Paula Deen's Warm Chicken Salad, Adjusted

Sam's sells white chunked chicken in a can, with something like five cans coming in a package. It's a little pricey when you compare it to fresh chicken by the pound, but you get to ignore that extra cost when you're basking in the pleasure of avoiding that foul business of having to boil and debone. (Ha! Foul business! Get it? Fatty made a funny!)

So while Magoo is eating her noodles and corn off the floor (she spilled it and I told her to pick it up...so she is picking it up and eating it), I thought I would share this very fine use for canned--or fresh--chunked chicken.

Adjusted from Paula Deen's recipe, which is here and which I'm sure is fine but a little too luscious for my hips.

Warm Chicken Salad

3 cups (2 large cans) cooked chicken breast meat, cubed
3/4 cup sliced almonds*
(*next time, I am going to lightly toast these first)
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons lemon juice (mine was out of a plastic lemon...)
1 cup light mayonnaise
3/4 cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese
2/3 cup crushed Sun Chips (plain! no flavored crap)

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F, and spray a 13-by-9-inch baking dish with vegetable oil cooking spray.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the chicken, celery, almonds, salt, onion, pepper, lemon juice, mayonnaise, and cheese.

3. Place the mixture in the prepared baking dish.

4. Spread the crushed Sun Chips on top.

5. Bake for 20 minutes, or until bubbly.

Very fine fresh or reheated (in microwave), with crackers or just with a shovel.

This recipe is a little drier rather than gooier because I increased the amount of chicken without increasing the amount of mayo. I don't like greasy stuff unless it's sold under the title "Tex Mex" and as far as I know, Mexicans aren't silly enough to eat chicken salad from a can.