Homemade Pimento Cheese and Homemade Chicken Salad {Did You Know August is Officially National Sandwich Month?}

Homemade Pimento Cheese and Homemade Chicken Salad are the favorite salads for making sandwiches.  Pick out a favorite bread, and you can have the perfect sandwiches for any gathering.

I was thinking this past Wednesday about what dish I was going to take to our Sunday evening Life Group meeting, and I thought about how August is National Sandwich Month, and what better time to take sandwiches.

Chicken Salad and Pimento Cheese are some of my favorite sandwiches. When I was growing up, my mother used only Miracle Whip Salad Dressing, and my husband's mother used only Miracle Whip Salad Dressing.

When we got married, he asked us to start using mayonnaise.

I transitioned over the years to mostly using mayonnaise, but I still get hungry for that taste of Miracle Whip in my mother's Chicken Salad and Pimento Cheese recipes.

Although, if you are not a fan of Miracle Whip, by all means, use mayonnaise in both of these recipes. They are delicious either way.

As someone said, a sandwich is not a great sandwich unless it has a fantastic spread on each side of the bread.

I noticed when making the Chicken Salad that my mother's recipe called for using a meat grinder for the chicken; today I use a food processor instead.

Mother used a hand grater to grate the cheese herself for the Pimento Cheese.

Today we have the luxury of buying already grated cheese. I know the taste doesn't change, but sometimes I will hand-grate my own cheese and relive those days growing up.

When I got ready to take a picture of these sandwiches, I remembered once each summer mother would have a huge yard sale at our house, and she would always make Chicken Salad and Pimento Cheese.

I also remember her putting the Chicken Salad and Pimento Cheese in what she called "fruit jars", and we would spoon out what we needed for our sandwiches.

It was a quick way to make a sandwich and get back outside in between the people coming to buy things. Sweet memories start flooding in every time I make her recipes.

I couldn't resist taking a picture of the Chicken Salad and Pimento Cheese in "fruit jars". Hope you enjoy these recipes.

Classic Chicken Salad and Pimento Cheese

Ingredients: Chicken Salad
1 whole chicken, broiler-fryer, 1 ½ to 2 lbs.
4 cups water
1 tablespoon salt
½ tablespoon pepper 
6 dill pickles, minced (can use dill relish)
1 medium onion, minced
1-1 1/2 cups Miracle Whip salad dressing
4 eggs, boiled, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients: Pimento Cheese
3cups grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

3 cups grated mild cheddar cheese
2 (4 oz.) jars pimentos, sliced, drained
2 cups Miracle Whip salad dressing (I use mayonnaise)

Directions: Chicken Salad
Wash chicken thoroughly, inside and out, under cold running water. Drain well.

Place chicken in a large stockpot; add water, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce heat; simmer for 1 1/2 hours, or until done, with the meat coming off the bone easily.

Remove chicken from broth and set aside to cool to the touch. Remove the meat from the bones, discarding the skin. After the meat has been deboned, grind it in a food grinder using the medium-size disk (I now use my food processor with the cutting blade for this step).

Transfer chicken to a medium-sized bowl, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour. Add pickles and onion to chicken; mix thoroughly. Add salad dressing, mixing well. Salt and pepper to taste.

Fold in the eggs last to keep from mashing them too much; mix lightly but thoroughly. Cover; refrigerate until ready to serve. Serves 8-10.

Directions:  Pimento Cheese

In a large bowl, toss the cheese and pimentos, mixing well. Fold in the Miracle Whip and mix lightly but thoroughly to avoid mashing the pimentos. Chill and serve. Serves 8-10

Note. Be sure to drain pimentos well; this keeps the Pimento Cheese from becoming watery in the refrigerator.