Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad

Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad

Summer time is dwindling to a bittersweet end, and I find myself trying to make as many summery meals as possible before it's over. I have a special place for summer in my heart. All throughout high school and college I was a lifeguard during the summer. Any job that pays to lay around the pool all day sounded like a dream job to me. Now that I'm older I try and stay out of the sun. Without my daily trips to the pool or working in the yard (mosquitos have been bad), I have had time on my hands to work on new recipes.

We have a Chicken Salad Chick down the way from our house and we are slightly addicted. I have their rewards app on my phone because we rack up enough points on a regular basis to get a pound for free when guests come into town. It reminds me of a local grocery store I grew up with in Florida that made their own chicken salad. It was a prized possession if you brought their chicken salad in your lunch that day. Everyone wanted to trade you or at least have a small bite of your meal. 

When a meal is that good, you remember it. Every last detail of it - the flavor, the consistency, the smell. Like a chicken salad-possessed zombie, I started walking around our grocery store guessing the ingredients that composed that chicken salad I loved so long ago. Slivered almonds, chunky celery, lemon....I was on a roll. As I do with most mayonnaise and sour cream based recipes, I decided to throw some greek yogurt into the mix and see how it would taste. Turns out, it came together pretty perfectly. Enjoy this chicken salad recipe with crunchy bacon and lettuce on a toasted croissant. We used dill havarti as the cheese, which you can find at most deli sections in your local grocery store.

Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad

Preparation: 25 min

                  Cook Time: 0 min  Total Time: 25 min                       

Ingredients

        

          2 tsp fresh chopped parsley

          4 chicken breasts, butterflied

          3 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

          8 oz plain greek yogurt

          1/3 cup olive oil mayonnaise

          2 celery stalks, diced

          4 green onion stalks, chopped

          1/4 cup slivered onions

          1 tsp garlic powder

          1 tsp onion powder

          1 tsp salt

          Pepper to taste

Instructions

        

          In a large pot, place your chicken breasts and fill the pot with water. Bring to a boil on medium/high 

          heat. Keep the water at a rolling boil until the chicken is cooked through (about 10-15 minutes). 

          Remove the chicken from the water and place on a cutting board. Cut half the chicken into cubes 

          and cut the other half into a fine dice. This is to create texture in your chicken salad. Add the chicken 

          into a large bowl and allow to cool. Dice your celery and green onion and add to the bowl. Chop your 

          parsley until it is fine. Add your chopped parsley, almonds, greek yogurt, mayo, lemon juice and spices to 

          the bowl and mix. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill (about 2 hours). I serve mine 

          with lettuce, avocado, havarti cheese and crunchy bacon on a toasted croissant.