Seasonal {Summer} Suppers

Part Two:  Chicken Salad Stuffed Tomatoes

If you had to list the best things about summer, what would they be? Warm weather? Time off? 

 Swimming?

Barbecues?

Lighter Clothing?

(by the way, slightly obsessed with this swimsuit)

I sat and thought about this for a good long while tonight, concluding that my answer ten years ago would be decidedly different than the one I have now: corn on the cob and tomatoes.

Of all the fruits and vegetables, these are the two that just really taste different, ridiculously BETTER!, during this one season of the year. So please, before you even read the rest of this, run to the nearest vegetable stand (or grocery store, I’m not judging) and buy the freshest, local-est (definitely not a word!), most delicious looking tomatoes and corn on the cob you can find. Then come home and make this for dinner, because summer will have come and gone before we know it, leaving only those sad dried corn kernels and watery tomatoes to take their place for the other nine months of the year.

Here is what you will need:

-4 large tomatoes

-1/4 cup mayonnaise

-2 cups chopped or shredded chicken (use rotisserie in a pinch)

-1 cup fresh corn kernels

-1/2 cup snipped chives

-salt and pepper

*Optional: red onion, summer squash, any other vegetable you feel like throwing in (amount to your liking)

Here is how you will make these:

-If you are baking your own chicken and boiling your own corn, prepare these first. Pre-heat your oven to 375◦ and put a large pot of water on to boil. When the oven has heated, brush the chicken with some olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bake for around 25 minutes (or until done). When the water is boiling, boil the corn for 3-4 minutes.

-Meanwhile…

                -Chop or snip your chives.

-Core your tomatoes. Scoop the insides into a strainer placed over a bowl and catch about ¼ cup of tomato juice. (You may need to press down on the pulp with a fork.)

-Mix together the collected juice, mayonnaise, chives, and red onion (if using). Set aside.

-When the chicken is done and cooled, chop into small, even-ish chunks.

-When the corn is done and cooled, scrape the kernels off the cob with a knife.

-Add the chicken and corn to the dressing bowl, along with any other vegetable you are using.

-Mix everything together, season with salt and pepper, and spoon the chicken salad into your empty tomato shells. 

Eat immediately, and weep uncontrollably when it's gone :)

Recipe from Rachel Ray Magazine.

Images here, here, and here.