My original plan was to share with you one of my favorite summer recipes for grilling chicken. But here's the thing. It's not my recipe. I found it on one of the very first food blogs I ever started reading, Kalyn's Kitchen. I discovered her site when I did the South Beach Diet years ago and I still like to get her updates.
Anyways, it's a recipe that calls for a marinade of Dijon mustard, lemon juice, and rosemary (among a few other things). I love it. Like many recipes, I have altered it over the years to suit my tastes. For example, I started using chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts, I often omit the celery seed if I don't have any and I sometimes add a little honey. You should totally check it out.
But this recipe is not for the Rosemary Dijon Chicken....it's for a *chicken salad* you can make with the leftovers (or with any leftover chicken for that matter), and more importantly it includes an adorable way of displaying it.
My leftovers only resulted in a little over a cup of cooked chicken. Feel free to double or triple the recipe if you are cooking for a crowd or have a lot of chicken to use up.
As for what to put in the chicken salad...well, this is a very subjective thing. I love the Chicken Salad with Dried Cherries that I posted in the third week of this blog's existence. But I decided to go with what I had on hand, so I did a combo of rosemary, grapes, green onions, toasted almonds, Dijon mustard, Lemonaise and nonfat Greek yogurt. I seasoned with a little salt and pepper and a pinch of cayenne.
But you know me. I couldn't stop there. I just had to do some cutesy way of displaying it. I spotted a couple of pears laying on my counter and thought they would make *perfect* vessels for the chicken salad. The amount of salad I made would fill 4-5 large pears or apples.
To make the cups, be sure to have a bowl of water mixed with lemon juice on hand (this will help prevent browning). Cut the top off the pears or apples. Squeeze a little lemon juice on the exposed portion. Using a melon baller, quickly hollow out the pear and place in the bowl of lemon water. If fruit does not sit upright, cut off a small portion on the bottom as well (and coat with lemon juice).
When ready to serve, scoop chicken salad into the "cups" and place on a platter lined with butter lettuce and garnish with a rosemary sprig. (Wouldn't these be perfect for a bridal or baby shower?!?) Who knew leftovers could be so fun?
by Jaymee Sire
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Keywords: salad gluten-free low-carb chicken rosemary
- 1 cup cooked, chopped chicken
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary, plus more sprigs for garnish
- 3/4 cup seedless grapes, halved
- 1-2 green onions, chopped (depending on taste)
- 1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted (divided use)
- 1/4 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1 heaping tablespoon Lemonaise (or light mayo)
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- pinch cayenne pepper
- salt & pepper, to taste
- 4-5 large pears or apples
- 3-4 lemons
- water
- butter lettuce
- Mix together yogurt, Lemonaise, Dijon mustard, and rosemary. Add chicken, grapes, green onions and half of the almonds. Stir until combined. Season with cayenne, salt and pepper (to taste).
- Add the juice from 3.5 lemons to a large bowl of cold water. Cut the top off the pears or apples. Squeeze a little lemon juice on the exposed portion from the remaining half lemon. Using a melon baller, quickly hollow out the pear and place in the bowl of lemon water. If fruit does not sit upright, cut off a small portion on the bottom as well (and coat with lemon juice).
- When ready to serve, scoop chicken salad into the "cups" and place on a platter lined with butter lettuce and garnish with a small sprig of rosemary. Top with remaining almonds and serve!
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Labels: apple, bridal shower food, chicken, chicken salad, cups, Dijon, gluten free, healthy, leftovers, low carb, low fat, pear, rosemary
