There are a million chicken salad recipes, but here’s mine! I think the tiny bit of Dijon mustard and splash of balsamic vinegar really make it extra tasty. I also love slivered almonds.

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken*
2 Tbsp olive oil, separated
1 cup celery, finely diced (one regular sized celery rib)
2 Tbsp minced white onion
1/4 cup crushed pecans
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup kefir
1/4 cup full fat mayonnaise
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp dried dill
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 black pepper

1. Preheat your oven to 375°. Place the chicken in an oven-safe dish and drizzle with half the olive oil. Lightly salt and pepper. Bake for about twenty minutes, turning once or twice, or until chicken is fully cooked through. Remove from oven and let cool.

2. Meanwhile, prepare the other ingredients. In a large bowl, toss celery, onion, pecans, and almonds. In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine kefir, mayonnaise, mustard, balsamic vinegar, and lemon juice. Whip with a whisk until well combined, then add sugar. Keep whisking until it becomes silky smooth, then add dill, salt, and pepper. Stir thoroughly and taste; add more salt and/or pepper as desired.

3. Chop the cooked, cooled chicken into chunks of desired size (or shred, if preferred) and mix with the vegetables and nuts in the large bowl. Then pour the dressing over the salad, tossing gently until the ingredients are well mixed.

4. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a lid and cool in refrigerator for at least two hours, or even overnight. To serve, re-stir with a large wooden spoon and eat as a main course, sandwich filling, or green leaf salad topping.

*I used white meat here, but you can use either white or dark; the latter will give your salad a slightly richer flavor and fattier texture.  I wanted a light, crisp, cool salad for summer, so I went with white meat—it’s supposed to hit 106° today!