Dar's Chicken Salad

I was never big on chicken salad until I had it at my friend Dar's house.  She didn't give me the recipe at the time- she basically just told me what was in it and I've tried to re-create it multiple ways over the years.  I just like to call it "Dar's Chicken Salad" because she was a good friend who is up in heaven now.

My latest spin on this chicken salad is to use a rotisserie chicken instead of cooking it myself.  Not only is a rotisserie chicken TOTALLY delicious, but it also saves me some time. :)

You should make this, today.  Here's my (current) version with approximate measurements (I usually just eyeball it), but feel free to doctor it in your own special way- that's totally something Dar would have done.


Dar's Chicken Salad
Ingredients:
1 Rotisserie chicken
1 red apple
1 green apple
1 c green grapes
1 c red grapes
1/2 c craisins
1/4 c ranch dressing
1/2 c mayonnaise

First you have to skin and de-bone the chicken.  Prepare to get greasy!  Cut the apples into small pieces (I like to leave the skin on because it makes for a colorful salad!) and cut the grapes in half.  Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and toss with a wooden spoon.  Add ingredients as needed to your taste- I usually just eyeball all of it so the measurements above are just estimates.

Enjoy with sourdough bread or crackers!  It's addicting!

How old are you?

One of my 5th graders today noticed a zit on my cheek and says:
"What is that, a bug bite on your face?"

To which I replied: "No, it's a zit"

She gets this really confused look on her face and says "Wait, how old are you?" like she can't imagine an adult with a zit.

Oh honey- I hate to break it to you....

Nostalgia

Today I was giving a voice lesson and my little student wanted to sing "On My Own' from Les M.iserables.  She loves the song (really, who doesn't?) but she's WAY too young for me to assign it to her and I really want her working in her head voice anyway so it's not right for her right now.  My response to her was that I wasn't going to assign it for voice lessons but that she should ALWAYS feel free to sing anything that she loves to sing because if you love to sing it, it's good for the soul.

Why is it that I hardly ever take that advice?  I remember in high school I'd sing all day and night- all of my favorites that NEVER got assigned in voice lessons- M.iss S.aigon, G.rease, Les Mis.erables etc. etc. I hardly EVER sing like that anymore.  (Which my neighbors probably appreciate!)

Teaching private voice lately has made me want to sing that old stuff that I used to sing (my students are way into musical theater).  One of them was singing "Till There Was You" from "The M.usic Man" and I was transported back to high school.

It never ceases to amaze me how the older we get, the easier it is to romanticize the past.  High school really feels like such a distant and fuzzy memory to me lately and it's like I can barely remember the parts that I didn't like but the parts that I loved are amplified- this crazy nostalgia is so funny!  It must be one of the consolations of aging- nostalgia and selective memory!