Hollywood Chicken Salad Sandwich

Why Hollywood?  Because that's where I live and I love it! This is a perfect lunch for those warm Spring or Summer days.  It can be made ahead of time, and it's so flavorful, with a touch of natural sweetness. It's not slimy or squishy, and covered in mayonnaise like so many chicken salads out there. It's very light feeling, a perfect mix of flavors.  It's ultimately a lighter, tastier version of a chicken salad sandwich.  Enjoy!

Hollywood Chicken Salad Sandwich

4                            Chicken breasts (cooked and shredded)
1 cup                     Celery (diced)
1/2 cup                  Pecans (chopped)
1/2 cup                  Dried Cranberries or Dried chopped cherries
8 pcs                     Toast
1/2 cup + 1 Tbs    Mayonnaise
1/4 cup + 2 Tbs    Apple juice
3 Tbs                     Honey
3 tsp                      Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tsp                      Yellow Mustard
1 Tbs                     Poppy Seeds
                              Salt
                              Pepper

Combine shredded chicken (I cooked mine in the crockpot for a few hours with some chicken broth), celery, pecans, and cranberries.  In a separate bowl combine the mayonnaise, apple juice, honey, vinegar, mustard, and poppy seeds and mix. Pour the liquid over the chicken mixture and toss together.  (I'll be honest, I just tossed it all in the same bowl one ingredient at a time and then mixed, just to save myself from washing a second bowl :)). Add salt and pepper to taste.  If it feels like it needs a little more liquid feel free to add a little extra mayo and/or apple juice to your liking. Serve as a sandwich on your favorite kind of toast.

Animal Friendly Decor

It would seem that a new fun decorating idea is animal heads, in a much animal friendlier way... From Urban Outfitters to Anthropology and Etsy you can find various animal vestiges to adorn your walls, made of paper mache, plaster, cardboard, and even material.  Animal trophies seem to be the new three dimensional art, adding color and whimsy to any space.

1.  Deer Head at Etsy.  2.  Yeti from Etsy by Cody Williams.  3.  Wall Tentacle at Etsy.  4.  Horrible Adorable Creature by Jordan-Elise.  5.  Rhino Bust from Anthropologie.

RELAUNCH!!!

I am incredibly excited to relaunch this site!  Tastylifestyle.com was originally devoted to my love of food, but I thought why limit myself to only one of the many things I love. It will now include DIY projects, fashion, adventures, and fun!  Above is a picture of me and my new husband...life has been good.  We escaped to Catalina, a little island off the California coast and got married, just the two of us (and our random passerby witness).  The picture above, however, was from a previous sailing trip to Catalina, at the beginning of our relationship.  What you can't see in this picture is the major road rash down the back of my shoulder, elbow, arm, thigh, knee, ankle and insides of my hands (scars to prove it) after wiping out on a rental bicycle on the island!  (Apparently riding a bike after an extended leave from it isn't quite "just like riding a bike") 

Anyhow, I have many new projects starting in my life and I am hopeful and excited to share them with you! Check back tomorrow, for my first new site post!