Chicken Salad

I always find that I make some of my best creations when I don't have a whole lot on hand.  Yesterday, for example, was a lazy day for me.  I'd been out with friends the night before and I was trying to take it easy and relax before another workweek began.  I had just cleaned out my fridge, so there wasn't a whole lot in there, but I was starving for dinner.

I just started taking out random ingredients from my fridge and my pantry.  I found some Uncle Ben's Ready Rice, Rice Pilaf flavored and popped that into the microwave.

When I was younger, my mom made me chicken salad all the time.  We often had breaded chicken, and my mom made enough to have leftovers.  But it got tough when we tried to reheat it, so instead we would make the chicken salad.  The flavored breadcrumbs always gave the chicken salad a nice flavor, along with mayo, sour cream, scallions, salt & pepper. 

I didn't have breaded chicken or scallions, so I decided to make a variation of my mother's chicken salad.  After I put the rice in the microwave, I took out the Perdue Shortcuts that I usually have on top of a salad for lunch, and cut it into extremely small pieces.  I took a dollop of sour cream and a dollop of mayo and mixed it all together with some red onions.  Then I mixed in a hint of hot sauce, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder, sprinkled in a few bacon bits, and ta-da - homemade chicken salad.  I paired the rice and chicken salad with a salad, topped with balsamic vinegrette.  It was delicious!