Chicken Broccoli Braid

2 cups chicken breasts, chopped and cooked
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups finely diced broccoli florets
¼ cup water
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup mayonnaise
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
2 packaged refrigerated crescent rolls
1 egg white, lightly beaten

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375°. To make the filling, start by dicing 2 heads of broccoli florets. You want these to be pretty small, especially the stems. You should end up with roughly two cups of finely diced broccoli. Place the broccoli in a microwave-safe bowl, add a ¼ cup water and ½ teaspoon salt, cover with plastic wrap, and microwave on high for 3 minutes. You don’t want this cooked through; just zap it long enough to reduce the crunchiness a bit.

Drain the broccoli and add it to a large bowl along with 2 cups of diced, cooked chicken breast and 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese. Mix everything together and set aside. In a small bowl, combine ½ cup of mayonnaise, ½ teaspoon of garlic powder, and ½ teaspoon of onion powder. Whisk the mayo mixture together and pour it over the chicken, cheese, and broccoli, and mix well.

Open two packages of refrigerated crescent rolls and spread them out on a parchment lined baking sheet with the short ends meeting in the middle and the triangles overlapping a bit. Press the dough together with your fingers and smooth out any thick sections.

Spread the filling down the center of the dough and then begin folding each triangle of dough over the filling, overlapping as you go and allowing some of the filling to peek through. With a fork, whip one egg white and brush it on the top of the braid. This will ensure a nice, glossy brown crust.

Bake at 375° for 25 minutes or until done. Be sure that you don’t under-bake this, or you will end up with a doughy crust. Carefully remove the braid to a serving platter (the parchment paper is really helpful here.) Slice with a bread knife; serve and enjoy!

Adapted from: The Pampered Chef