RECIPES! And Jenny's funny note!

So, on this rainy 2nd day of summer, I turned on Aladdin and let my kids take all of the cushions off of our couch and jump from "the sky" while I made a refreshing summer recipe. This will be for lunches the next few days and probably snacks on crackers! As I was making it, I thought, I have my winter staples that usually require an oven, which heats up my house, wouldn't it be great to have a few refreshing cool summer recipes to wow my family with? So, who wants to join in the recipe exchange without cards - allowing them to be stored on the 27 emails blog? ME!
Mine is chicken salad, although not as good as Grandma's, it's pretty good. It's like one you'd order in a restaurant that's served on a croissant. I must say, I didn't invent it, I stole it from the Schwann's catalog! Here it is (tweaked a little):
3 unbreaded chicken breasts - boiled until no longer pink and diced
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup fresh celery, diced
1/4 fresh onion, diced
1 1/2 cup grapes (variation: apples),
chopped1/4 cup walnuts (variation: pecans or pine nuts), chopped
1/4 tsp black pepper
Stir together all ingredients and chill. You can serve on lettuce, in an orange peel for a different look (Schwann's suggestion) or on a croissant or fancy bread. Other variations include adding some lemon juice or zest. It adds a hint of sour that is quite good. I tasted it and I loved it!

I know some people in our family aren't nut fans, and I'm usually one of those, ut I really enjoyed the nuts in this. This is pretty healthy, too, if you don't serve it on a croissant. If you are firmly against nuts, cut them out and it would be great, too! Thanks for entertaining my idea! I have a great dessert if we want to go there, but most of us have quite a few desserts, but I, for one, am lacking in the summer main dish category!

Heather's favorite parts of this email:
1. That Jenny called it a "REFRESHING" summer recipe. I do not remember the last time I used the word refreshing in a sentence, let alone an email.
2. Where she said "the people in our family aren't nut fans". She's wrong. Look around. Our family is filled with nuts. (hee hee)
3. When she said 'if you are firmly against nuts'.....like you would be against gun control or wearing jogging pants to work. I had no idea people took 'stances' on nuts.

Just kidding Jenny =) I loved your idea and here's my addition! For the record, I would love any light recipes too!

Here's my Pineapple Chicken!
half cup bbq
half c reserved pineapple juice
1/4 c packed brown sugar
2 T oil (I used one)
2T flour
1/4 t salt
4 cups cubed cooked chicken (I baked them in the oven with some salt/pepper)
1 can pineapple chunks drained
Combine first 6 ingredients, stir til smooth, bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer two minutes. Add chick and pineapple, cover, simmer 10 min.

Everyone loved it!