I am fortunate enough to have an amazing group of friends, family, and acquaintances who inspire me and challenge me with food ideas and inspirations in the kitchen on a somewhat regular basis. I love the encouragement and adore the motivation.
This time, a dear friend posted some photos of her “famous” chicken salad on social media and I knew right then and there that I needed that recipe, I needed to recreate, and I needed to feature HER and all of her talent on the blog. Of course, I made a few adjustments here and there – I can’t follow a recipe if my life depends on it – (I added fresh rosemary and used whole cashews with Dijon mustard) but the rest remains the same and the result proves to be “pretty much the best thing ever.”
Thank you, Viktoria!
Butternut Chicken Salad
2 chicken breasts
2 sticks of celery
seedless red grapes
mayo
yellow mustard
hard boiled egg
crushed cashews
salt, pepper, garlic salt
lemon juice
Start by preheating the oven to 375. Cut the squash in half and season with salt, pepper, and garlic salt. Place the squash face-down on greased baking sheet. Bake for 40-45 minutes.
While squash is cooking, cut chicken breasts into small cubed pieces. Cook in a pan at medium heat seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic (minced or garlic salt), and the squeeze of two lemon wedges, until cooked through. Cut celery sticks into thin slices. Cut approximately 10-15 grapes into fourths. Crush cashews.
Once the squash is cooked through, dice half of the squash (or desired amount depending on size of squash or personal preference). Use excess squash for other meals.
Once the chicken is finished cooking, add all ingredients into mixing bowl. Add 1 Tbs. of mayo and 1/2 Tbs. of mustard (add more or less if desired). Mix everything together. Salt and pepper to taste. Top with chopped hard boiled egg and strawberry slices 🤗 served on either your bread of choice or in lettuce wraps 🤓
