Raspberry Chicken Salad

Raspberry Dressing 
¼ cup raspberry preserves

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon raspberry vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
A handful of berries for texture (we used a few strawberries and raspberries)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Use an immersion blender, or food processor, to blend the above ingredients together. This made enough dressing for two salads in my household.


Salad
Mix together the following ingredients to create the salad base. Use as many of the ingredients as you’d like according to your tastes.

• Spring Mix
• Arugula
• Cooked Chicken
• Raspberries
• Chives
• Feta Cheese
• Grape tomato halves
• Bacon crumbles

The inspiration for this salad was found from: Raspberry-Chicken Salad

Irish Cheddar Stout Bread

While my husband is planning to make an Irish beef and potato stew for dinner, I decided to cap dinner with an Irish bread to dip in the stew. After all, St. Patrick’s Day is coming up in less than two weeks. 

I researched some breads and looked at the flours I had. I created this recipe from a conglomerate of blogs and books, taking into consideration the ingredients that were in my pantry and fridge.

The dough was a giveaway for how tasty this bread would turn out. Although it was darker in color than the final product, the dough was sweet and yeasty, without any yeast. The beer and the cheese added a unique depth that brought me to the pub from my kitchen.

The final bread should be on every table on St. Patrick’s Day. It has a thick rustic and buttery crust, with a soft and sweet center that tastes like whole grain. However, I used all-purpose flour, so I believe the Guinness beer added a yeasty taste. 

Overall, let me just say that we ate five slices before the stew was even done.

Irish Cheddar Stout Bread Recipe
Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar
• 12 ounces Guinness (or other stout beer)
• 1 Tablespoon butter

Method
1. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

3. Gently, toss the cheese into the flour mixture. Make sure that each strand is coated well.

4. Add the Guinness and stir until just combined. Double check that flour at the bottom of the bowl has been incorporated.

5. Pour the dough into the loaf pan and let it rest for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

6. Bake in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes. Remove from the oven and rub the butter into the top crust. Bake for an additional 5 minutes.

7. Let the loaf stand for five minutes on a cooling rack. Then, pull the parchment paper up from the pan and allow the bread to cool completely. 

Chocolate Cherry Brownies

I love chocolate covered cherries. Love. Love. Love. When I came across this recipe from Six Sister’s Stuff, I pinned it immediately. And then did what I always do: Pinned way too many more things and forgot about them.

Almost three years later, I rediscover the pin! I made my own few changes to the original recipe. Dang, these were good. They were so good the entire pan didn’t make it twenty four hours. Book club ate half the pan. Others, who shall not be named, ate the other half.

Chocolate Cherry Brownies

Makes 24 - 30 brownies (depending on cut)

Ingredients

1 box brownie mix and ingredients needed to make it

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 6 oz jar maraschino cherries, cherries chopped and juice set aside

3 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar

1 cup mini chocolate chips, separated

2 Tbsp Crisco, or other vegetable shortening

1 bag milk chocolate chips

Method

1. Prepare the brownies according to the box directions. Set aside and cool completely.

2. In the bowl of a mixer, mix butter with 5 tablespoons of juice from the maraschino cherry jar. There will be a pool of juice in the bottom.

3. Slowly add confectioner’s sugar to the butter mixture until fully incorporated into a loose frosting. Slowly fold in maraschino cherries and ½ cup mini chocolate chips with a wooden spoon.

4. Using a spatula, smooth the cherry frosting over the cooled brownies.

5. Heat the Crisco and milk chocolate chips in a saucepan over low heat. Stir constantly so the chocolate does not burn.

6. Pour the melted chocolate over the frosting layer. Sprinkle remaining mini chips on the top of the melted chocolate layer.

7. Place the layered brownies in the fridge to set. Cut using a thick, sharp knife. 

New Orleans BBQ Shrimp

Stuck indoors. Snow on the ground. Stuck in doors. Husband is work. Stuck in doors. Need something to pass the time.

What do I have in my pantry and fridge? Shrimp. Hot sauce.  Garlic. Half of a lemon. Half a bottle of wine. No chicken. Frozen pork chops will take a while to defrost. Hmmm.

Pinterest should give me ideas. Closet Cooking just did a post on shrimp! Click. Sweet, I have all of the ingredients.

This recipe was so easy and most of the ingredients are things I have on hand. Worchestershire. Hot sauce. Butter. Wine. Spices. It didn’t take long to cook at all with minimal prep work. The blog’s recipe did call for creole seasoning. I don’t have any pre-made, so this was one part I specifically put together based on some recipes I looked for online, what was in my spice drawer, and my own taste palette. A lot of recipes called for a lot of thyme. Thyme is not my favorite spice, so I drastically reduced it.

The sauce was finger licking good. I actually took a spatula around the pan and licked up the rest before I washed the pan. Seriously good. It is so good, that when I make this again, I plan on adding some chicken. Perhaps some sausage. And bread, definitely bread, so I can scoop up the awesome sauce.

New Orleans BBQ Shrimp Recipe
Serves 2

Ingredients
2 Tablespoons butter
3 cloves of garlic, minced
¼ cup hot sauce (Franks or Sriracha)
¼ cup Worcestershire
1/3 cup red wine
2 Tbsp lemon juice (1/2 of lemon)
Creole seasoning (see recipe below)
1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 Tbsp butter, cut into ½ inch pieces
Ground black pepper to taste
Salt to taste

Creole Seasoning
2 Tbsp smoked paprika
1 Tbsp black pepper
2 tsp garlic salt
2 tsp oregano
¼ tsp thyme
¼ tsp cayenne

Method
1. In a small bowl, make the creole seasoning by mixing the spices together on the ingredients list. Set aside. 

2. Melt the butter in a pan, then add the garlic until it warms. Add the hot cause, Worcestershire sauce, wine, lemon juice, creole seasoning and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook until the sauce is reduced, about six minutes.

3. Add the shrimp and cook until cooked through, about four minutes (depends) on the size of the shrimp). 

4. Reduce the heat to medium-low, stir in pieces of butter until it melts. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Rustic Apple Cinnamon Galette

I have a three day Valentine’s Day weekend and was prepared to spend it mostly without my Valentine. My husband was scheduled to work straight through, but he came home on Saturday night and said he was miraculously able to take Sunday off. What a treat for me!

I wanted to make something special for breakfast Sunday morning. It is so special waking up to something baking in the oven. I had a few apples that were approaching their end of days, so I decided to use those. I also had all the ingredients for a pie crust and my ideas began to take shape. I didn’t want to make a straight up apple pie because it was too much work for a lazy Sunday morning. I decided to make a galette, or a free form rustic tart using the pie dough and apples.

I loved making this tart. There was no time push and no expectations. Tossing the apples with the cinnamon and the nutmeg and breathing in the scent, I felt them slide through my fingers. After adding the sugar, I have to admit that I snatched a few before they made it to the oven. And once it began baking in the oven, my entire space began to smell of apples and cinnamon. Add a cup of coffee, and I was in heaven.

This galette has spiced apples inside a sweet crust. It paired well with coffee for breakfast, but I could see adding whipped cream or a glaze to turn it into a dessert.

Rustic Apple Cinnamon Galette Recipe
Serves 4

Ingredients

Crust
1 cup Flour, plus additional for dusting
½ cup Unsalted Butter, chopped into small pieces
3 Tablespoons Sugar, plus more for dusting
¼ teaspoon Salt
1-3 Tablespoons of cold Water
Crsico, or vegetable shortening, for greasing
1 Egg, beaten 

Filling
3-4 Apples, cored and sliced thin (I used Gala)
¼ cup Sugar
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
¼ teaspoon Nutmeg 
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Juice from ½ of a Lemon
Salt, a pinch

Equipment
Large Food Processor
Parchment Paper
Rolling Pin
Large Baking Pan
Pastry Brush
*Fridge Space for the crust (I’m adding this to make sure I remember to clear it out if I make this again)

Method

1. In a large bowl, toss the apples with sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, lemon juice and salt until they are well coated. Set aside and let them rest and soak up the spice!

2. Using a large food processor, add the flour, butter, sugar, and salt. Process until there are small clumps uniformly spread throughout the bowl.

3. Add a tablespoon of water to the dough mixture. Process for a few seconds. If it hasn’t formed one large ball, add another teaspoon and process. Repeat as necessary. As a hint, the processor will begin to rumble as it forms one large ball of dough.  

4. Remove the dough ball from the processor and place it on top one large sheet of parchment paper. Roll the dough into a circle that measures approximately 10 inches in diameter. The circle doesn’t need to be perfect as this is a rustic tart.

5. When dough has been rolled, place a second sheet of parchment paper on top of the dough circle. Place the dough in the fridge for about half an hour, or until the butter has hardened at the crust is a disc.

6. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare the baking pan with grease and a dusting of flour. 

7. After the dough has set, remove from the fridge and peel one sheet of parchment off. Place it dough side down onto the floured baking pan. Peel off the second parchment sheet.

8. Pile the apples in the center of the pie, leaving about three inches from the edge. The pile will seem very high, but they will cook down while baking. If there is extra juice in the bottom of the bowl, reserve it for a glaze (see note below). 

9. Fold the edges of the dough over, overlapping and pinching the ends together as you go. When finished, brush the crust with the beaten egg and sprinkle some extra granulated sugar over the tart, concentrating on the crust. 

This is what my galette looked like before entering the oven:

10. Bake for about 30-35 minutes, until crust has a golden glow. 

*Note: If you would like to create a glaze, reserve 1-2 tablespoons of apple juice from the bowl of apples leftover in step 8. Add confectioner’s sugar a tablespoon at a time, and continue to stir until desired consistency is reached. Spoon the glaze over the galette upon serving. 

Red Velvet Oreo Truffle Brownies

Today is a snow day. Well, not actually snow, but freezing rain, which still means that this teacher has the day off. I decided to try and spend some time doing some things that I haven’t had a chance to do in a while. With the holidays having just past and my mother’s birthday, there hasn't been much free time. 

I wanted to bake something for my team of teachers. We have had a rough week back from our holiday break, with deaths in our community and students who aren’t ready for break to end. Plus, our Math teacher has a due date in a few weeks. It’s the perfect time for chocolate.

I pulled up my Pinterest board for all of the tasty looking brownies and bars that I wanted to make and chose to try out the recipe for Red Velvet Truffle Brownies on the Lemon Sugar Blog. I decided to make one change, and that is to the top chocolate layer. The original recipe calls for CandiQuick, but I wanted a "fudgier" feel. I chose to use a different mixture of shortening and melted chocolate chips instead.

I cut them small and brought 30 brownies to work. I came home with zero. The comments I received back was that they were just “so good,” and that they looked so rich, but were surprised that they weren’t overpowering. They were good right out of the oven, a few hours later, and right out of the fridge the next day. 
Success!

Ingredients
1 box Red Velvet cake mix
½ cup butter, melted
2 large eggs
1 (3.4 ounces) package instant vanilla pudding
⅓ cup vegetable oil
1 package Oreos
8 ounces cream cheese, cut into three or four chunks
1 bag Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Chips
2 Tbsp vegetable shortening (I recommend Crisco.)
1 bag mini chocolate chips, for garnish (Use how much you like. I ended up using only half the bag). 

Method

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

2. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, melted butter, eggs, pudding mix, vegetable oil and mix well until thoroughly combined and there are no large, dusty clumps. 

3. Spray a 9x13 pan with nonstick cooking spray.

4. Spread the red velvet batter into the pan. Use a rubber spatula to press into corners and even the top.

5. Bake the red velvet layer for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

6. Crush Oreos in the food processor until a fine dust, then add the cream cheese. When well combined, it will form a large ball. 

7. Using a rubber spatula, spread the Oreo truffle mixture on the top of the cooling baked red velvet brownies.

8. Add the milk chocolate chips and Crisco to a large saucepan and melt them together over low heat, stirring frequently so the chocolate doesn’t burn to the bottom of the pan. Pour the melted chocolate mixture over the top of the Oreo truffle layer.

9. Sprinkle the top with desired amount of mini chocolate chips while still warm, pressing them gently with the back of a wooden spoon so they don’t fall out. 

10. Cut into squares once cooled completely.

Balsamic Salad with Chicken

Since my trainer has placed me on a diet, I have been eating the same meal every day at 10:30 for the past two weeks. 

The same healthy meal.

Every day.

This really isn’t my style, but since my body has hit a weight loss plateau, I am motivated to do this. I was told that I needed to eat 4 – 5 ounces of chicken with some type of greens, lettuce or spinach, with a light dressing. The dressings couldn’t be thick and white. 

I hate lettuce. And spinach. If I eat salad, I usually drown it in something horrible for my body, like Bacon Ranch, which is why I never eat salad. 

So, I made a challenge to find something that I would like that fulfills my requirements and that I actually like. My balsamic chicken salad was the answer.

It is easiest to start with plain chicken. I had tried rosemary chicken and slow cooking it in balsamic vinegar, but it was really just a waste of ingredients. I take cooked chicken and chop it together with red leaf lettuce and a handful of basil leaves. The basil gives an aromatic smell in addition to providing flavor to the boring lettuce. 

I created a balsamic vinaigrette to soak some flavor into the chicken that plays nice with the basil. I used the recipe that was located at Joy Bauer. However, I felt that the balsamic taste was really the star of the dressing and it did not need the other ingredients. I started using just straight balsamic vinegar.

In good news, since I have been working on this diet plan, I have dropped three and half pounds. Bye bye plateau!


Balsamic Chicken Salad Recipe
Yields: 1

Ingredients

1 chicken breast, 4- 5 oz
4 leaves of red leaf lettuce, chopped I shred mine thin)
5 basil leaves, chopped
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Freshly ground pepper (optional)

Method*

1. Toss the chicken, lettuce, and basil leaves together.

2. Drizzle the balsamic vinegar over the salad and grind the pepper. 


*Basically, make a salad out of the ingredients. 

Homemade Date Granola Bars

I have officially hit the weight loss plateau after a year. My trainer suggested that I change my eating habits. Okay, suggested might be a mild term. He laid out an entire meal plan for me.

Therefore, my next few recipe posts are going to be just me learning to cope with the meal plan. It consists of small and clean meals, heavy on protein to help my muscles repair and build.

One of the small meals consist of a protein shake and a granola bar after my work out. I like granola bars, but realize that the kind I like to eat aren’t necessarily healthy. Since they are loaded with sugar and unnecessary carbs, I decided to make my own.

Of course this step involves Pinterest. I searched for Healthy Granola Bars, and I came up with a link to tasty looking “Healthy Five Ingredient Granola Bars.” I already had 4 out of 5 of the ingredients so I decided to make them after a quick trip to the store for pitted dates.

These were fun to make and did not require much baking. I don’t like to turn the oven on in the summer since it is already so hot. I kick it up for twenty minutes or so to toast the oats, but that was not a necessary step.

Overall, the recipe was very tasty. My husband like them a lot as well (I made ten bars three days ago, and there are only three left now). However, when I calculated the calories per bar, it was 228 calories per serving. This is not horrible, but I prefer that it would be a little less. Therefore, if I make them again, I will cut them into 12 bars instead of 10. This would lower each serving by 38 calories, making them 190.

The original recipe from Minimalist Baker is below.

Healthy 5 Ingredient Granola Bars (No Bake)

Yield: 10 bars (or 12 smaller bars)

Ingredients

·         1 cup packed dates, pitted (soak in water and drain if they are dry and not sticky)

·         1/4 cup honey

·         1/4 cup creamy salted natural peanut butter (I used Skippy Natural with Honey)

·         1 cup roasted unsalted almonds, coarsely chopped

·         1 1/2 cups rolled oats

Method

1. This first step is optional. Toast oats in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes.

2. Process dates in a food processor until small bits remain (about 1 minute). It should form a "dough" like consistency. Mine turned into a ball

3. Place the oats, almonds and dates in a large bowl. I smashed my dates with a wooden spoon to chop and mix them throughout the mixture. Set aside.

4. Warm the honey and peanut butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir and pour over oat mixture and then mix.

5. Once thoroughly mixed, transfer to an 8x8 dish or other small pan lined with plastic wrap or parchment paper so they lift out easily.

6. Press down until uniformly flattened. Cover with parchment or plastic wrap, and let set in fridge or freezer for 15-20 minutes to harden.

7. Remove bars from pan and chop into 10 even bars. Store in an airtight container for up to a few days. The original blogger says to keep them in freezer so that they stay fresh.

Zucchini Pasta with Dill Pesto

I am growing an apartment porch garden this summer for the first time. This means that I am continuing to learn new things, something I always dedicate my summers to. I am finding that gardening is fun, but a little challenging because there are so many judgment calls. The beautiful thing about my situation, is that I have friends who garden and are gracious to give me tips.

The other day I posted some pictures about my garden growing. My friend and colleague Lindsay mentioned that I should trim my dill because it was beginning to seed. This way, the more I prune, the more it will grow. After watching a video on how to prune dill on Youtube, I went outside to my porch and I pruned. 

Taking my beautiful green dill back to the kitchen, I stared at my trash can and thought that I could not throw it away. After a quick brainstorm and a look at my produce, I decided to make a pesto using dill. This was a risky decision because I have not even made basil pesto before and am saving it for a summer bucket list moment.

Pesto needs a significant amount of at least one herb, nuts, and some liquid. In a rummage through the pantry, I found almonds, a lemon, olive oil, and chicken broth. My inner Italian said, “Bada bing!”

Texture was a big test while I was making my pesto experiment. After my first run with the food processor, I found that the almonds made it too much like putty. So I added more lemon juice, which made it too citrusy. In the end, I used more chicken broth to get the desired balanced texture and taste.

Recipe for Zucchini Pasta with Dill Pesto
Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients
1/8 cup whole almonds
1 Tbsp garlic, divided
1 cup fresh dill
¼ tsp ground black pepper
Pinch of salt
1/3 cup + 2 teaspoons olive oil
1/3 cup chicken broth (or more to depending on desired texture)
Juice of one lemon
2 zuchinni, sliced in thin rounds
Parmesan Cheese to taste
4 cups cooked farfalle (bow tie) pasta (I used half a box of Barilla)

Method

1. Using a food processor, grind the almonds to a thick dust.

2. Add 1 teaspoon of garlic, the dill, ground black pepper, salt, olive oil, lemon juice, and chicken broth to the mixture. Blend the mixture, adding more chicken broth if needed to achieve desired paste thickness. 

3. When pesto is finished, heat teaspoons of olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and heat until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Add the zucchini rounds and cook just until soft, about 3-4 minutes. 

4. Place pasta in a large bowl and use a slotted spoon to transfer the zucchini to the pasta. Then, pour the pesto over the pasta mixture and gently mix the ingredients together. If the pasta gets too sticky, add a little olive oil to loosen. 

5. Serve the pasta with parmesan cheese, black pepper, and salt. 

Braised Sweet Red Cabbage

I love it when I have leftover vegetables and I get to play around and make a new dish. I had made some BBQ chicken in the crockpot to eat on with my school closing schedule and my husband’s erratic police schedule. I had some leftover red cabbage in the crisping drawer in the fridge that I needed to use. So I thought about making a side out of the cabbage to go with the BBQ. 

The BBQ sauce is sweet, so I wanted to do a tangy sweet cabbage. Originally, I wanted to use it and make a slaw. I looked up some inspirational recipes online and settled for Red Cabbage Slaw by the Food Network Kitchens. When I tasted the dressing to go on the slaw, I didn’t like it. The vinegar was too heavy for my taste. But, I had this otherwise beautiful dressing and I chose to braise the cabbage with it instead, and rendering the vinegar to a more mild state.

As the cabbage cooked, I snuck pieces from the pan and tasted a tart sweetness, inspiring me to add some fennel seed and craisins. The end result ended up being a warm cabbage, similar to pickled German cabbage, with a touch more sugar and crispy texture.



Ingredients
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup apple cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons Sugar
½ head Red Cabbage, chopped to 1/2 inch thick pieces
1 Tablespoon fennel seed
½ cup Craisins
Salt to taste

Method

1. To make the sauce, whisk together the oil, vinegar, and sugar until the sugar is dissolved and oil and vinegar no longer separate.

2. Heat 2 Tablespoons of sauce in a skillet on medium high heat.

3. Add the cabbage, then carefully pour the rest of the sauce over the cabbage. Cover and cook on medium heat for about 7-8 minutes.

4. Add the fennel, Craisins, and salt and continue cooking until cabbage reaches the desired tenderness and the sauce has evaporated into the cabbage. 

Cranberry Chicken and Cous Cous

The cranberry make this a sweetly tart dish.

The barbeque sauce makes this a smoky dish.

The pepper makes this a spicy dish.

Sweet, smoky, and spicy. This sounds like the beginning of a romance novel. The fact that it is served over cous cous kind of kills it though.

Cranberry Chicken and Cous Cous Recipe

Yields 4 servings

Chicken Ingredients

14 oz. can whole berry cranberry sauce

1 cup barbeque sauce (I used KC Masterpiece Smoky Bourbon)

4 boneless and skinless chicken breasts

½ cup celery, diced

½ cup onion, diced

2 Tbsp red pepper flakes (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Chicken Directions

1. Combine the cranberry sauce and barbeque sauce in a bowl. Set aside.

2. Add the chicken to the slow cooker. Top with celery, onion, red pepper, and salt and pepper.

3. Add the cranberry and barbeque mixture and disperse evenly.

4. Cook on low for 3-4 hours, or until done.

5. This next step is optional. You could serve the breast whole, but I prefer in chunks. Remove the chicken breasts from the slow cooker and let cool for five minutes. Cut into pieces and return the pieces to the slow cooker. Stir to verify that the chicken is coated.

Cous Cous Ingredients

1 box Near East Plain Cous Cous

Cooking spray

1 cup celery, diced

1 cup onion, diced

½ cup dried Cranberries

1 Tbsp red pepper flakes (optional)

Cous Cous Directions

1. Prepare the cous cous as indicated on the box.

2. While the cous cous is cooking, spray a skillet with the cooking spray and add the rest of the ingredients. Cook until celery and onion are slightly tender.

3. Mix the skillet mixture into the cous cous.

4. Plate the cous cous and serve the cranberry chicken on top.