Holiday Chicken Salad

Tags

chicken, Christmas, cranberry, foodie, Holiday, luncheon, pecan, recipe, shallot

Spiced pecans and dried cranberries are two of my favorite seasonal flavors. When mixed together, they give a nice holiday spin to a classic recipe making it the perfect dish for a holiday luncheon.

Ingredients:
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, 6 stalks of celery, 4 shallots, 1 c. dried cranberries, 1 c. spiced pecans, mayonnaise

Directions:
Poach chicken breasts and cool completely. Chop celery, shallots, cranberries, and pecans. Shred or cube chicken. Toss ingredients together, using only enough mayonnaise to wet the mixture. Chill for about 6 hours before serving. Mix again before serving.

*Serve on a fresh baked croissant or bed of mixed greens.

XOXO,
Young Wifey

Apple, Caramel, Pecan Pancakes

Tags

apple, breakfast, brunch, caramel, caramel apple, carmel, carmel apple, gourmet breakfast, gourmet brunch, gourmet pancakes, pancakes, pecan, recipe

Mmmmm…

Hubster is trying to cut back on carbs, not eliminate them, just cut back. He loves pancakes, but I wanted to make them a little healthier and satisfy his appetite, while giving him less carbs. There are a few things I did to cut back on carbs, calories and portion size. 1) I made smaller pancakes, portion control. 2) I served them on salad plates, just to trick his brain a bit. 3) I added protein, mmm… pecans. 4) I added fiber, in the form of apple chunks. 5) I swapped out the traditional butter and syrup for drizzled caramel. It had 1/2 the calories of the syrup alone, it stretched further, and not to mention those calories saved from omitting the butter.

Apple, Caramel, Pecan Pancakes

Recipe:
I whipped up a batch of pancakes, adding 1/2 c. ground pecans and a little melted caramel to the batter. I also swapped the in almond extract instead of the vanilla extract and cooked as usual. I topped the hot pancakes with fresh chopped Golden Delicious apples, hot roasted pecans and gooey drippy caramel.

The result? It tasted like a caramel covered apple. Hubster said this was one of his favorite things I’ve ever made by far… Happy Hubster in the morning = A good and productive day!

Mmmmm…

What is your favorite pancake topping?