This is a very simple recipe that requires little time and effort to make it delicious. It can easily be altered from a one person dish to a twelve person dish.
Ingredients:
Instructions:
Boil the chicken breasts in a pan of water on top of the stove. Once fully cooked, drain water and let chicken breasts cool. Note that you can keep this water for another recipe! You have just made homemade chicken broth. Once the chicken breasts have cooled to touch, shred them into small to medium size pieces. In a bowl, mix the shredded chicken, mayonnaise, almond slivers and tarragon. Chill. Serve with bread, buns, or crackers.
Rules for this Chicken Salad:
Ingredients:
- Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
- Dried Tarragon
- Mayonnaise
- Almond Slivers
Instructions:
Boil the chicken breasts in a pan of water on top of the stove. Once fully cooked, drain water and let chicken breasts cool. Note that you can keep this water for another recipe! You have just made homemade chicken broth. Once the chicken breasts have cooled to touch, shred them into small to medium size pieces. In a bowl, mix the shredded chicken, mayonnaise, almond slivers and tarragon. Chill. Serve with bread, buns, or crackers.
Rules for this Chicken Salad:
- Do NOT add any type of flavoring or bouillon to the water when boiling the chicken. You will RUIN the recipe. Obviously, fresh chicken boiled in water makes a fantastic flavor on its own. Don't ruin it with additives.
- I prefer the method of stove top cooking rather than crock pot cooking for this recipe. Crock pot is unnecessary, messy, and lengthy. The stove top method will only take 20 minutes to one hour depending on the amount of chicken breast you are cooking.
- Do not add cranberries to this recipe. Save the cranberries for a separate walnut chicken salad recipe. I've seen a mix and feel that these salad identities should stay separate.
- It is possible to substitute Greek yogurt for mayonnaise if you desire.
- I feel very strongly about using a generous amount of tarragon. It is delicious and I tend to have the most compliments the more I use. The last time I made 8 chicken breasts I actually dumped the entire brand new bottle of tarragon in. Boy did that go over very well!!! However, it should also be known that it is not required to use an entire bottle. Start with a medium amount and then you will learn your preference.
- For a better flavor, make the salad the night before and store in refrigerator. This will allow the tarragon flavor to penetrate the chicken.
- You may choose to add salt or pepper but I typically do not add. People that love sodium never complain about zero salt in this recipe. The tarragon fulfills their senses.
- How much salad do you want? Enough for one person for two meals? Then cook one breast of chicken (if you are a culinary guru then that would be a half of breast...just make one filet!!)