“Nah, that’s okay, Mom,” I told her. In case you’re not familiar with cans of Cream of anything soups, they don’t actually consist of anything but cream.

“Oh wait, I also have Tomato.”

Really? That’s even better. By the way, she means well.

So, as promised, and because I’m utterly disgusted at this point with cans of tuna, ramen noodles, soup and lunchmeat here is my chicken salad recipe. I won’t say it’s the best recipe out there but it certainly serves its purpose and for me it will be a nice change.

The Cheapest and Easiest Lunch Ingredients

1 Can of Chunky Chicken (If you’re grossed out by this use chicken breast but it’s not as cheap.)
Miracle Whip
Sour Cream
Diced Cucumber
Diced Onion
A Sprinkle of Mustard Powder
A Sprinkle of Dill Weed
Chopped Carrots (or any other crunchy vegetable you have. I also like to add chopped apple but my daughter doesn’t like that.)

Drain the can of chicken first. The rest of the ingredients are usually somewhere in my refrigerator as I’m a sucker for fresh produce (which by the way is the majority of my grocery bill). Sour cream is not necessary either it just makes the chicken salad creamier without adding a ton of Miracle Whip.

Mix everything together and refrigerate. I already have my wheat bread at work in the refrigerator so I just grab the bowl of chicken salad. I also take sandwich bags of chips or crackers along to go with it. If I have red or yellow peppers I slice them in strips and take them along with Ranch dressing.

This recipe makes enough to last me almost a week and includes the mornings I grab a half sandwich for breakfast. This doesn’t mean I can survive on it the entire week though. Unfortunately I’m usually sick of chicken salad by day 3. Yet after the lazy lunches I’ve had lately, it’ll be a treat and I’m actually looking forward to it.