Chicken Salad

Chicken Salad

I love Chicken Salad. When I say that, I mean regular, boring chicken salad. No grapes or other things crowding out the basics. This recipe has a little flair, but not too much!

This recipe was found on Rara Bakes, and used with her permission!

I did not follow the quantities listed exactly. I am the only one in my family that will eat this, so I used less chicken, and much, much less pineapple! Make it to your own tastes!

6 chicken breasts

1 (20oz) can crushed pineapple

3/4 cup diced celery

1/3 cup chopped green onions

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper (I used more!)

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup ranch dressing

3/4 cup slivered almonds

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add chicken breasts and cook for 30 minutes, or until done. Dice or shred chicken into small pieces.

Add drained pineapple, celery, onions, salt and pepper. Stir well.

Add mayonnaise and ranch dressing. Stir well.

Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. Stir in almonds just before serving.

This salad goes WONDERFULLY with the Honey Whole Wheat Recipe coming soon!

Happy Eating!

Cilantro Lime chicken!

My last post was a great recipe for Cilantro Lime dressing. Today's recipe is for the great looking chicken in the photo! Paired with the dressing, this is a fabulous meal!

Lime and Cilantro Chicken
(Original Recipe found HERE, but changed to fit my families' tastes!)

Enough skinless, bonesless chicken breasts, cut into strips, to feed your family
Juice of 2 limes (can also use the zest for an extra kick)
2 TB Sugar
2 teas. dried Oregano
1/2 teas. Cayenne
1 teas. ground Cinnamon
2 teas. Cilantro
Vegetable Oil

Mix all the ingredients except for the chicken in a large bowl. Add chicken and set aside to marinate for 30 minutes.

Heat vegetable oil in a large frying pan. Add chicken and cook until done.

Here's the fun part! What to do with the chicken?
1. Salad! Add the chicken to a salad, and be sure to use Cilantro Lime Dressing over the entire thing!
2. Make burritos! We made ours with black beans, chicken, salsa, guacamole, sour cream, and cheese.
3. Add onions and peppers to the pan to make Fajita's!

What can you come up with? My husband took one bite of this chicken and said "WOW!" This is a keeper in our house for sure!

Recipe Series Part 11- Cilantro Lime Dressing

I found this amazing recipe on Rara Bakes.
It's a great food blog! Check it out today!

This dressing is similiar to the salad dressing at some mexican places like Cafe Rio and Bajio. Pour it over your salad, or any mexican dish.
Easy to make, fabulous to eat!

Creamy Lime Cilantro Dressing

1 packet Hidden Valley Buttermilk Ranch Dressing Mix
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 lime
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro
1/4 cup La Costena green salsa (I used another brand!)

Put dressing mix, mayonnaise, and buttermilk in the blender. Juice the lime into the blender. Peel the garlic cloves and then grate them using the small end of a cheese grater. Add to the blender. Add cilantro and green salsa.

Blend until everything is well-combined and then refrigerate for several hours before serving.

Easy, right? And best of all, it's sooo yummy!

Look for my next recipe post- some fabulous chicken that pairs perfectly with this dressing!

Recipe Series Part 10- Crockpot Applesauce

I had some extra apples lying around, so I thought I would make applesauce. It was so easy to make! I think I'm going to make it from now on!

Here is the recipe I used. It turned out tasting just like the inside of an Apple Pie! If you don't want it to be as sugary, or taste like apple pie, you can use less spices!

6-8 Apples, peeled, sliced
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 to 1teas. Pumpkin Pie spice (or add cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves)

Place all ingredients in a crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 6 hrs, or on high for about 3 hrs. Mash all the apples, and Enjoy!

Where is that recipe?

Do you get stuck in recipe ruts--making the same things over and over again? If so, these are great websites to browse for recipes and new cooking ideas:

http://foodgawker.com/
http://www.tastespotting.com/
http://allrecipes.com/
Also try: http://rarabakes.blogspot.com/ for unique and fun recipes!

My goal is to make at least one new thing every week. It's always a pleasant surprise to come across new favorites!

These websites are also great for using up those "random" leftover ingredients that you have. Just type in an ingredient or two into the search features and see what comes up.

Happy cooking!

Post by Caramel Jubilee

Recipe Series Part 9

Strawberry Cheesecake Trifle

By Vanessa

One of my favorite things about summer is fresh and sweet strawberries! We can find strawberries here in Arizona almost all year round. The only problem is they are not always sweet. Here is a delicious trifle recipe I enjoy making with fresh strawberries and cream cheese. Mmmm tasty!!

Strawberry Cheesecake Trifle

2 8oz packages of cream cheese softened

2 cups powdered sugar

1 8oz container of sour cream

½ tsp vanilla

1 cup cool whip

4 tablespoons sugar

1 angel food cake or pound cake cut into bite size pieces

2 quarts fresh strawberries thinly sliced

In a large bowl beat cream cheese and powdered sugar until light and fluffy; add sour cream, ½ tsp vanilla

Fold the cool whip into cream cheese mixture

Fold in cake pieces; set aside

Combine strawberries and sugar (stir until sugar is dissolved)

Layer in a large glass bowl or trifle dish (alternating with 1/4 of the strawberries 1/3 of the cake mixture finishing with strawberries)

Cover with plastic wrap and chill several hours

Enjoy!!

Vanessa
Bears Baked Goods

Recipe Series! Bread Machine Challah Bread

Bread Machine Challah Bread

Italian Spiced Challah Bread!

I wanted to make bread in my bread machine, so I searched for a good recipe. This one is A-mazing! Very easy to make, and you can turn it into so many different flavors! Here we go!

Ingredients:
3/4 cup Milk
3 Eggs
3 TB margarine/butter
3 cups bread flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teas. salt
1 1/2 teas. active dry yeast

1. Add ingredients to the pan of the bread machine in the order suggested by the manufacturer. (Usually wet ingredients first, and then dry)

Then do EITHER of these options:
A. Select Basic Bread and Light Crust settings. Start. Bread will be cooked completely!
B.(I did it this way) Select DOUGH settings and press Start.

1. After the machine is done, take the dough out, and place it on a very lightly floured board, punch the dough down, and let rest for 5 minutes.
2. Divide the dough in half. Then divide into 3 equal pieces, roll into ropes about 12 to 14 inches, and braid into a loaf. Do the same with the remaining other half. Gently put the loaves on a greased cookie sheet, mist with water, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours in a warm, draft free place, until double in size.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a small bowl, beat together 1 egg and 1 tablespoon water.
4. Brush risen loaves with egg mixture. Sprinkle with sugar. (optional)
5. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Then, cover loosely with foil, and bake for another 10-15 minutes. This prevents the crust from browning too soon.

Then, check out all the variations I have thought of... and let me know if you come up with more!
* Add 1-2TB Italian herbs to dough. Sprinkle garlic powder on top of loaf after spreading egg/water mixture. This tastes BETTER than Italian Bakery Bread! (The top picture is of the Italian bread!)

* Add Cinnamon, Sugar, Nutmeg to dough. After cooking, drizzle cinnamon roll frosting on top!

*At your machine's add-in cycle, add shredded cheese and spices.

Recipe Series!

Soy-Ginger Chicken with Soy Rice
Recipe adapted by Krista- DoubleDippedSweets
Spices provided by Elaine - LegendSpiceCompany

First thing first. Click on the link for LegendSpiceCompany, and order some of her Marco Polo's Ginger Rub.
When it arrives, you are ready for a wonderful meal!

Ingredients:
Chicken Breast, enough for family
Soy Sauce
Marco Polo's Ginger Rub

Preheat oven to 400

Put chicken breasts in a baking dish. Pour Soy Sauce over chicken, leaving some in the bottom of the dish.
Generously sprinkle Marco Polo's Ginger Rub over each chicken.

Cover with foil, and cook for 30min. Remove foil, and cook for 30 min.

In the meantime, make your favorite rice. When the chicken is done, pour the extra sauce through a strainer over the rice! You have instant spiced, yummy rice!

Serve with veggies, and you have a wonderful meal!

Recipe Series part 8 - Feta Chicken Bake

Easy Feta Chicken Bake
Submitted by SweetTreatMaryann

6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (about 2 lb.)
2 Tbsp. lemon juice, divided
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
4 oz. Crumbled Feta Cheese with Basil & Tomato
1/4 cup finely chopped red pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Arrange chicken in 13x9-inch baking dish.
DRIZZLE with 1 Tbsp. of the lemon juice. Season with salt and black pepper. Top with feta cheese; drizzle with remaining 1 Tbsp. lemon juice.

BAKE 35 to 40 min. or until chicken is cooked through. Sprinkle with red pepper and parsley.

Recipe courtesy of Kraft Kitchens

Recipe Series part 7 - Weight Watchers Recipe!

Some members of Team EEAT have banded together and resolved to lose weight! Here is one of the wonderful recipes that has been shared. I've made this (with slight spice variation) and found it to be sooo delish! Hard to believe it's good for you!

Turkey Burgers
Points: 3 (w/out bun)

16 oz lean ground turkey
2 tsp table salt
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tbsp seasoned bread crumbs
2 thinly sliced green onions

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and shape into a Hamburger. Cook on the grill, until burger is well done about 8 minutes. The 3 points is just for the patty, so I suggest paring it with a whole wheat bun! Or if you really want to stay at the 3 points some bib lettuce!

The great part about this recipe is that you can add all the lettuce and tomatoes you want for 0 points! Also, A-1 sauce is soooo healthy! Have a good dinner!

Get cooking healthy!

Recipe Series part 6 - Chicken and Broccoli Braid

This is one of my personal favorites, and would make it a lot more often if I could.

This recipe and the original picture can also be found here: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chicken-and-Broccoli-Braid/Detail.aspx (giving credit where credit is due!)

Ingredients:
* 2 cups diced, cooked chicken meat
* 1 cup fresh broccoli, chopped
* 1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
* 1 clove crushed garlic
* 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
* 1/2 cup mayonnaise
* 2 teaspoons dried dill weed
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 2 tablespoons slivered almonds
* 1/4 cup diced onion
* 2 (8 ounce) packages refrigerated crescent rolls
* 1 egg white, beaten


DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees F).
2. In a large bowl, toss together chicken, broccoli, red bell pepper, garlic, Cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, dill weed, salt, almonds and onion.
3. Unroll crescent roll dough, and arrange flat on a medium baking sheet. Pinch together perforations to form a single sheet of dough. Using a knife or scissors, 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 the chicken mixture along the center strip. Fold the side strips over chicken mixture, alternating strips from each side. Pinch or twist to seal.
4. Brush braided dough with the egg white. Bake in the preheated oven 25 to 28 minutes, or until golden brown.

My hubby, who hates all things with mayo and food combinations, really liked this!

Good Eating!

Recipe Series Part 5 - Thai food!

Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce

and Coconut Jasmine Rice

from: The Cook's Encyclopedia of Thai Cooking
This is one of my favorite Thai recipes. It is very easy to make and tastes better than most Thai Resturants!

Serves Four
Ingredients:4 skinless, boneless chicken breast portions (or how many you need for your family)

For the Marinade:

2 Garlic cloves, crushed (I use fresh minced)
1 inch piece of Fresh root ginger, finely grated. (You can get marinated ginger in a jar in thai section of the grocery store. It's red)
2tsp Thai Fish Sauce (add it, it's yummy!)
2TB light soy sauce1 TB clear honey

For the Satay Sauce
6 TB crunchy Peanut Butter
1 fresh red chili, seeded and finely chopped
juice of 1 lime
4 TB coconut milk
salt

Slice chicken into strips, or chunks. Put all the marinade ingredients in a large bowl, and mix well, then add the chicken and toss together until thouroughly coated. Cover and leave for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator to marinate. (The longer you marinate, the better)

Meanwhile, soak 16 wooden satay (or kabob) sticks in water, to prevent them from burning during cooking.

Make the Satay Sauce.
Put all the ingredients in a food processor or blender. Process until smooth, then check the seasoning and add more salt or lime juice (or peanut butter) if needed. Spoon the sauce into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside. (This sauce is pretty thick, but I like it better than any others I've tried!)

Preheat the grill or broiler to high. Drain the satay sticks. Drain the Chicken. Thread chicken on sticks. Grill or broil, for 3 minutes on each side, or until the chicken is golden brown and cooked through. Serve immediately with the satay sauce!

This is SUPER YUMMY with Coconut Jasmine rice, or plain Jasmine Rice.

Coconut Jasmine Rice

Serves 4-6
Ingredients
1 cup water
2 cups coconut milk
1/2 tsp salt
2 TB sugar
2 2/3 cups jasmine rice (this is usually sold in grocery stores. super yummy rice)

1. Place the measure water, coconut milk, salt, and sugar in a heavy pan.

2. Rinse the rice in several changes of cold water until it runs through. (This gets the extra starch off- I use a colander)

3. Add the Jasmine Rice to the liquid, cover tightly with a lid and brint to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer gently, without lifting the lid unnecessarilky, for 15-20 minutes, until the rice is tender and cooked through.

4. Turn off the heat and leave the rice to rest in the pain, still covered with the lid, for a further 5-10 minutes.

5. Gently fluff up the rice grains with a fork before serving.

Cook's tip from the book:For a special occasion serve in a halved p apaya and garnish with thin shreds of fresh coconut. Use a vegetable peeler to pare the coconut finely, as you would when making curls of Parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

Recipe Series Part 4 - Meat Sauce!

This week's recipe is brought to us by Sweet Treats by Maryann!

This is going to be hard because I don't really use recipes, just by sight and smell and texture and of course taste, but here goes; this one came about one night when I was trying to use up some left overs before they went bad. I used fresh peppers from our garden and fresh basil too. My whole family loved it so I thought it passed the test....

Everything But the Kitchen Sink Meat Sauce
(use over your favorite pasta or also great for stuffing peppers)

1/2 lb extra lean ground beef
1/2 lb lean ground pork
26 oz jar of your favorite tomato sauce
14 oz can of Italian Style diced tomatoes(juice included)
2 TB Italian seasoning
1 TB garlic powder
1 TB olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 large green pepper,diced
1 small red pepper,diced
1 small zucchini, diced
1 small package of sliced mushrooms
3-4 fresh basil leaves, julianned
salt and pepper to taste

Start by adding olive oil to skillet on medium high heat, add onion,peppers,zucchini and mushrooms. Salt and pepper to taste. Saute until onions turn clear.

Meanwhile in another skillet brown your meats, season with Italian seasoning and garlic, drain well and set aside.

Add can of diced tomatoes to veggie mixture, simmer for ten minutes and then add in the jar of tomato sauce, cover and simmer for another ten minutes. Combine veggies and meat mixture, mix together well and top your favorite pasta. Enjoy!

Recipe Series Part 3 - Tomato Soup

Tomato Soup
by JustBakin'

1 stick of butter
2 medium onions chopped
2 cloves of garlic chopped
3 cups chicken stock
1 28 oz. can of whole peeled tomatoes
salt & pepper

Melt butter in heavy soup pot. Add onions and garlic and cook until soft. Add stock and whole can of tomatoes and their juices. Bring to a boil and let simmer as long as you can. Add salt & pepper to taste.
In batches puree the life out of it in a blender. (Remember to take the tiny cup out of the blender lid and cover with a towel and your hand-so the heat doesn't make it explode!)
You can add some cream if you'd like but it is not necessary.
Serve with cheese, croutons, sour cream, chives.....whatever you like!

This soup is about $5 to make and yeilds quite a bit...enough for a family of 4 for sure!

Recipe Series, Part 2

This weeks recipe comes from TheFetchingHound

Pizza Dough!

3 cups flour (I sometimes do half wheat half white)
1 cup warm water
1 heaping tablespoon yeast or 1 packet if pre-measured
salt
2 tablespoon oil

I use my stand mixer and begin with the paddle and mix everything together. Then I switch to the dough hook and let it go a good 5 to 10 minutes.

Sometimes I add Italian seasoning right into the dough.

Spray 2 pizza pans or oil and cover dough right on them. 15 min to rise. Spread dough and cook in a 500 oven for ten minutes and then reduce heat to 350 and cook 10 minutes more

quick and easy!

Editors note: The alfredo sauce recipe from Part 1 works really well as a pizza sauce! Make it a little thicker, and top with chicken, garlic, parmesean, onion...yum!)

Recipe Series, Part 1

What do you expect from a food team? Food, right? Right! So, Team EEAT is proud to present our Recipe Series! We will be posting personal recipes about once weekly, that you can try at home!

The first recipe is brought to you by Double Dipped Sweets!


Chicken Alfredo

Cooked Pasta
Cooked Chicken, shredded or bite sized

Sauce:
1 block Cream Cheese
1 CUBE of Butter (can use less)
1/2 to 3/4 cup Milk (I use 3/4 for a thinner sauce. Use less for a pizza sauce)
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 TB Basil
1 Teas Garlic
Pepper to taste

Nutmeg

Combine all ingredients, except Nutmeg, and heat until melted, stirring frequently.

Toss over Pasta and Chicken

Sprinkle Nutmeg over the entire dish! This is the “secret” ingredient that gives it a punch! Trust me, this is amazing!