BBQ Chicken Braid

By the way, for some reason my last post about Liam being 1 month old didn't show up on peoples blog lists. So if you haven't had a chance to read it, take a gander! There are some way cute pictures and a quick video!

Anyways, I have come to realize that baking or cooking more complex meals is difficult with a newborn in the house. As soon as I start cooking Liam is hungry or something and so by the time I finish dinner I have had several distractions. I have decided that during the week I am going to plan relatively easy dinners that don't require a lot of time sensitive steps so I can meet my little mans needs without stressing about my meat burning or something sitting for too long. So on the weekends when Richard is home and not at school I am going to do my fun experimental cooking because he can watch Liam and tend to his needs. Last night was my first night doing that and it was so fun! I decided to try something new and it went REALLY well! In the beginning of our marriage I told Richard to tell me completely honestly what he thought of my dinners. Why would I want him to tell me "it's good" if I could do something to make it even better? So I have asked him to be picky and honest. This dinner got 10 stars from Richard! He said it was perfect and so you can rest assured this recipe is a keeper! :) I got it from My Kitchen Cafe (LOVE that blog!!) so here is the copied recipe from her blog:

BBQ Chicken Braid

p.s. you are lucky I was able to take a picture...Richard was about ready to start devouring it as I was taking this picture.

*Makes 2 large braids (note: I only wanted to make one braid so instead of cutting the French Bread Rolls recipe in half, I just used half of the dough for the braid and made rolls with the other half. Both turned out totally awesome and amazing. I just put the rolls in a ziploc bag after baking them)

1 recipe French Bread Rolls
2 cups shredded, cooked chicken (to save time on measuring I just did a large chicken breast)
1 red onion, sliced into thin half moons (since the onions I swear I bought a couple days ago went M.I.A we didn't include onions. I want to try them next time)
1 1/2 cups barbecue sauce (I used 1/2 a cup on one which was plenty for us)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (we love cheese so I didn't cut it in half which tasted awesome)
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

After the french bread roll recipe has gone through the first rise, split the dough into two parts. Lightly cover one portion and set aside. Roll the other portion into about an 11X17-inch rectangle (note: I used a pizza stone and so I just rolled it out on that. If you want to cook it that way it turned out perfect baking it for the same amount of time). Using a pizza cutter or knife, 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 half of the barbecue sauce down the center strip. Top with the chicken, onions and cheese. Fold the side strips over filling, alternating strips from each side and pressing them into the dough on the opposite side, forming a braid. Pinch or twist to seal.

Place the braid on a lined baking sheet (or whatever you will cook it on) and let rest for 15 minutes. While it is resting, follow the same steps above for the second portion of dough. Bake the first braid for 15-20 minutes (while the second braid is resting), until golden brown and bread is baked through. Remove from oven and bake the second braid.

Let the braids rest for 5 minutes. Using a serrated knife, cut braid into sections and serve warm.

Recipe Source: My Kitchen Cafe (on her blog she has a picture tutorial for how to do the braid if you need it)

So this recipe: success. It is definitely going into our family favorites archive. Hope you enjoy!