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Katie Davis

@PopCultureCuisine

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May ‘Recipe of the Month’ – Pregnant Woman on a Mission!

Thursday, May 26, 2011 @ 07:05 AM

 

001If you weren’t aware until now, Adam and I are expecting a new family member come September; and I promise this will be one of the only posts where I go into greater detail about our new adventure, but I also promise this little diatribe does relate to the food portion of our programming. Winking smile 

Now for the most part, from the little I know of pregnancy, my first time around has been golden.  I really haven’t had much to complain about and honestly have felt really great and active most of the time.  I also have really enjoyed the changes my body is undergoing (again for the most part).  Sure, I am still human and a woman, so there are days when the reality of getting bigger by the day is odd and disheartening, especially someone who has battled with her appearance and self confidence in the past.  However, for the most part there is something also so freeing about just letting nature take its course and just eating what sounds good to me; and I am finding I am more in tune with my body and intuitive eating habits with pregnancy…, something I really want to pass along to our daughter.

Now that isn’t to say I haven’t at times gone crazy and eaten every morsel in sight.  I mean…come on…what pregnant woman hasn’t?  Still, for the most part I really am trying to eat relatively healthy for the baby…just sneak in some fun items every now and again…the whole 80/20 mindset of eating.  What I wasn’t really prepared for, however, is the nagging cravings that come with pregnancy.  We’ve all heard about them….usually going something like ice cream with pickles….right? Open-mouthed smile  I would hardly say I have had any so bad as to send Adam out to the store at midnight, but there have been a few times when I simply can’t get a dish out of my head and won’t be satisfied until I have it; and while I haven’t had many of those instances, the past few days have been cheeseburgers cheeseburgers cheeseburgers on the brain!

004

….so I made myself one….and boy was it every yummy!  Two weeks ago, however, I got a craving for chicken salad that just would not quit.  And not just any ol’ chicken salad would do…, I wanted one chalked full of yummy extras like grapes and what not.  Subway happened to have just introduced their Orchard Chicken Salad, so I figured that day after 2 days of a full-on craving, it would be the perfect time to try it.  Let’s just say it didn’t do much for me.  That’s not to say it was bad, it just wasn’t as flavorful as I had hoped in my head, and well….it just didn’t really do the trick. 

It was then that I realized I might have to take matters into my own hands and make a version of what I was looking for.  I scoured the web looking for a recipe with what I thought I wanted, until it dawned on me to check a website I had been hearing tons about and reading a little of myself.

PIONEERWOMAN

Source

The Pioneer Woman is a wildly popular blog by a fabulous woman named Ree Drummond who went from city life to ranch life when she fell in love with and married an Oklahoma Rancher.  Her website is divided into sections where Ree is able to deliver wonderful candid and funny advice from what it is like living on a ranch, home schooling and raising 4 children, photography, and cooking for her big bunch.  Her stories and recipes have become so popular she has even written a book.  Women and men alike love her candor and life approach in which she never takes herself too seriously. 

Well…, I had heard wonderful things about some of her recipes, so I figured I would see if she had a chicken salad recipe for me… and boy did she ever!

Chicken Salad

Added by Ree on August 7, 2009 in Meat Salads, Salads

Prep Time 20 Minutes
Cook Time 1 Hour
Servings 6
Difficulty Easy

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!

Source

chicken salad

Source

I want to start off by saying that I didn’t photograph my steps or finished product because if you follow the recipe link, Ree does such a wonderful job of depicting step by step how the process should be unfolding.  I also chose not to cook a whole chicken myself and rather used a rotisserie chicken from the store, mostly out of ease and I didn’t think it was going to affect the taste that dramatically.  But outside of cooking the chicken, this recipe was a cinch to whip up and I am not sure I would really ever make another chicken salad recipe again.  I loved it that much!  The only downside was it made so darn much that I couldn’t eat all of it before it went bad.  Still, let’s just say it more than certainly satisfied my craving, and I highly recommend that you attempt to let it satisfy yours!

TASTE:  Since this type of chicken salad, chalked full of non-traditional ingredients (not really some’s cup of tea….like my husband), I am the only person to have actually tried it, as well as I had a HUGE craving for chicken salad, so I may be a little biased.  That being said, I’ve had other chicken salads prior with my craving and this is the only one that did the trick…it was that tasty!  There is something about all those lovely crunch and fruity bits that play so well off the chicken itself.  And the addition of yogurt and dill add flavors that carry this recipe over the top.  Can we say happy pregnant tummy!

EASE OF PREPARATION:  I opted to use a store bought rotisserie chicken with this recipe, so I think it was way easier to prepare than typical.  But I really don’t thinking cooking the chicken looked entirely out of my realm of possibility.  I just figured if I could make it easier…, seeing that I’m preggers… than why wouldn’t I?  The rest of the recipe is simply just chopping and stirring ingredients together….so all around pretty easy.

COST:  Another great perk of this dish is that it doesn’t require any expensive ingredients; and because the dish makes such a large amount, it really is super cost effective.

COMPLEXITY:  As I mentioned above, this dish is so far from complex, especially if you cheat a little and buy an already cooked chicken.  The most difficult part is really just the chopping…, so needless to say not very complex.

PORTION SIZE:  According to the recipe it says this serves 6.  However, I would say it serves at least double that unless you are eating a large amount.  I made 5 very good portioned sandwiches and still managed to only eat about half of what I made, so I just need to cut the recipe in half next time or find someone else who likes it.  Either way, I give The Pioneer Woman’s Chicken Salad and whole hearted 5 ‘Little Piggies’!

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One Response to “May ‘Recipe of the Month’ – Pregnant Woman on a Mission!”

  1. […] Pioneer Woman’s jumped to the top of the list…there must be something about her recipes and me being pregnant.  On a side note, have you been able to catch her show yet, it’s on Food Network, I just […]

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