Chicken Salad

I adore chicken salad, but I have *never* been able to make it at home and have it taste anywhere near delicious. (Trust me, I've tried!) But then I discovered Pioneer Woman and her great recipes. I swear, *everything* I have ever made using a recipe of hers is absolutely delicious in every sort of way! I saw that she had a recipe for Chicken Salad so I decided to give it a try.

Here you can find a step by step guide on how to make her recipe on her website.  It's pretty easy to make and the result are great.


Chicken Salad

Ingredients

• 1 whole Cut Up Fryer Chicken
• 2 stalks (to 3 Stalks) Celery, Chopped
• 3 whole Green Onions, Chopped
• 2 cups (to 3 Cups) Grapes, Halved
• ½ cups Mayonnaise
• ½ cups Plain Yogurt Or Sour Cream
• A Small Handful Of Fresh Dill, Minced
• 1 Tablespoon (to 2 Tablespoons) Lemon Juice
• 1 Tablespoon (to 2 Tablespoons) Brown Sugar
• Kosher Salt To Taste
• Fresh Ground Black Pepper To Taste

Preparation Instructions

Rinse chicken thoroughly and place in a large pot of water. Turn on the heat and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is done (about 45 minutes to an hour). When you are ready, remove the chicken from the pot and place on a plate. With your fingers or a fork, pull all of the meat off the bones, chop into bite-sized chunks and set aside.
Chop all of your fruits and veggies and place them in a bowl with the chicken.
In another bowl mix mayonnaise, yogurt (or sour cream), lemon juice, brown sugar and salt and pepper to taste.

Add fresh herbs (dill, oregano, cilantro…whatever makes your skirt fly up) and if you’re feeling a bit brazen throw in a dash of cayenne pepper!
When the dressing tastes just right (you must taste test for appropriate saltiness especially), pour it over the chicken/veggie/fruit mixture and stir gently until everything is thoroughly mixed. If you are feeling naughty add a sprinkling of bacon bits.

Allow the salad to chill for several hours (or even overnight). Serve on a bed of lettuce or in a sandwich or heck, eat it straight out of the bowl with a serving spoon.
Try it soon – you’ll love it!

*Here are the changes that I made:
--used chicken from a roaster I made earlier in the week
--used dill and chives
--used sour cream and mayo
--added about 1/2 cup of chopped apple instead of the grapes
--omitted the celery b/c I'm not a big fan
--added in one seeded and chopped jalapeno
--added some season salt and other spices to my own taste
--added chopped almonds
--I left out the bacon bits
--made mine at night and let it sit over night to have the flavors mend together

I served mine on croissants and got rave reviews from both hubby and the boys. I will definitely make this recipe again!