Strawberry Poppyseed Chicken Salad

Since chicken salad makes an appearance at just about every bridal or baby shower, I thought I'd share this recipe with you first!  It is light, sweet and savory and one of my favorite recipes from the day.  

Not only did the basil and strawberries pair perfectly together, but they made for a beautiful presentation (we all know that is just as important as taste!). 

I was never a fan of chicken salad growing up because most versions I tried were so heavy on the mayo.  This is dressed mostly in poppyseed dressing with just a few tablespoons of light mayo.  You could even swap the mayo for plain greek yogurt if you'd like.  

Two of my other favorite chicken salad recipes are this cilantro chicken salad and this cranberry pecan chicken salad.

Pistachio & Almond Crusted Chicken

I knew I had to share this recipe with you after taking my first bite -- that was back in February (**note:  I have made this multiple times in the past few months).  Now that I am finally getting around to sharing the recipe with you, I suggest adding it to your dinner rotation ASAP.

Chicken can get so boring but the flavors in this dish are excellent.  Even better -- the prep time is minimal and the crisp outer coating keeps the chicken nice and juicy!  

Lemon Feta Chicken

Today, I present to you -- my new favorite dinner.  This really is my ideal recipe.  Five ingredients come together to create a delicious meal.  Even better than the short ingredient list, the preparation for this recipe took 2 minutes!  No mixing and no chopping required.

When I find a recipe I really love, my mom gets a phone call.  She can appreciate the excitement in finding a great simple recipe because she had a home-cooked meal on the dinner table every.single.night.  You can bet she got a phone call after I finished making this.

Cilantro Chicken Salad

As I mentioned recently, I have been loving Gina's Skinny Recipes.  I just can't get enough.  Over the weekend, Gina's site came up during a conversation with friends (naturally) and this chicken salad was mentioned.  Thank goodness for friends with good suggestions -- this recipe is great.  I am a huge fan of cilantro so this is my kind of chicken salad.

If you like spice (I do!), then I suggest the addition of a jalapeno pepper (noted below).  I also added a red pepper and used fat-free sour cream in place of the light mayo.  

Salsa Chicken: Mexican Done Healthy

I love Mexican food, looove it!  I can't say that I had it too often growing up but freshman year of college, 'Taco Bar Friday's' in the dorms, opened my eyes stomach to how much I actually love Mexican food.  Then to really add to my new-found love, senior year Spring Break happened...think happy hour (more like multiple hours) everyday at Nacho Mama's...$3 margaritas and $1 tacos, enough said.

So now that you now all about my love of Mexican food, feast your eyes on these Salsa Chicken tacos.  In order to enjoy tacos as much as possible, I needed to find a way to make them healthy:

Bake a few chicken breasts smothered in a jar of salsa, shred it after it's cooked, and let the chicken soak in the salsa.  Then grab a couple of whole wheat tortillas, spread with some sour cream plain Greek yogurt, top with the chicken and some sliced avocado.  Mexican deliciousness.  I promise you won't even know you're eating something healthy.  Now if only I could go back to those happy hours at Nacho Mama's...

Crispy Baked Chicken Fingers

I have always loved chicken fingers but I very rarely eat them these days.  I have seen this baked variety popping up all over the place and decided to give them a shot.  These are a healthy alternative to everyone's childhood favorite.  They turned out crispy and delicious -- just as I had hoped.  They would be great served with Sweet Potato Rounds.

Jerk Chicken Chili

My mom made this chili for our family this past weekend and we all loved it!  She served it with Buttermilk Jalepeno Cornbread, which will be posted soon.

This meal was perfect for a snowy night in with family.  A night in which my dad discovered "on demand" movies...yikes.

Breaded Chicken Breasts with Goat Cheese and Thyme Filling

This chicken is so tasty, easy to make, and would impress just about anyone.  This would be a great dish to serve to out-of-town guests over the holidays.  It can be made a day ahead of time, refrigerated, and then baked the day of.  It can also be made more simple by using store bought bread crumbs rather than making your own.  

You might also like this Almond-Stuffed Chicken (it's my personal favorite).

Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad

I am headed back to Columbus tomorrow morning for Thanksgiving and I couldn't be more excited!  Today, I will leave you with a great post-Thanksgiving recipe.  Although this is a chicken salad recipe, you could definitely substitute leftover turkey for the chicken. This is a great light recipe, as it is made with half plain yogurt -- perfect after a day of overeating.

In addition to switching up the chicken for turkey, you could also switch out the pecans for walnuts or skip the cranberries and top with leftover cranberry relish.  Make it your own!

A Fall Gathering: Afternoon Baby Shower

I had the pleasure of helping a friend out with a baby shower this past weekend.  This was my first time creating a full menu and preparing everything from appetizers to desserts for a group of people.  I was so happy with the way everything turned out (and so honored that she asked me to help)!

The menu included the following:
Oat Snack Mix -- Everyone always seems to love this and I served it in cupcake liners so it would be easier to snack on.

Caprese Salad Bites with a Balsamic Reduction -- Such a pretty little appetizer.

Herb Goat Cheese Spread with Crackers -- This spread should be included every time I serve cheese and crackers.

Apple-Rosemary Blue Cheese Bites (not pictured)

Honey Yogurt Dip with Fresh Fruit -- I could eat this on its own (greek yogurt -- my fav) but a great dip to serve with fruit -- and only 3 ingredients!

Spinach Salad -- Year after year this salad seems to make an appearance at every family gathering -- Christmas, Thanksgiving, graduations, family reunions, you name it!

Chicken Salad with Cranberries and Walnuts -- A nice spin on chicken salad and nice and light -- just the way I like it.

Desserts included:
White Chocolate Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Frosting -- I thought these flavors seemed great for fall.  This is a denser cupcake so I'm glad I made them mini.  The idea for the chocolate "A" came from a friend -- love this idea!

Pumpkin Blondies -- These have been a hit with everyone who has tried them!

Cake Bites -- Chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting and white chocolate coating.

I will be sharing all of these recipes with you in the coming days and weeks.  If you have any preferences for which I post first, please let me know -- would love to hear from you :)

Side note:  Sarah and Molly are enjoying the weekend together in Charleston.  Wish I was there!!

Cider-Glazed Chicken

I am not a patient person when it comes to food.  When I am hungry, I need food right away; this often leads to me overdoing it on chips and hummus while I'm cooking my dinner and waiting for it to be finished.  By the time my dinner is finally ready, I am full (I still always end up eating it anyways)!  It also causes me to get cranky at restaurants if they don't bring out bread beforehand and I'm pretty sure I always give my mom a mild headache on road trips when I whine in the back seat saying I'm hungry (even though we probably just ate not too long ago).  Anyways, I will work on this problem of mine eventually; but for now, this is the perfect dinner to help me along!  This is fast and easy to make and it's full of Fall flavor!  I served up this apple cider flavored chicken on a bed of spinach drizzled with honey dressing alongside butternut squash with a cinnamon sauce.  I am already looking forward to my dinner the next three nights of the yummy leftovers in the fridge!  

Almond-Stuffed Chicken

I love chicken and have it for dinner at least three times a week.  I was getting tired of plain old grilled chicken and then I found this recipe that Maggie and I made a while back.  This is so easy to make.  You can easily throw it together after a long day at work but it tastes like you spent a whole day in the kitchen.  It is by far one of the tastiest chicken recipes I have ever come across!