Chicken Salad Recipe

Yesterday a very rare thing happened... I was cooking in the middle of the day. This chicken salad made me do it.

I LOVE chicken salad. My MIL made this one for Father's Day using The Pioneer Woman's recipe. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since. Several months later I've finally made its deliciousness. The greatest part: it's so easy even I can do it! :)

You'll need:

1 whole cut up fryer chicken (or about 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts)
2-3 stalks celery, chopped
2-3 whole green onions, chopped
2-3 cups green and red grapes, halved
1/2 cup mayo
1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
Small handful of fresh dill, minched
1-2 T Lemon juice
1-2 T Brown sugar
Salt and Pepper to taste
Cayenne pepper to taste (optional)
Bacon bits (optional)

I went the boneless skinless chicken route because I hate bones (and chicken was on sale at Meijer!). Place your chicken in a large pot covered in water and bring to rolling boil for about 45 minutes (or whenever you get back to it. I love no-rush recipes!)

Take 2-3 stalks of rinsed celery and slice right down the middle.

Chop as fine or as chunky as you'd like.

Take your green onions, chop off the hairy end and discard. Chop up all the rest of your onions. (Don't forget to be wearing your contact lenses at this point or your children will wonder what the onions did to make you cry).

Halve or quarter your grapes. Eat a couple. You're probably hungry.

Put your fruit and veggies in a bowl big enough for the complete salad. Get out a separate bowl and mix your mayo, sour cream/plain yogurt, lemon juice, brown sugar, salt and pepper.

Next time I'm going to go lighter on the brown sugar and use real mayonnaise instead of Miracle Whip.

Add fresh dill and a dash of cayenne pepper.

I was too lazy to mince my dill.

Mix together.
Taste test.

Oh, the chicken. This can be done at any point but would probably be wise to do it earlier so it can cool a little before mixing with the fruits and veggies.
Remove the chicken from the pot, pull apart with your fingers or a fork.

Add chicken to the fruits and veggies, pour dressing over top and gently mix together. Add bacon bits of your choosing, find a place for your delicious salad in your fridge and let chill for several hours (or for as long as you can stand waiting... It does taste best fully chilled. I tell you this from experience).

See, so easy! And scrumptious! I know this is a summery recipe, but my excuse is we've been having an Indian Summer around here. (But really it's because I love chicken salad summer, winter, fall, and spring!)

Now I'm going to go enjoy myself some before I get my wisdom teeth pulled and don't get to eat for awhile.