Trail Mix

Have you noticed that trail mix can be rather expensive when you buy it from the store? It seems like I'm not getting much for my money. And, well...there's usually something in those pre-made versions that I don't particularly care for. You know me...I'm pernickety. So I make my own. Occasionally.

I sometimes get into cycles, or phases, if you will. Sometimes I want nothing but crackers as snacks for a while. Then I'll move on to chips of some sort, or something sweeter. I went through a rice cake phase for a while. It all kinda comes and goes. So right now, apparently, is my semi-healthy sweet and salty snack phase. So I made trail mix. Haha.

Trail mix is really good, though, to satisfy both salty and sweet cravings. And it's not terrible for you since it has decent ingredients. So...as long as you're not gorging yourself on it, it's not all that bad. Which is better than, say...eating half a bag of potato chips in one sitting. Not that I've done that...recently. Nope. Not this gal. Anyway...

This is ridiculously easy. And you can mix together pretty much anything you want to. My favorite mix is below, but feel free to change it up a bit. For instance...I like peanuts, but they're not the healthiest nut out there. Almonds are much better, but I'm not a big fan of them. Dried fruit is never really all bad, but perhaps you don't like craisins and would rather dried apricots or something. Go for it. Not a fan of chocolate? You can buy all kinds of candy chips these days...caramel, white chocolate, etc. My point is, you can mix and match all kinds of sweet and salty bits to make trail mix, and it will be just as lovely as my blend below. So have fun and be creative!

Ingredients:
-1 lb bag pretzels (minis or bite size are best)
-1 bag chocolate candies (approximately 10 oz)
-2 cups(ish) peanuts
-1 1/2 cups raisins
-1 1/2 cups craisins (dried cranberries)

Directions:
In a large zip-top bag or mixing bowl, combine all ingredients; Pretzels,

peanuts,

chocolate,

craisins,

and raisins.

Gently toss to incorporate all ingredients.

Store in an air-tight container.

For quick snacks on the go, you can portion out 1/2 cup or so into individual servings, in plastic sandwich baggies or small storage containers. Send these in lunches to school or work, snack during the day with portion control, or take them with you wherever you happen to be going that day. Easy cheesy!

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

I have shared my Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas before, and I love them. My husband does too. So I decided to try something a little different just for fun.

It seems to me like when the weather warms up, I get in the mood for more...summery flavors or something. Does that happen to anyone else? Or perhaps I'm just nutty? Haha. Anyway...I decided to try some honey lime chicken enchiladas. Yum.

In order to cut down on the acidity of the lime and the sweetness of the honey, I added some heavy cream to the sauce. I think it really added something nice to the sauce without overwhelming the whole thing. This recipe made enough for at least 10-12 enchiladas. I hope you enjoy this great, kind of summery, enchilada recipe. :)

Ingredients:
-2 chicken breasts
-Marinade: juice of one lime (approximately 3-5 tablespoons), 3 tablespoons honey, 1 teaspoon chili powder
-two cans green enchilada sauce (or you can make my homemade sauce)
-1/2 cup heavy cream
-2 tablespoons honey
-juice of half a lime (approximately 2 tablespoons)
-1 teaspoon chili powder
-tortillas
-2 cups shredded cheese (I used a Mexican cheese blend)

Directions:
Cook the chicken, then shred it. I did this in my food processor,

but you can do it with two forks as well. Place the shredded chicken in a large zip top bag. Mix together the three marinade ingredients in a small bowl.

Add the marinade to the bag with the chicken. Knead the marinade into the chicken.

Set aside in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

When the chicken is marinated thoroughly, it's time to start everything else. In a sauce pan over medium low heat, heat the enchilada sauce. Add the lime juice, honey, and chili powder, and stir to combine.

Pour a little of this sauce mixture into the bottom of a 9 x 13 in baking dish, just enough to cover the bottom. Add the cream to the remaining sauce in the pan. Stir to combine.

Reduce heat to low and stir occasionally while compiling your enchiladas.

Sprinkle a little of the shredded cheese in a line in the middle of a tortilla.

Spoon on some of the chicken.

Roll the tortilla around the filling and place seam side down in the baking dish. Repeat until the baking dish is full.

Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the entire dish of rolled tortillas.

Sprinkle with the remaining shredded cheese.

Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 15 minutes, until everything is hot and bubbly and yummy.

Woohoo!

Apple Craisin Chicken Quesadillas

I don't really know how I end up with what I end up with before we move. It is the most random assortment of food stuff ever. So when I went to make my meal plan, I just made a list of everything I had in my pantry and fridge, and played the match up game. Anything that could remotely go together, I came up with a meal from. That's just how I roll when moving time comes around.

Two ingredients I had on my list was an apple and some leftover craisins. In my amazing creative powder (ha!), I managed to come up with the idea of apple craisin chicken quesadillas. It wasn't half bad, actually. Some people aren't fans of fruit and meat together, but I don't mind the combination. I like grapes in my chicken salad, apples with my pork, and other such things. So this was not a big deal for me. If you're one of those that doesn't particularly enjoy fruit and meat, skip this one. I won't be offended. :) This probably made enough quesadillas to feed four people. Adjust accordingly.

Ingredients:
-two chicken breasts, cooked and cut into little pieces
-1/4 cup craisins
-1 apple, diced (I used a green apple; they're more tart, which I think works better in this case)
-juice of one lime (to keep the apple from turning brown)
-1 cup shredded cheese (I used colby jack)

Directions:
In a bowl, pour in the craisins, then about a cup of hot water.

Let them soak for about 10 or 15 minutes. It helps to plump them back up a bit. You don't HAVE to do this step, but I think it helps. Drain the water.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Add the chicken, apple, lime juice, and cheese to the bowl with the craisins. Stir to combine.

Spoon some of the filling on one half of a tortilla.

Fold the tortilla over the filling. Stab it with a toothpick to keep it closed if necessary. Place on a baking sheet. Repeat for the rest of the tortillas.

Bake the quesadillas for about 5 minutes, then turn over. Bake another 5 minutes, and remove from oven. The tortillas should be slightly crispy and golden brown.

Cut them into wedges and serve immediately.

Yum! Enjoy!

Apple Cranberry Pork Chops

Ok, so I know this isn't really "seasonal" or anything, but it sounded really good to me, so I made it. So there. I'm a rebel without a cause...or something. Haha. But really, I did like this. I think I could improve upon it the next time I make it, but it was good none-the-less. Sweet apples and tart dried cranberries with pork chops= yummy. Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:
-pork chops (I used 4 boneless chops, about 1/2 in thick or so)
-2 green apples, cored and chopped into bite size pieces
-about 1/2 cup of dried cranberries
-salt and pepper, to taste
-1/2 cup water

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a baking dish, lay the pork chops in a single layer. Season them with salt and pepper.

Add in the apple pieces and dried cranberries, and smooth into a relatively uniform layer on top of the chops.

Pour the water over the top and cover with foil.

Bake in the oven until the chops are cooked through, approximately 20-30 minutes, depending on how many there are. Serve with some yummy veggies (I made steamed and buttered asparagus with Yukon gold potatoes), and enjoy!

Mixed Berry Tart

SO I'll just be honest. I get bored easily. I know, it's shocking, isn't it? When I am asked to bring a dessert to a get together, I hate taking the same stuff over and over. And I don't want to bring the same thing someone else did. So I try to change it up a bit. This time, I adapted a basic tart recipe that I have used before. The original is a peach tart by the amazing Paula Deen. I adapted it once before to make Lemon Blueberry tart. This time, I changed it up yet again to make a Mixed Berry tart. I know, it's craziness. This does take a little while to make, but it's easy. It's just a long bake time. So be prepared.

I used frozen mixed berries because it was easy, but please use fresh if you can get them. It's just better. Trust me. So in this tart, I had blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries. Yum. Do whatever combo you'd like. And enjoy.

Ingredients:
Crust:
-1.25 cups flour
-2 tablespoons sour cream
-1 stick of butter (1/2 cup), softened

Filling:
-Mixed berries (about 4 cups total)
-3 egg yolks
-3/4 cup sour cream
-3/4 cup sugar
-1/4 cup flour

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a food processor, combine all the crust ingredients and pulse until well combined. It will form a ball and kinda roll around the inside of the processor bowl. It will be a soft dough.

Gently press the dough into either a tart pan or glass pie plate.

You might need a little flour on your hands to help out. Make sure you get the dough all the way up the sides. Also, make sure the crust is as even as you can make it so it cooks evenly. Bake in the 375 degree oven for about 15 minutes, so the crust is set but not browned at all.

Set aside to cool while preparing filling.

Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Dump the berries into the crust and smooth them into an even layer.

It's ok if it seems like the berries overfill the crust cause they'll shrink a little during cooking.

In a large bowl, combine all the filling ingredients, and beat until smooth.

This mixture then gets poured over the berries. It should pretty much settle itself, just make sure there's a little bit of this custard filling over the whole tart.

Place your tart pan or pie plate on a baking sheet and put it in the oven. Bake it for about an hour, until the custard is set and lightly golden. If you notice the crust getting to dark, just put a foil tent over it.

Let it cool slightly before cutting into it, or else you'll get a sticky, globby mess all over your knife and an ugly chunk on your plate. I know it will be hard, but let it cool off a bit. It'll be worth it. 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!

Cranberry Relish

Ok, so...it's about to be Thanksgiving, so I've been seeing cranberry stuff everywhere. It made me crave it. Seriously. I.love.cranberry.sauce. The jellied kind, mind you. I know, some of you are going to claim blasphemy, but meh. It is what it is. Haha. Anyway...I was at a restaurant the other day, and they were selling cranberry relish. They had samples. And it was amazing. I then decided I must make some and figure out a way to use it, because, well...it was amazing. Haha. So here is the recipe I made. I'm just going to go ahead and say that the pictures aren't the best, but you can get the general idea. I will be posting a few recipes over the next few days about how I used it. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
-4 cups cranberries (fresh or frozen), rough chopped if desired (you can leave them whole if you want)
-1 cup water
-1/2 cup orange juice
-3/4 cup sugar (I don't really know how much I used...I just added it until it tasted good, and I think it was about 3/4 cup)

Directions:
In a large sauce pan, combine all the ingredients. Heat over high heat until it boils, stirring occasionally. Once it boils, reduce heat to medium and let the mixture cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. This will allow the berries to "pop" and become tender, and will start to thicken the "sauce" as some of the liquid is cooked off.

Reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for another 10 minutes or more, stirring occasionally, until it reaches the consistency you like. It will never turn into a jelly-like substance because there is no gelatin, but it can get decently thick. And it is yummy. Once it's cooked to your desired consistency, you can use it immediately or put it in the fridge to cool. I used it as a glaze on chicken (recipe to come soon) and used it immediately, but if you're using it for a cool application, I would put it in the fridge first. Hope you like it!

Chicken Salad

I would just like to say I am embarrassed by the amount of time that has elapsed between posts. I sincerely apologize to my numerous fans. haha. But really...it has been entirely too long since I shared the Picnic with you.

I made this chicken salad for a get-together, and then I had to make it again for myself. I didn't get enough at the party. Hehe. But I'm a fan of a sweeter, more fruity chicken salad than a savory one. So if you like savory chicken salads, this ain't for you. But you're welcome to try it anyway. :) If you're picky about your chicken salad...this one is probably a good one for you. I don't like celery. I refuse to add it to my chicken salad, even if it is a typical ingredient. I refuse. Celery haters of the world rejoice! No celery in this chicken salad. I hope you all enjoy this amazingness. Let's begin.

Ingredients:
-Chicken breasts (depending on how much salad you want to make...I used one for just lil' ole me)
-mayonnaise (I eyeball it, just enough to moisten the salad)
-grapes, halved or quartered depending on size (I would say 1/2 cup for each cup of chicken
-eggs, hard-boiled (also depending on how much salad you are making-I used one egg per chicken breast)
-salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
In a food processor, add in a rough chopped chicken breast. Pulse to shred the chicken, but don't let it get past the point of shreds to the pasty stage. Dump into a large mixing bowl. Rough chop the shelled hard-boiled egg. I usually remove the yolk because I'm not a fan. Place the egg in the food processor and pulse until the pieces are small but not pulverized.
Add to the chicken in the mixing bowl. Add the grapes. Stir until ingredients are mixed together. Add mayo a little at a time until the salad is moistened but not dripping. Add salt and pepper to taste, and stir to combine well. Spread on bread to make a sandwich, or serve with crackers. Yummy. Enjoy!

Strawberry Spinach Salad

For anyone that knows me, you know I'm not a salad girl. In fact, most of the time, I can't stand just eating lettuce with some dressing for a meal, and I even have a hard time sometimes eating it as a "first course" before my meal. I'm just not a huge fan of leafy greens. That, and if I do eat it, I have to smother it with toppings and dressing, completely negating the purpose of a salad. I might as well just take a bowl of ranch dressing and dip some croutons in it.

I was first introduced to this salad on Easter, when my friend Beth brought it to Easter dinner. It was awesome. I think I actually got seconds. I know, right...me getting seconds of SALAD. Preposterous. I unashamedly asked her for the recipe when dinner was over, and she emailed it to me. She got it from allrecipes.com, and the recipe is here. It was so good, I really was actually excited to make it again. I put it off for a bit for various reasons, but I put it on my meal plan for today, and I have been anxiously awaiting Monday since I made the plan and bought the ingredients on my grocery trip. I know, I'm a nerd. Haha. Since it's made with spinach, it's good for you. And since it has strawberries, it's yummy. And the dressing...well...it's amazing. So seriously...make this salad.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon minced onion (or...1 teaspoon onion powder like I used)
10 ounces fresh spinach - rinsed, dried and torn into bite-size pieces
1 quart strawberries - cleaned, hulled and sliced
1/4 cup almonds, blanched and slivered

Directions:
In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, olive oil, vinegar, paprika, Worcestershire sauce and onion (powder). I actually poured everything into a pourable container with a lid, so I could mix it, pour it, and store it all in one container. And I just shook it up in the container instead of whisking it. It will look something like this: Once it's mixed up, cover it and chill for one hour. I personally didn't chill it. I was too anxious to eat it, but if you have the willpower, go for it. It just gets better with age. ;)

In a large bowl, combine the spinach, strawberries, and almonds. Pour the dressing over the salad, and toss it all together. Refrigerate 10 to 15 minutes before serving. I actually don't pour the dressing on until I'm going to eat it, and I don't refrigerate it either. Once again...impatience wins the day. Haha. But feel free. I'm sure it's wonderful either way. Seriously, wonderful. Yummmmm.