Happy Spring!!! 

In honor of spring, I am giving you my all-time favorite, super amazing chicken salad recipe as well as my all-time favorite, super amazing roll recipe. Seriously. This is the best chicken salad recipe you will find. I've stopped looking at other chicken salad recipes because they don't even compare. It has orange zest and pecans and cranberry sauce and lots of other deliciousness. Promise me you'll at least try it :) And while you're cutting up the green onions or zesting the orange? mmmmmmmm….the smells are intoxicating. You'll really feel like spring is here (until you look out your window and there's still snow on the ground…boo)!

Cranberry-Orange Chicken Salad

(from Our Best Bites cookbook)

Ingredients:

1 lb (about 2 cups) chopped chicken (I make it easy and just buy a rotisserie chicken)

1 c celery, chopped

1/3 chopped green onions (5-6 onions)

Zest of 1 medium orange (about 1T) (I also squeeze some of the juice-makes it even yummier)

1/2 c craisins (I chop them up)

1/2 c mayonnaise (I'd love to try this with vegenaise…has anyone used vegenaise before? What does it taste like?)

1 t coarse grain mustard

2 T cranberry sauce (I always buy the kind with the whole cranberries in it. And I also add a crap load more than the 2T they suggest. I do like 6-8T)

1/2 t salt

1/2 t fresh ground pepper

1/2 c chopped pecans, toasted

Rolls (recipe below) (you can also use croissants or pita pockets or something if you don't like rolls…but who doesn't like rolls? Actually, a buttery croissant would be pretty darn good with this. But, the rolls have butter in them and on them, so I guess they're just as good. You be the judge.)

Instructions:

1. In a bowl, combine chicken, celery, green onions, orange zest (and juice), and craisins.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, mustard, cranberry sauce, salt, and pepper. Add to the chicken mixture and toss to fully combine. This salad is best refrigerated for several hours before serving.
3. Just before serving, add the toasted pecans. Serve on a croissant or roll.

Beautiful (burger) Buns

(from, believe it or not, King Arthur flour haha)

Ingredients:

3/4 to 1 c lukewarm water*

2 T butter (softened)

1 large egg

3 1/2 c flour

1/4 c sugar

1 1/4 t salt

1 T instant yeast

*For best results (a smooth, slightly soft dough), use the smaller amount of water in summer (or a humid environment), and the greater amount in winter (or in a dry climate)

Topping

3 T melted butter

Directions:

1. Mix and knead all of the ingredients to make a soft, smooth dough. I think this took me like 3-5 minutes. Not long at all.
2. Cover the dough, and let it rise for 1 to 2 hours, or until it's nearly doubled in size.
3. Gently deflate the dough, and divide it into 8 pieces. Shape each piece into a round ball, then flatten it to about 3" across. Place the buns on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover, and let rise for about an hour, until noticeably puffy.
4. Brush the buns with about half the melted butter.
5. Bake the buns in a preheated 375˚F oven for 15 to 18 minutes, until golden. Remove them from the oven, and brush with the remaining melted butter. This will give the buns a satiny, buttery crust.
6. Cool the buns on a rack.

Yield: 8 large buns

This is the best normal bun recipe I've found so far, but I'd love to hear any of your favorites! I'm always looking to tweak and make recipes even better than what I have :)