Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Braid

For some reason, yesterday I was so hungry for a warm, cheesy, bready, comforting meal. I didn't have things on hand to make pizza or Stromboli, but I did happen to have a surplus of broccoli, cherry tomatoes, and chicken--already cooked and shredded. I googled all of those ingredients with "bread" behind it and came up with this idea. I had to tweak it a lot--it had a full cup of mayo in it which makes me sort of sqeamish...mayo falls in the line of ketchup and mustard...just not our favorites! It was made with Pillsbury crescent dough, too, which I also have some weird resentment toward...I guess too many Pampered Chef recipes as a newly wed.
So, here's the recipe completely "Londa style". I don't know if that's a good thing or not, but we all loved this!

Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Braid

• 2 cups cooked chicken, roughly chopped
• 2 cups lightly steamed broccoli
• 1 cup sliced cherry tomatoes
  
• 1/3 cup light mayonnaise (next time I think I'll try light cream cheese)
  
• 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese
  
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
• 1 recipe of honey wheat bread dough (listed below)
  

Combine chicken, broccoli, mayonnaise, cheeses, tomatoes, onion powder, garlic powder, thyme, and dill. Cover and refrigerate 4 hours to let flavors meld. (They resemble a Ranch dressing flavor.)

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Roll dough into a very large rectangle.

Spoon the chicken mixture down the center of the rectangle.

Use a sharp knife to cut 1 inch strips on a diagonal outward from the filling to the edge of the dough on both sides, making sure you have an equal number of strips on each side. Begin and take one strip from each side and pull them over the filling. Continue until all strips are folded over. It should look braided. Form into a wreath on a cookie sheet. Brush the top with olive oil.

Bake for 25 minutes, until golden. Let rest for 10 minutes before cutting to serve.

Yield: 1 braid

Honey & Wheat Bread Dough:
1 c. warm water
1 tsp. salt
2 T. honey
1 egg
2 c. flour
1 1/3 c. whole wheat flour
2 tsp. active dry yeast

Put all ingredients in bread maker and set to dough setting. Stop machine right before it does it's final kneading (about 3 minutes from the end). This way is all raised and ready to roll.

My trusty old bread machine which is quickly turning into an antique--but it does the job well!
I love it for making bread dough!

My lovely dough rolling assistant. She put the final touches on the rectangle.

Loaded and ready to "braid".

This part may sound or look tricky, but it was amazingly easy.
If I can do it, anyone can!

Brushed with olive oil and ready to bake!

Golden brown and ready to serve!
(Sorry, my baking sheet is looking a little too well "loved"!)

Yum!
Do you like my fine china?
Some nights just call for easy clean-up!

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