Date Completed: 6/4/2021

Today’s recipe is from the Lunch chapter of Magnolia Table by Joanna Gaines.

We have been loving the Magnolia Table TV show! We’ve finished the first two seasons and eagerly await a third. Watching an episode became a Saturday morning tradition for a while. I love her quirky attitude and the fact that she doesn’t take any little mistakes too seriously! Plus the recipes always sounded beyond delicious. I just had to get the cookbook.

I really loved that she dedicates a chapter to lunch. Anyone else struggle with lunches? I am the worst at coming up with lunch that can be put together in just a few minutes between calls. I usually end up with supremely boring lunches that I eat over and over (and over) again.

I definitely wanted to try this chicken salad recipe because chicken salad is another food that I’ve historically not liked. I keep thinking back to that spumoni ice cream that I had hated since childhood, but realized I enjoyed as an adult.

The best thing about this recipe? It is actually easy. I’d love it for that alone!

I used a rotisserie chicken (Joanna also offers a poached chicken recipe, but that’s so much less convenient). I also chopped up some red grapes and green onions.

I threw everything into a bowl with some chopped pecans (I bought them pre-chopped).

Tossed with mayonnaise, salt, and cracked black pepper. That is it!!

As a chicken salad novice, one part I didn’t realize is that it requires at least two hours of chilling time. I didn’t get it done in time for lunch on day 1, but by day 2 it was ready to go! I bought some croissants from the grocery store bakery to serve these on.

Taste Report:

As it turns out, I like chicken salad! I loved the crunchy grapes and bright bite of the green onion. The pecans weren’t that noticeable, but I liked the few hints I did get!

I will say that I didn’t care for the croissant as the bread. It was too overpowering! I tried it again another day between two slices of lightly toasted sandwich bread and that was truly fabulous!

I also liked how long this lasted in the fridge. I’m a big fan of anything I can make ahead and keep enjoying throughout the week.