Salvaging a Kitchen Fail (Chicken Salad Edition)

Missy Tippens

Well, I've done it again. Another kitchen fail. Please don't feel as if you have to act surprised. This happens all too often and we all know it. LOL

This time around, I made chicken salad from the chicken I had bought at the farmer's market. It was pre-roasted and came cubed and frozen. I made a big batch of chicken salad from the chicken using what I had on hand: mayonnaise and dried cranberries (that I reconstituted for a little while to plump them up). I tasted it once and then added more mayonnaise. But it was so dry I could hardly choke it down while eating it on top of salad greens. I was so disappointed!

That huge container of the leftovers sat in the fridge for a couple of days. I could not get anyone to eat it. (I wonder why!)

So the next evening, needing to figure out something for dinner, I decided to try to salvage it. I was determined to make it into a casserole.

I thought back to an old recipe I used to make that called for a small, whole chicken (boiled and pulled off the bones), can of cream of chicken soup and a small container of sour cream. I loved that casserole! So I went searching. I came up with cream of mushroom soup and a small amount of sour cream (not nearly a whole container). I did not have any Club or Ritz crackers to use for the topping. Then it hit me: I have cranberries in here! I can play that up, almost Thanksgiving-like.

So I found I did have a bag of Pepperidge Farms herb stuffing cubes. And since I didn't have as much sour cream as needed, I decided to use some buttermilk. I figured I could use the extra moisture anyway! haha

I mixed the chicken salad with the sour cream, buttermilk and cream of mushroom soup (undiluted).

Then I topped the casserole with the herb stuffing mix, which I had ground into crumbs, and drizzled a half stick of melted butter over top it to moisten the crumbs (the old recipe called for a full stick, but I didn't think we needed it).

Then I baked at 350 for about 40 minutes. It actually started browning a little too quickly, so I put foil over it until the end.

Y'all, this was SO GOOD. My family loved it! They were fighting over who would get to take the leftovers to work for lunch. haha

A big save for me!

So next time you make something that is a total flop, consider making it into a casserole. Sour cream and butter can make just about anything taste good.  :)

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