No Ordinary Weekend - No Ordinary Chicken Salad

It's been an interesting few days around the Obi house. Strange happenings is a goin' on. Okay, not so strange, but definitely out of the ordinary. 

First, I drove to Oklahoma Friday to see my grandsons and help my daughter, Amy, with a workshop she was putting on Saturday. Thanks to a wreck that shut down the interstate, what was normally a 2.5 hour trip turned into 4 hours. After an hour in traffic that was either at a dead stop or a pathetic crawl, I was never so glad to get moving again. Or to see a rest area. (I knew I should have stopped at one cup of tea before heading out)

At any rate, as I finally made my way into Oklahoma, the Arbuckle Mountains greeted me with a fantastic view. 

Yeah, I know. They're not really mountains. But they're still pretty.

That night, I had pizza and cupcakes with my grandsons. Elijah prefers his cupcakes with a little something extra, though.

Frogs and cupcakes. 

Definitely a boy thing.

Saturday morning, Amy and I set off for the community center where she was teaching a workshop on distressing furniture. I was so proud of her. Everyone had a great time and I can't wait to try out some of the techniques I learned.

Imagine taking this $10 garage sale find...

To this...

in just a few hours. 

Remember the ornate plastic wood-look furniture from the 70's?

Before on the left, after on the right.

Love the transformation.

The workshop included lunch. 

Pasta salad, fruit salad, chicken salad (do you detect a theme here?) and sandwich fixings. Oh, and cupcakes. Gotta have cupcakes. 

But, for once, I don't want to talk about cupcakes, I want to talk about chicken salad. Chicken salad is one of those things that is so easy to change up and make just about any way you like. So this is just one version of mine. 

I made this for hubby's and my lunch earlier last week. 

We had a partially picked over rotisserie chicken in the fridge, so I picked that sucker clean, chopped up the meat and added some finely chopped celery and onion. He hates celery, so I have to hide it.

Chopped up apple is also a nice addition for a hint of sweetness, but since I was out of apples...

Next, I added some mayo, sour cream and Dijon mustard. Why Dijon? I like the taste better than regular mustard. Not as harsh.

Stir that all together. Add a little salt and pepper.

Then, in a nonstick skillet over medium heat, I toasted some sliced almonds.

And added them to the mix for a nice crunch.

Lastly, I squeezed the juice of half a lemon over the whole thing and stirred one more time.

Ta-da!

Some other great additions would be grapes, dried cranberries... Cranberries also add a nice pop of color. Mine is a little monochromatic. But tasty, nonetheless.

My trip back to Texas was much smoother and I made it back before the rains set in. Yesterday, my sister-in-law informed us of flooding at the ranch.

This is the entrance to our camphouse.

Fortunately, the houses are all on high ground, so all should be well. We'll just have to wade in.

Now it's your turn. 

Have you ever distresses/re-purposed furniture? 

What's your favorite chicken salad?