When was the last time you had a Big Mac?

Big Macs don’t seem as popular today as they were twenty or thirty years ago. I guess it’s the calories … and the snob appeal of saying you don’t eat fast food. I know I’ve fallen into both traps. And when I asked a friend if she used to like a Big Mac, she declared emphatically she’d eaten too many of them during her harried days holding down a job and going to school. “Never gain,” she said with emphasis.

But when I asked Christian if he used to like them, he said, “I still do.” And that’s how we had a Big Mac salad for supper one night. It’s a salad entrée and offers you everything but the bun.

The recipe calls for Thousand Island dressing. Not all of us keep it on hand. Sure, you could buy a bottle, but why buy a bottle when you only need 2 Tbsp. per person. Then that bottle might sit in the fridge until you finally question its shelf life and throw it away. It’s easy to make your own.

Big Mac Salad (single serving)

¼ lb. lean ground beef

¼ cup shredded sharp cheddar

2-1/2 cups shredded lettuce (use iceberg for a good, crisp crunch)

¼ cup diced tomatoes

2 dill pick spears, chopped

2 Tbsp. Thousand Island dressing

Salt and pepper

            Mix together and serve immediately.

Thousand Island dressing

1 cup mayonnaise

¼ cup yellow onion, minced

2 Tbsp. ketchup

2 Tbsp. sweet pickle relish

1 tsp. lemon juice

½ tsp. sweet paprika

¼ tsp. salt

Mix ingredients well. If possible, refrigerate 24 hours before serving. This will dress at least four servings of the salad. Leftovers will keep in the fridge about a week.

One more response to my plea for chicken recipes, this from Ann Kane, who reminds us that there was a time when any new recipe carried the million-dollar moniker: Million $ cookies, cake, dip, and salad. This recipe first appeared on the back of Lipton's onion soup mix. It is, according to Ann, not something you’d want to eat every night but a pleasant change.

Million Dollar Chicken

6 skinless, boneless chicken thighs

1 c. mayo

½ c. mango chutney          

¼ c. peach jam

1 Tbsp. yellow mustard

½ c. water

1 pkg. onion soup mix

Preheat oven 375 degrees. Place chicken in a baking dish. Mix remaining ingredients together and pour over the chicken. Bake for 60 minutes. Serve the chicken with sauce over top.