Two-for-Tuesday - Lemonade and Lemon Tarragon Chicken Salad

Real Food is the theme as always at 2-for-Tuesday. This week, I thought I would focus on lemons.



They are basic fruits that can be used in so many dishes, so diverse. You can make a simple refreshing drink for summer enjoyment. After squeezing fresh lemons for a drink...do you still have lemons left? Prepare a cold lemon tarragon chicken salad.



Let's start with the lemonade!

Freshly Squeezed lemonade



Simple natural ingredients..........

1 ½ cups sugar
½ cup boiling water
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
1 ½ cups fresh lemon juice (about 8 large lemons)
5 cups water

Stir together 1 ½ cups sugar ½ cup boiling water until sugar is dissolved. Stir in lemon rind, lemon juice and 5 cups of water. Cover and chill.



If it’s a party and you enjoy cold vodka, employ the lemon in an adult beverage such as a Lemon Drop Martini. We opted for the non-boozy glass of lemonade.




Lemon Tarragon Chicken Salad

Easy and here are the ingredients you'll need.........

½ cup chopped pecans
¾ cup mayo or less if you don’t like a real mayonnasiey salad.
1 TB fresh tarragon (when fresh isn’t available use 1 ½ tsp. dried)
1 TB lemon juice
Salt and pepper
3 cups cooked chopped chicken
1 celery stalk, slice it fine (if you have celery-haters in the house. They won’t notice it in the salad but it does impart a necessary element)
½ small onion, chop it fine


Simple. Arrange pecan pieces on a baking sheet and bake at 350 F for 5 minutes. Cool them on a wire rack for about 15 minutes.

Chop chicken into bits..........



Whisk mayo with tarragon, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Gently fold in chopped chicken, celery and onion and some of the pecans. Sprinkle remaining pecans atop the salad for good looks.

If you saved any lemon slices, garnish your salad with a few juicy looking slices.



A croissant is a natural marriage with this salad....buttery goodness.



Surf over and join the carnival blog hop for Two-for-Tuesday!