Chicken Salad/Chicken Broth

I love chicken salad, especially on a fresh butter croissant. In the spring and summertime, it makes such great picnic food and who doesn't love a good picnic? The problem is, I hate mayonnaise and I don't like most "salads" that have mayo in them. So I decided to come up with my own mayo-free chicken salad. I hope you enjoy!

Nic's Chicken Salad

1 whole rotisserie chicken, cold or room temperature (I usually get regular, savory or herb flavored)
1-2 stalks of celery, finely diced
1-1.5 cups of green grapes, sliced
About 1/3 cup of sliced almonds, lightly toasted
3-4 Tbls poppyseed salad dressing
Salt and pepper

Remove all meat from the chicken and dice into small pieces, similar in size to the grapes. In a bowl, combine diced chicken, diced celery, sliced grapes, and almonds. Stir in salad dressing to taste. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

This recipe is so easy and so tasty! I always use the carcass of the chicken to make homemade chicken broth, which I use for soups, risottos, pastas, etc. My broth recipe is below...no measurements, sorry. :-)

Chicken Broth from Rotisserie Chicken

1 chicken carcass (bones, skin, fat, etc)
4 carrots, cut in half lengthwise and widthwise
1 whole onion, cut in quarters
5-6 stalks of celery, cut in 1/2 or 1/3 (use the center and the leafy parts! These make the best broth!)
Old mushroom stems (If you have them. I usually trim the stems when I cook with them and save them for broth.)
5 cloves of garlic
3 Tbls peppercorns
Parsley, thyme
3 bay leaves
Sprinkling of olive oil

Put all ingredients into a large stock pot. Cover with cold water. Bring mixture to a boil, lower heat and simmer until water has turned a rich, golden color. NOTE: I don't add salt to my broth because I like to control the salt content in my dishes. You may want to add salt but don't over salt the broth.

You can use raw chicken, which actually tends to work better, or a combo of raw and leftover bones. The bones are the most important part and this is a great way to use the WHOLE chicken.