Yummy Chicken Salad!

I love to cook and one of my favorite things about cooking is trying to recreate the recipe for my favorite foods. Panera Bread's Chicken Salad recipe, for example, was always my favorite! Ever since the first time I ate at St. Louis Bread in Springfield, I have been in love with their Chicken Salad. It was the perfect Chicken Salad... chunks of chicken breast, creamy, yet seasoned perfectly. I've never been a huge fan of fruit and nut chicken salads. They're okay, but I don't really like apples, raisins, walnuts, or pecans in with my mayo-ey mixture. It was like 8 years ago when I first found Panera's greatest recipe and I have tried everything I can think of to recreate it at home. Sour cream, yogurt, mayo, cream cheese, onion, parsley, ranch dressing.... but I could never seem to get the recipe right.

That was until about 4 years ago... I came up with a perfect concoction that was just as good as Panera's (in my opinion). I also happened to join Weight Watcher's shortly after that, so now I've created a slightly lighter version that is still as delish as the full-fat version. I wouldn't say it's healthy or light by any means, but compared to the original, it's a step in the right direction.

Before I share my recipe, I'd like to say that I must be alone in this world when it comes to my love of Panera's Chicken Salad because about a year ago, Panera changed their Chicken Salad. It's now of the fruit and nut variety. I haven't had the heart to try it because I'm still mourning the loss of what was once the best Chicken Salad on the planet!

If you'd like to try my recipe, here you go! It's a perfect summer treat. We've eaten it multiple ways... on crackers with cheese, stuffed in vine-ripened tomatoes (yum!), and just as a plain sandwich. In fact, sometimes I go buy Panera's french bread slices and make myself a classic Panera Chicken Salad sandwich, just to remember the good ol' days!

There are 4 or 5 ingredients
chicken breast, light sour cream, olive oil mayo, ranch powder,
and Tastefully Simple's Spinach and Herb add an extra layer of flavor (if you have it)

I made it without the Spinach and Herb for years and it was still great!

You boil the chicken breast (chicken in water, then bring to boil for 20 minutes-ish)
Then cut it into small pieces. I use kitchen shears for this - one of my favorite inventions!

Here's Tysie during the chicken-cutting part.

She's always waiting for me to throw her a bite or two... or three... or four...

Tysie licking her chops!

"Yummy chicken, Mama"

Then you add equal parts of mayo and sour cream.
How much really depends on how creamy you like it.
Start with 2 "big spoons" full of each... that's what I call the big spoons that come in my silverware set because they're bigger than tablespoons.

Then you also add the ranch powder and spinach and herb seasoning.
1-2 Tbsp of each

Stir!
Chill in the fridge for a few hours to give time for the sour cream and mayo to blend well.


Lately I've been cutting up peppers to eat it on... I like the crunch!

Now we're ready for a picnic or a day at the lake!