Blueberry Chicken Salad with Sage Butter Biscuits

This chicken salad came about as some other of my recipes do, simply because I'm trying to use what I have on hand, instead of going to the store and spending more money.  Does anyone else do this?  We were going to small group and everyone was supposed to bring an appetizer.  My mind was drawing a blank, though, so a friend inspired me by suggesting chicken salad in cream puffs (which, by the way, would be awesome--I just didn't want to spend the time to make the cream puffs, but someone really should tackle this!), which made me decide on chicken salad.

I found a great recipe tucked away in my collection that I had saved from a Better Homes & Gardens magazine in 2008.  I altered the chicken salad recipe a bit, but kept the original biscuit recipe.  There weren't any sandwiches left after our dinner, so I guess you could say that everyone liked them.

Chicken salad recipes are wonderful, but everyone has a different opinion on the proportions of dressing to chicken and other ingredients.  The recipe below is what I used, so you may need to adjust it to fit your own chicken salad preference.

These would be great for a shower, luncheon, or just make the chicken salad and serve it on a bed of lettuce. Hope you all enjoy!

Blueberry Chicken Salad:
2 cooked chicken breasts, cut into small cubes
1/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon mayonnaise
2 Tablespoons sour cream
Blueberries
Craisins
Slivered Almonds
chopped fresh chives
salt and pepper to taste

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine chicken, mayonnaise and sour cream.  Gently stir in as many blueberries, craisins, almonds and chives as you desire.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Chill for at least an hour before using.  Spoon onto Sage Butter Biscuits (recipe below).

recipe adapted from Better Homes &Gardens, April, 2008

Sage Butter Biscuits:
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup chilled, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Preheat oven to 425F.  In a small bowl, whisk together milk and egg until blended; set aside.  Blend flour, baking powder, salt, sage and pepper with a pastry knife, or in a food processor.  Add cold butter and pulse or quickly blend with pastry knife until mixture resembles coarse meal.  Do not overmix.  Add milk mixture and process just until moist clumps begin to form.  Transfer dough to a floured surface.

Knead dough until it holds together (this part was tricky for me because my dough was super moist.  I probably added about 1/2 cup of flour to the dough by the time I was done kneading it) about 6 turns.  Roll out dough to 1/2-inch thickness.  Using a floured biscuit cutter, or the rim of a small drinking glass, cut out biscuits.  Reroll scraps and cut remaining biscuits.  Transfer to a large nonstick or lightly greased baking sheet.

Bake until golden brown, 10-12 minutes.  Slice in half and spoon in Blueberry Chicken Salad.

recipe slightly adapted from Better Homes & Gardens, April, 2008


Linking to: Strictly Homemade Tuesday at Strictly Homemade

and

Cheddar Bay Biscuits

The Recipe:

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 cup butter, cut into cubes

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 tablespoon parsley flakes

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup milk

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1 teaspoon garlic salt

Mix flour, salt and baking powder in a mixing bowl.  Using a pastry knife, cut in the cubes of butter until the mixture is crumbly.  Stir in the cheese and parsley flakes.  Mix in sour cream and milk until well combined.  Drop by spoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet (this makes about 12).  Bake in a 400F oven for 9-12 minutes.  Remove from oven.  Mix the melted butter and garlic salt, then brush on top of the biscuits.  Serve immediately.

*Recipe courtesy of my sister-in-law