Tangy Banana Pepper Chicken Salad

A wrap with banana pepper chicken salad

This was the third and final dish created from a family pack of chicken thighs I got for under $5, and by far my favorite of all three!

I love chicken salad for easy lunches and usually make it with leftovers. I just mix chicken with mayo, pickle relish, onion and celery and whala! I have a tasty filling for a sandwich. I prefer making it with grilled chicken just for the extra smoky grill flavor that comes through in the salad but any type of cooked chicken works, here the chicken was roasted.

This time I decided to replace the relish with pickled mild banana peppers. I ate a burger recently that featured them as a topping and I have been experimenting with them ever since. Their addition to chicken salad was an absolute home run. The peppers pack so much flavor and really give the spread a nice tang and vinagery heat. This batch made enough for two huge wraps that I ate on consecutive days for lunch.

Finishing up the chicken salad put an end to the 5 lbs of chicken thighs I purchased at the store for $4.84. I got two stir fry meals, 1 roasted chicken meal, and 2 huge burrito-sized wraps with the chicken salad. That puts the price of chicken at less than $1 per meal for myself.  Plus, I have some scraps in the freezer that will make a batch of stock for soup. (The stir fry and chicken salad recipes could have been stretched to 3 or 4 serving easily, depending on how big the appetite)

It's hard to not have food go to waste when cooking for 1. This time I was efficient and made some delicious food from a bargain priced family pack and nothing got thrown away. That's a win for the single cook!

Eat well, cook often ...

BANANA PEPPER CHICKEN SALAD
5 minutes, 1 hour inactive
Makes 4 servings
2 C Chicken cooked, shredded
1/2 C pickled mild banana peppers chopped
1/4 C onion, finely diced
2 Tbs mayo

FOR WRAP
1/2 to 1 C chicken salad
2 sliced pepper jack cheese
Shredded lettuce
1 large flour tortilla

In a bowl, mix together all ingredients until thoroughly combined. Cover and store in refrigerator for an hour to let flavors meld. Place Chicken salad, cheese and lettuce in the center of a large toritilla. Fold in sides and roll shut. Slice in half and serve.