One of the things we do twice each year is a no buy month. What I mean is we try to eat solely out of what we have on hand only grocery shopping for a few fresh items once a week. We need to clean out our freezers (refrigerator freezer and chest freezer). With all that has been going on I forgot our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) share starts in two weeks. We pay for our produce from a local farm ahead of time by purchasing a share of their crops. Farmers need money before the crops arrive to plant seeds, water, tend, and pick the crops. They sell shares of their crops ahead of time in order to raise money. We get approximately 16 weeks of fresh picked produce for about $550. I would normally spend more than that anyway but I get a bushel basket of produce delivered to my door each week! Yeah!

So, I need to have room in my freezer to save some of this delicious produce because we will want fresh strawberries, blueberries, beans, carrots, etc… in the winter. I will prepare some and fill the freezer as we go. But, to do that I need an empty freezer to start. Just before the quarantine started we filled our freezer knowing something was happening but not quite sure what would happen. Time to clean it all out. No Buy JUNE! Join us by trying to eat out of your pantry and freezer for the next three weeks.

I love having cooked chicken breasts on hand in the refrigerator during the summer because I can easily chop them up to top a salad for dinner, add them to quesadillas, spice them up for tacos, or make them into chicken salad. They are so versatile and great to have on hand. Cook a large batch on the weekend. Let them cool and put some in the refrigerator and freeze some already cut up for your mid-week rush. A quick thaw and dinner almost makes itself.

Verdict: You know is is a good dish as my daughter looks at my computer as I am putting this blog post together and sees the Chicken Salad and says, “Ooooo, chicken salad. That is so good.” I love how simple it is and the family loves that it tastes good, win-win.

Customize this to your family. Add chopped celery, or toasted walnuts, extra dill, or leave them all out instead of grapes. It is up to you. Oh! And toast those rolls a bit. They are so good with a bit of crunch. Or use croissants instead of brioche buns. Play with your food.

Tip: You can use leftover baked, grilled, broiled chicken or I love to poach some in a pot of boiling water with powdered garlic. Lay the chicken breasts in the bottom of the pan with garlic. Pour enough water or white wine over the top of the chicken to just cover. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat for about 10-15 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken and allow to cool before slicing.