Tuesday, March 8, 2011

What's for dinner? chicken and broccoli braid

I'm making something tonight, derived from a recipe from allrecipes.com, that was too easy, cheap and most importantly, delicious not to share with you. I've tweaked the recipe a bit to appeal to our tastes, what we usually have on hand and our family size (I halved it). The best part is that once you get used to it, it's easy to play around with. I've substituted spinach for the broccoli with great results. I like to mix the ingredients ahead of time (i.e. nap time) and refrigerate them, then assemble and bake at dinner time. Enjoy, and let me know if you try it!

Chicken and Broccoli Braid

Ingredients
1 cup diced, cooked chicken meat
3/4 cup broccoli, finely chopped
1 T. pimento (orig. recipe called for 1/2 cup broc. and 1/4 cup red bell pepper, but we don't eat many peppers around here)
1 small clove garlic, crushed
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon dried dill weed (I've never used dill; I substitute whatever herb I feel like that night, and they've all been delicious.)
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons diced onion
1 (8 ounce) package refrigerated crescent rolls
1/2 egg white, beaten (optional)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees F).
2. In a large bowl, toss together chicken, broccoli, red bell pepper, garlic, Cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, dill weed, salt and onion.
3. Unroll crescent roll dough, and arrange flat on a medium baking sheet. Pinch together perforations to form a single sheet of dough. Using a knife or scissors, cut 1 inch wide strips in towards the center, starting on the long sides. There should be a solid strip about 3 inches wide down the center, with the cut strips forming a fringe down each side. Spread the chicken mixture along the center strip. Fold the side strips over chicken mixture, alternating strips from each side. Pinch or twist to seal. Brush with egg white, if desired.
4. Bake in the preheated oven 25 to 28 minutes, or until golden brown.

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