Chicken Caesar Salad

I made a salad. I know...Shocker. But this was pretty tasty. I got the idea when we had dinner with some friends. They made a chicken caesar salad, and it made me want to make one myself. So this is what resulted.

Super easy, super fast, super tasty. And during the summer, it's always nice to have something cool to eat. So put this all together, and enjoy!

Ingredients:
-1 package of Romaine hearts, or 1 head of green leafy lettuce
-1 chicken breast, grilled and chopped
-1/2-3/4 cup caesar dressing
-1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
-1 cup croutons

Directions:
Rough chop the lettuce/romaine and add to a large mixing bowl.

Add the chopped chicken.

Toss in the parmesan cheese.

Add in the caesar dressing.

Using tongs, toss the salad ingredients together to coat the lettuce and incorporate everything well.

Finally, top it all off with some yummy croutons.

Scoop up a little of everything and enjoy!

Cheese, Broccoli, Potato, and Carrot Soup

It's still pretty stinkin' cold outside here where I am, so occasionally, I still get in the mood for a good hearty soup. I've made Broccoli Cheese soup before, and it is actually one of my favorite soups. When I was a kid, I didn't like veggies...oh wait, that's still true. Oops. Anyway, back to my story. My mother probably rejoiced and praised God in Heaven when she found out I actually enjoyed broccoli cheese soup. It had a green healthy veggie in it. And she didn't have to force me to eat it, or threaten me to eat it, or beg me to eat. I would gladly eat it. The fact I was eating it because it was smothered in a cream based cheese soup didn't matter. Haha. Plus, I was a scrawny kid, and the extra dairy and fat was probably good for me.

On to the present day. I still enjoy Broccoli Cheese soup, but sometimes it's just not hearty enough for a meal, you know? It's better as a side or something in my mind. So I came up with this soup as a way to make it more meal worthy, but not take away all the good stuff. I guess you could say it's almost a cross between baked potato soup and broccoli cheese soup, with carrots added in for fun. Which is awesome because I love baked potato soup too. This is a win win, people. A win.win. And delicious. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
-3 tablespoons butter
-3 tablespoons flour
-3 cups milk
-3 cups chicken broth
-1 teaspoon onion powder
-2 cups shredded cheese(I used cheddar)
-2 potatoes, peeled, cubed, and cooked (bake or boil, as long as they're tender)
-1.5 cups broccoli, cut into small florets and steamed or blanched
-1 cup carrots, cut into bite sized pieces and steamed
-salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
In a large pot over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the flour and whisk together to make a roux.

Let it cook a couple more minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the milk and stir to combine well.

Continue stirring frequently, letting the soup thicken.

When it's thickened substantially, add the chicken broth and stir to incorporate.
Add the onion powder and mix it in well. Let the soup cook for a minute to help it start to thicken slightly again, stirring occasionally.

Add the cheese and let it melt into the soup, stirring frequently.

When the cheese is well incorporated, salt and pepper to taste. Add the potatoes, broccoli, and carrots. Stir to combine. You want the chunks of everything to be evenly distributed.

Let the soup cook for a few more minutes, stirring occasionally, until everything is hot and delicious. Serve immediately.

It would be awesome with a chunk of crusty bread or something. Mmm. Devour at will.

Southwestern Eggrolls with Avocado Sour Cream Dipping Sauce

I have seen versions of these done several different ways and in many different places. This is my version, and I came up with a yummy dipping sauce to go with it. These are pretty easy to make, and they're so.good. You can do these as appetizers at a party, or you can make them as a meal, which is what I did. Either way, they are amazing.

I will make a confession. I forgot something in mine, so the pictures won't really show that one ingredient, but just pretend that it's in there. It's the cheese. I know. It's sad that I could forget the cheese, but I did. So...don't forget the cheese. I'll give the recipe the way it's supposed to be, so just follow it. :) Yum!

Ingredients:
For eggrolls-
-1 cup cooked, shredded chicken (I put mine in my food processor)
-1 can whole kernel corn, drained
-1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
-1 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
-1.5 cups shredded cheddar cheese
-1 tablespoon onion powder
-2 tablespoons garlic
-1 teaspoon cumin
-1 teaspoon chili powder
-1 package soft taco sized tortillas

For Dipping Sauce-
-1 avocado
-3 tablespoons sour cream
-1 tablespoon garlic powder
-1/2 tablespoon onion powder
-1/4 teaspoon cumin
-1/4 teaspoon dried cilantro

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the chicken, corn, beans, spinach, cheese, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, and chili powder.

Stir to evenly distribute all the ingredients.

Preheat the oven the 400 degrees. Wrap the tortillas in damp paper towels and microwave for about 10-20 seconds. This makes them pliable. Scoop some of the chicken mixture into the center of the tortilla.

Fold two sides of the tortilla in toward the center,

then roll it into a burrito type shape

and place it seam side down on a greased baking sheet. Repeat for all the tortillas.

Spray cooking spray on the tops of the rolled tortillas, so that the whole tortilla roll has a light coating of oil (the greased baking sheet on the bottom, cooking spray on top).

Place the baking sheet into the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Turn the eggrolls over and bake another 10 minutes. The tortillas should get crispy and slightly browned.

If they don't get crispy enough, you can stick them under the broiler on low for a couple minutes to crisp them up. Remove from the oven and serve hot. I always cut them in half. It makes them a little easier to handle in my opinion.

While the eggrolls are baking, make the dipping sauce. To start, cut the avocado in half, working your knife around the whole avocado around the pit. To separate the halves, gently hold the avocado in both hands and twist gently.

One side should break free of the pit and allow you to pull apart the halves. To remove the pit from the other half, stick your knife blade into the pit,

then gently twist it until it breaks free.

Discard the pit. To scoop out the avocado, take a spoon and work it right inside the peel all the way around the half.

The inside should come out in relatively one piece if you do it right. Discard the peel. Roughly chop the inside of the avocado and place it in a food processor. Process it until it's relatively smooth. Add the sour cream and the seasonings and process it until it's well mixed together.

Serve with the hot eggrolls as a dipping sauce. Enjoy!

Cranberry Glazed Chicken

As promised, a recipe using my Cranberry Relish.

This turned out a lot better than I expected. I wasn't really sure what to expect, I guess, having never tried this kind of thing before, but...I was impressed. My husband was pretty happy too, so...yay for that. Haha. If you already have the cranberry relish made, this is a really easy meal. I served it with seasoned rice and green bean casserole. So let's begin.

Ingredients:
Chicken:
-approximately 1 cup cranberry relish
-boneless skinless chicken breasts (enough to feed everyone)

Rice:
-1/2 cup uncooked instant rice per person
-1 cup chicken broth per cup of rice
-1 teaspoon garlic powder
-1 teaspoon onion powder
-1 teaspoon complimentary seasoning (I used a spice blend)

Green bean casserole:
-2 cans French cut green beans
-1 can cream of chicken soup (I despise mushrooms, so I never use cream of mushroom soup, which is the typical ingredient)
-1/2 cup milk
-1 can French fried onions

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. Place chicken breasts on the baking sheet and "glaze" with the cranberry relish. Basically, just pour enough on it to cover the chicken well. Cook in the oven for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven just long enough to re-glaze the chicken with the cranberry relish. Put the chicken back in the oven and continue cooking until cooked through, another 15-20 minutes or so.

While the chicken is cooking, mix together the soup and milk. Add the green beans and half the can of onions. Stir to evenly incorporate everything. Dump it all into a baking dish and top with the remaining onions. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

In a medium sized sauce pan, boil the chicken broth over high heat. Add the spices. Stir in the uncooked rice and remove from heat and cover. Let stand off the heat for about 5 minutes, until rice has absorbed the liquid.

Serve everything hot and yummy together. Enjoy!

Oven Fried Chicken, Sides, and Homemade Biscuits

So...I like fried chicken. The crunchier the better. I don't like soggy. Blech. I'm always looking for new and improved ways to make oven fried chicken, since I also don't do too terribly well with greasy. I am also trying REALLY hard to eat more healthily. Not an easy feat for me. I know, sad. But it's true. So I recently decided to try to eat more grains. It's stretching me. Haha. One way is...I breaded my chicken with pulverized oats. Instead of flour, I ground up some oatmeal in my food processor and used that. And it was pretty good, amazingly enough. :) I also made homemade biscuits...a first for me. I got the recipe from Paula Deen They were a lot easier than I thought they'd be. And they turned out pretty well, I think. So away we go.

Ingredients:
For Chicken:
-Chicken-any kind you like, as much as you need
-egg wash-egg and milk, beaten together
-flour-enough to dredge the chicken
-pulverized oats-enough to dredge the chicken
-Butter, about 1 tablespoon, to brown chicken in a skillet

For mashed potatoes:
-Potatoes-I used russet-peeled and cubed
-butter to taste
-sour cream to taste

For green beans:
-1 can green beans
-butter, to taste
-onion powder, to taste
-bacon bits, to taste

For Biscuits:
-2 cups all-purpose flour
-1 teaspoons sugar
-1 tablespoon baking powder
-1 teaspoon salt
-8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, cubed
-3/4 cup milk

Directions:
In three shallow dishes, add the flour, egg mixture, and oats. Dredge the chicken in the flour, then the egg, then the oats. Place in a skillet with butter melted over medium high heat. Just brown both sides, then place on a baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees until cooked though, approximately 20 minutes or so.

Boil the potatoes until tender. Drain, then return to pot. Mash with a potato masher, then add butter and sour cream. Mix well and serve hot.

Empty the can of green beans into a microwaveable dish. Add butter, onion powder, and bacon bits to taste. Microwave until hot, then stir to coat the beans with the butter. Serve hot.

In a mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients for the biscuits. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles corn meal. Hollow out a little hole in the middle of the bowl. Add the milk into that well, and knead it by hand. Roll it out gently on a lightly floured surface. Don't handle the dough too much or your biscuits won't be fluffy. Cut the biscuits with a biscuit cutter and bake at 350 for about 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Serve everything together and enjoy!

Steak Dinner

I had a request of steak for dinner from my beloved husband. Since I try to accommodate him when possible, I decided to make it. Added benefit...my husband grills the steaks. :) One less thing for me to do. Woohoo. He also marinated them for us. He got the marinade here, and it was pretty amazing, not gonna lie. We only marinated them for about 30 minutes, too, so it was simple and quick too. I took care of the sides...loaded mashed potatoes and seasoned green beans. Yum. It was all pretty great, not gonna lie. So if you ever feel like steak, and don't want to pay for the night out...here's your solution. :)

Ingredients:
-Steak (We used New York strip steaks, hubby's fave)
-Potatoes (I used russet)
-Green beans (I used canned)
-Butter (to taste for potatoes and green beans...I probably used 3 tablespoons for each side)
-1 teaspoon onion powder
-3 tablespoons bacon bits (the real bacon kind), 1 T for green beans, 2 T for potatoes
-2 tablespoons sour cream
-1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used cheddar)

Directions:
In a shallow dish or plastic bag, marinate the steak with your favorite marinade for at least 30 minutes.

Peel and cube the potatoes. Boil a large pot of water and cook the potatoes until tender and cooked through. Mash with a potatoes masher, then add the butter, cheese, sour cream, and bacon bits. Mix thoroughly.

In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter over medium/medium high heat. Add the green beans and onion powder. Mix until the beans are coated evenly with the butter and heated through.

Have your favorite grill master grill your steak to the perfect done-ness. Serve all together and enjoy thoroughly! Mmmm.

Moo Shu Noodles

I have made something similar to this before. It didn't turn out so well. Haha. This time, I adjusted some things, and it turned out MUCH better. And I added broccoli, which makes it healthier, right? Sorta? Ok, works for me. :)

You can use any kind of pasta, really. I think long skinny noodles like spaghetti, angel hair, fettucini, etc work best, but who am I to judge? Use whatcha got, I say. I added some broccoli to mine, but you could add any veggies you wanted to, really...you're just stir-frying them, so throw in whatever you want to. This works well for me when I'm craving Chinese take-out and don't want to do the take-out part. It's really quick and easy, in my opinion. I think you'll like it. :)

Ingredients:
-Pasta (I used spaghetti), enough to feed everyone. I made a little bit, just for me, but I'll give directions for a whole box (16 oz)
-1/4 cup hoisin sauce (available in the Asian section of most grocery stores)
-3 tablespoons soy sauce
-ground ginger and garlic powder to taste (approximately 1 teaspoon garlic, 1/2 teaspoon ginger)
-1/2 cup chicken broth (I just added some water to the cooked chicken crusties on the bottom of the pan, aka de-glazed the pan after cooking the chicken)
-2 eggs, beaten
-chicken breasts (approx 3-4, or however much you want), cubed
-broccoli florets, approximately 1/2-1 cup per person
-veggie oil, to stir fry (approximately 2 tablespoons for chicken and 2 tablespoons for broccoli)

Directions:
Boil a large pot of water. Cook the pasta until al dente. Drain and set aside.

While the pasta is cooking, place a large skillet over medium high heat, then add 2 tablespoons of veggie oil. Let it heat up. Add the veggies and stir fry until just tender-crisp. No mushy veggies, folks. Set the veggies aside on a plate. Add a little more oil, and cook the chicken cubes until no longer pink inside, but don't overcook them. Set the chicken aside with the veggies. Add just a little bit more oil (or butter if you prefer), and scramble the eggs until cooked. Set aside with the veggies and chicken.

In a separate bowl, mix together the hoisin sauce and soy sauce. Stir in the ginger and garlic. Pour the cooked pasta into the skillet, back over medium heat. Add the veggies, chicken, and eggs. Then pour the sauce over the top of everything, as well as the chicken broth. Stir everything to combine well, letting the pasta get coated in the sauce, and all the chicken and veggies and eggs evenly distributed. Serve immediately and enjoy!