Curried Chicken Salad with Watercress

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I was recently asked if I'd like to try the Tyson Frozen, Grilled & Ready Chicken Strips. While I don't normally buy these types of convenience foods, this was a product I was interested in testing out. I've seen these strips at Costco and wondered if they were worth the price.

Sometimes we all need a couple shortcuts and I've definitely had my share of scrambling to get a meal on the table. And I'm always trying to get the kids to taste new foods. I thought this would be easy and less waste for them because I could take out just 1 or 2 strips and not have to cook a whole piece of chicken. They are precooked, so I could pop them in the microwave for a couple minutes. It's really hard for me to put a lot of effort into preparing a new food for them when I'm not sure if they'll even eat it. So, this works for that.

It turns out it was a nice alternative for me when making lunches as well. I have always had a hard time with lunches since I became a mom. I'm not one to eat mac n cheese or peanut butter (or in our case almond) and jelly every day. I still want a good meal, but I just can't spend a lot of time or make a big huge mess. These strips worked out great for a quicker chicken salad and also for tossing in a tortilla with a few veggies for a taco lunch. I probably wouldn't serve these on their own for a meal I would eat, but mixed in with other ingredients you can't even tell it's frozen food.

My one nitpick is that they are labeled "grilled," but most of the pieces didn't have grill marks at all. They are also a little pricey and a convenience food, so it's definitely something I'd look for a sale or coupon on before buying and I'd limit my use of them to occasionally vs. relying on them. Speaking of coupons, I have 10 coupons for a free bag of chicken to give away in case you want to try them too.

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Curried Chicken Salad with Watercress
adapted from CookingLight

• 2 cups chicken , chopped (i.e. Tyson Frozen, Grilled & Ready Chicken Strips)
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup mayo
• 1/2 teaspoon orange zest
• 1 teaspoon orange juice
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
• 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 2/3 cup celery, diced
• 1/4 cup green onion
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 1/2 cup gala apple, chopped
• 3 cups trimmed watercress
• 2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
• 1/3 cup golden raisins
• 4 pocket-less pita bread
  

Prepare chicken strips according to package directions. When heated through chop into 1/2-3/4 inch cubes. Set aside to cool.

In a medium sized bowl, combine the sour cream through salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Next, prepare the celery, onion, parsley, and apple according to recipe ingredients. Add the celery, onion, parsley, and 1 cup of the apple to the sour cream mixture. Stir.

When the chicken has cooled, add it to the sour cream mixture and stir to combine. If eating immediately, toss with the watercress before dividing the salad among the pita bread. (If not, toss only the portion you will be eating with a portion of the watercress and proceed.) Divide mixture evenly among the 4 pita breads. Sprinkle each with the leftover apple, the sunflower seeds, and the raisins. Enjoy immediately.


Though Collective Bias & Tyson provided me with a $50 gift card and 10 free product coupons for this campaign, the opinions expressed in this post are my own.