Fruity Chicken Salad

I do not do much of the cooking in our house. My husband is a fantastic cook, and I really think that he enjoys doing it on most days. My dad is also a fantastic cook, and growing up he always made me wonderful meals, even in my difficult vegetarian days. Now I eat chicken, fish and occasionally turkey, which makes things a bit easier for my husband, but he still asks me on a regular basis to expand my meat options, no thank you.  He did mention recently that it would probably be a good idea for me to pick up some skills so that I could cook for and feed our children. It is very important to me that our children have a healthy and well rounded diet full of fresh organic fruits & veggies and delicious homemade meals. Thankfully I still have some time before baby #1 is born and even more time before he/she starts eating solid foods. 


Finally in week 17 of my pregnancy I developed an appetite, and am somewhat confident that I can eat without getting sick, hopefully this will last. Last week out of the blue I started to think about a fruity chicken salad recipe that my mom has made for me a few times while visiting her. I instantly had to have it. I called my mom to go over a few things and I ran to the store at 6:30 pm to get my ingredients. I have made it twice now over the past 2 weeks and last night I took some pictures to share the recipe for you. It is a nice, light, refreshing summertime meal great for lunch or dinner time. I think it is also very appealing to children to eat and make. 


            Ingredients I used (without proper measurements) and instructions - 2 adult servings

2 Chicken Breasts, about 4 oz each - I boil the chicken breasts on the stove, well actually this part I do have Patrick do. I have come a long way, but I'm still not a fan of handling raw chicken. This process takes about 15 min. depending on the size of your chicken. Another easy option is to put the chicken breast in the crock pot in the morning and let it cook all day. 


After the chicken is fully cooked, let it cool before pulling it to shreds, unless you want to burn your hands like I did. If you are in a hurry, or starving, pop it in the fridge for 5 minuets. Once your chicken is cool, pull it apart into shreds. I cut the breast into a few sections and then pull it apart. Now toss your shredded chicken into a large bowl. 

Now that your shredded chicken is in a large bowl, the next step I like to do is to go ahead and add in your mayo, miracle whip or my preference vegenaise (we were all out so I settled for mayo). I prefer a light coating, but add as you please. I also believe that fresh lemon, or lemon juice belongs in every good meal. After I add my mayo, I add a few squirts of fresh lemon, or in today's case, a few squirts from the real lemon bottle. 

Now that your chicken is nicely coated with your mayo and lemon juice, next I like to add in some pecans and blueberry craisins. These were whole pecans that I cracked into pieces. I'd say that this was about 1/2 cup pecans and 1/2 cup blueberry  craisins. 

And for the final touch, I added in some fresh blueberries and grapes. Again I used about 1/2 cup of grapes and 1/2 cup of blueberries. I don't think measuring is necessary for this recipe. Add as much or little as you please. 




And now you have yourself a delicious and refreshing summertime meal. Enjoy!