I’m always amazed when I pull out my chosen recipe and find I just don’t have the right ingredients. As much as I plan, I still find sometimes I need to get creative in the kitchen!
This week I had set my sights on using up random ingredients either leftover in the fridge or some odd quantities stored in the freezer. So, I looked at my inventory list and chose a recipe based on that, but it turns out I had actually used up my homemade mayo. That left me without the key ingredient for that “off the cuff” cranberry jalapeño chicken salad (original recipe here).
Rummaging through the fridge
Not to be outdone, once I realized my mistake, I went rooting around in the fridge to see what else I could pull together when suddenly I saw something interesting…Caesar salad dressing. Why couldn’t I use THAT for my chicken salad?
Of course, you have to know I had already had my way with this recipe and made it Whole30 compliant (dairy free). So, what difference would one MORE change make?
Whole30 Cranberry Jalapeño Chicken Salad
- ½ cup Whole30 compliant mayo (I used the homemade in my very first post!)
- 3 c cooked and chopped chicken
- ½ c dried cranberries (make sure they’re compliant if you’re on the Whole30)
- ¼ c pickled jalapeño peppers, chopped fine
- 1 Tbsp jalapeño brine
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- Spinach or similar greens (for a bed for your salad or to use as a wrap)
Combine all ingredients; mix well. Adjust seasoning and amount of mayo to your liking.
Pulling it all together – getting creative!
I only had 2 cups of chicken (already cooked and shredded) so I didn’t need a lot of dressing. And there was just a couple of tablespoons worth at the bottom of the bottle. Knowing I needed to use some brine, I just put that into the salad dressing bottle, swished it around and used that to get the last of the dressing out. I figured with all the flavor of that Caesar, I probably didn’t need the other spices, so I just left them out.
Was this new variation the very best?
Well, this time it wasn’t stellar, but I have come up with some good combinations this way. So, don’t let not having specific ingredients stop you from creating or getting the cooking job done. Never hurts to try…and hey, I got 2 days’ lunch out of it and cleaned out the fridge a bit so I’m happy with the outcome.
Have you ever gotten creative this way in your kitchen? Tell me about your adventure!
For some examples of when the creativity got really tasty, check these out…
