always cook; but when I do, a three-year-old could do better.
My two meat-eaters, husband and son, were out of town ice fishing so I was able to make a light but filling lunch without having my husband toil over a grill with 2-inch steaks, only to have my senior parents nibble one-third of it.
After considering options, i.e., Chinese take-out or Arby’s (America’s Roast Beef, Yes Sir! –remember that??), I realized I had better put some kind of effort into preparing something for my parents.
So I resorted to the same way I do things I really don’t want to do – half-assed.
What I basically mean is I take food already made and add my own touch to it. I do it all the time for dishes I bring to parties. I’ll buy a pasta salad at the deli counter and add bacon and avocados to it back at home.
Thus, after a short trip to the grocery store, I purchased a rotisserie chicken, large red grapes, a can of cashews (halved), a bag of Caesar salad, potato chips and dip (Top the Tater, a.ka. Liquid Gold), and a plastic carton of butter croissants from the bakery section. I already had my requisite green olives and mini dill pickles on hand at home.
A girlfriend made it for a party once, and man, my family couldn’t get enough of it.
In a nutshell, you mix the following in a bowl. Nothing is exact:
- About 1 cup each of mayonnaise and sour cream
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper
- 3 lbs cooked and shredded chicken breasts
- 3 cups halved red seedless grapes
- 1 cup halved pecans
And voila! I served it on the croissants and laid out the other stuff.
It was the perfect light lunch.
49 and Counting 