Chicken Taco Chopped Salad

This summer has been all about salad, tons and tons of salad. This one is amazing!! It is filling and perfect. Truly perfect. Now the hubby hates, hates, hates anything to do with ranch. I on the other hand love a good ranch, but only a good ranch. But because of his hatred he had the salad with salsa and said it was wonderful.

Taco Chicken Chopped Salad with Cilantro Lime Ranch

Salsa Corn

3/4 cup frozen corn, thawed

1/4 cup salsa

In a small skillet over medium high heat saute corn until warmed through, add in salsa stirring often until warmed. 

Cilantro Lime Ranch

1/3 cup Greek Yogurt

2 tablespoons milk

1/2 teaspoon powdered ranch mix

juice and zest of 1 lime

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Stir together yogurt and milk. Stir in remaining ingredients. 

A salad for 2:

mixed lettuce
1 grilled chicken breast, chopped

2 sliced on bacon cooked and chopped

1/2 cup shredded cheddar

1/2 cup crushed tortilla chips

1 avocado, cubed

1 cup salsa corn

To plate,  pile a couple of handfuls of lettuce in the center of a bowl. Layer the topping in a line completely covering lettuce. Serve dressing on the side. 

Family Cookout

Well... Ok the title is a bit misleading. We did cookout on the grill that morning but about an hour before there was a huge downpour so we set up inside but luckily it stopped and we could eat out side and the kids could play in the pool. But it was still a bummer because we had a lovely table planned out and anddddd all of decorations clashed with my Mom's hideous wallpaper. (no that is not an insult to her it came with the house she just hasn't gotten it covered up yet) Thenn I went to print out my neon menus and they printed some wacky colors no where near what I designed but they still worked out. It's all good we still had amazing food and so much fun... Until my Granny had to go to the emergency room at the end but that's another story and no worries she is fine. She just gave us a bit of a scare.

You can see more shots on my Instagram feed, 

How about roasted veggie kabobs? Yum!

And I didn't take a good shot but COCONUT RICE y'all!!! 

So goood!

We had several homemade salsas for the chicken, pork tenderloin and sausages.

Pineapple Mango

Creamy Tomatillo

Spicy Red (Restaurant Style Salsa)

and 

Lemon

The "drink bar" had Sweet Tea

with Blackberry Syrup,

Peach Mint Syrup

and

Lemon and Lavendar Syrup

 and

Watermelon Coconut Cooler

For dessert we made S'mores.

We set up a S'mores Bar that had so many options and was a hit with the kids and adults. 

Cookie options were:

Graham Crackers

Chocolate Chip (crispy and soft)

Pecan Sandies

and Butter Cake

Marshmallow options were:

Extra Large Plain

Strawberry

Keylime

Chocolate and Other Goodies options were:

Milk Chocolate

Dark Chocolate

White Chocolate

Mini Candy Bars

Lemon Curd

Toasted Coconut

Strawberries

(We were supposed to have a caramel sauce too but I forgot to get it out, oooppsss. Just pretend its there on the otherside of the lemon curd, okay? Thanks.)

We made a list of suggestions but some of the best ones were one of a kind creations!

My little monkey had Chocolate Chip cookie with milk chocolate, a strawberry marshmallow and fresh strawberries.

This one is chocolate chip cookies (soft batch) a plain marshmallow, a mini 3 Musketeers and toasted coconut.

The one on the right was the same as Caleb's first one but minus the strawberries.

On the left was butter cake, a huge marshmallow, Lemon curd and toasted coconut. No chocolate at all.

It was my favorite!

 My cousin, Keith, created this, it was an open face s'more with butter cake on the bottom, a lime marshmallow, lemon curd and toasted coconut. He may have also added a piece of pork tenderloin to it. Not for everybody but that sounds pretty good to me.

My Momma about to try to stuff all of that in her mouth. Her's was butter cake, plain marshmallow, lemon curd, coconut and strawberries.

I'm pretty sure the cake, lemon curd, coconut, strawberries and lime marshmallows were the surprise favorites among the options. I really think we may have to recreate this idea, sooner than later!

Honey Lemon Chicken Pitas

I cannot get enough of this chicken! I want to eat it everyday. I crave it all the time. I'm in love with this meal. For reals! It is so good that some of the sauce from the chicken was running down my arm and before I even realized what I was doing I licked my arm! Luckily for me Monkey was napping so I didn't have to do damage control in manners and the Mr. was so into his wrap he didn't notice. Doodlebug was the only one that caught me but he's got my back, he has no choice he can't talk yet.

This is super simple and tastes sinfully delicious. The only thing that can be tricky is that sometimes if you let the sauce thicken too long the chicken can become too dry. Once that sauce begins to thicken do not turn your back. 

Honey Lemon Chicken Wraps
(feeds 3 to 4)
3 chicken breast, thawed and diced
1 tablespoon Paprika
salt to taste
1 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup tablespoons of honey
1/2 teaspoon Sriracha

Combine all ingredients in a bowl toss and marinate 30 minutes.  In a large skillet bring to a medium high heat pour everything into the pan. Once sauce begins to bubble turn down to medium heat and cook until sauce has thickened.
Serve on pita or in a whole wheat wrap with guacamole spinach and tomato.
**I like a tad bit of sour cream on mine however the Mr. not so much a fan of the sour cream.

Peanut Honey Chicken Stirfry

I think my family would literally starve if it wasn't for stir fry, I not kidding, they would waste away into nothingness. if we are particularly busy I may make a form of stir fry weekly sometimes three or four times a week. It is an easy, on the go, healthy and versatile meal.                                                                           

                                             

 I swear one of these days I will stop taking pictures at 8:00 at night and start preparing food during daylight hours. But until then I'll just have craptastic pictures with flash and horrible lighting. Just for the record, my sauce looks incredibly thick here, too thick actually, it wasn't lumpy or that thick the picture is just not a good one. 

This stir fry is my "basic" stir fry. Sometimes I change the peanut butter for other flavors. I've listed some substitutions and other combinations below. The veggies are something I rotate in and out. This time it was a pre-cut frozen stir fry pack, I ditched the packaged sauce for my own though. The usual suspects are any combination of broccoli, bok choy, carrots, mushrooms, onions or cabbage. My favorite is bok choy but it isn't always available everywhere. I don't know exactly how many veggies to tell you, mine is usually fairly veggie heavy, excluding the one pictured. I usually do a full head of broccoli or bok choy or both and 5 to 6 carrots but that is my favorite combination. That should give you an idea of where to start. I often omit chicken or meat completely and go full on veggie. Remember vegatables cook down in size so when you're staring at a mountain of veg you'll only have about half of that by the time it is all done. Basically this is the most versatile way for me to get good foods into my family and make it quickly with little effort. I can chop everything the night before or early in the morning or even buy pre-chopped frozen veggies to thaw along with the meat. Minute rice is even an option to speed things along.

This recipes makes a lot of sauce. I like mine sauce my husband not so much so when serving I'll plate it up with less sauce and reserve some on the ise for me. You could cut the amount of sauce back if you so desire. 

I know this seems like a lot of food, and it is. This usually feeds two adults and one child dinner and then again for lunch the next day and often at least one more meal out of it for one of us.

marinade

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/2 inch chunk of ginger, grated or finely chopped

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon sesame oil

4-6 boneless chicken breast cut into chunks

sauce

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup peanut butter (I prefer the natural type that is still a bit grainy)

1/8 cup honey

1-2 tablespoons rice vinegar or lime juice

2 table spoons sesame oil plus extra for cooking

1 tablespoon of Sriracha (I tend to add more afterwards so that I don't have little ones breathing fire)

2 tablespoons of cornstarch

4 tablespoons of water

coconut or peanut oil for cooking

your choice of approx 6-8 cups of veggies

and 4-6 cups of cooked rice, I use brown or jasmine

(You can stir fry the rice but my guys prefer it light and fluffy)

Start but combining all of the ingredients for the marinade into a large gallon sized freezer bag or casserole dish with a lid. Add chicken in or toss to coat. Let it marinate for 30 minutes or more.

Start by making your sauce.

For sauce whisk together soy sauce, peanut butter and honey.Whisk in vinegar/lime juice and Sriracha. Slowly add sesame oil while whisking. Set aside.

Start cooking with your veggies. Put your wok or skillet on medium-high, add 1/2 tbsp of cooking oil add veggies in along with a few drops of sesame oil, not too much, that stuff is strong. Sauteed your veggies until tender crisp and set aside. You may need to add more cooking oil at this point. Add your chicken sauteed until brown. Then add sauce simmer until chicken is cooked through. Once chicken is cooked through remove chicken from sauce and set aside. Bring sauce back to a boil. Combine water and cornstarch. Stir slurry into boiling sauce and whisk well so that lumps do not form. Boil one minute or until sauce is thickened. Remove from the heat. I like to serve mine layered on a large platter, starting with rice, then veggies, chicken next topped with sauce and peanuts. However sometimes I make my family's plates for them and layer it in the same way in a large bowl.

Some nice substitutions are mango puree, curry paste, coconut milk or orange juice instead of peanut butter. Very often I may combine some of the flavors. Orange and coconut milk are wonderful as well as coconut milk and curry paste. You will also need to modify your measurements and other ingredients also. For example you may choose to omit the honey with the curry paste. If all of these flavors are just too much for you swap in a chicken stock. (beef for steak and veggie for vegetables ) 

Something else to consider, if I sub steak for chicken I like to lower or omit the peanut butter and up the soy sauce. I leave the peanut butter out totally for shrimp and scallops. We prefer the seafood  with either the coconut or fruit sauces. 

Chicken Tikka Masala

We have a few favorites around here that we eat at least once month if not more often, Chicken Tikka is one of them. It is easy and even though it takes a bit of time, it isn't constant, chopping, shredding, stirring, etc... I use the time to do my dishes, clean my counters, whip up a dessert, secretly dance around my kitchen to MC Hammer songs, or whatever my moods moves me to do.

Normally I make Quick Pickled Cucumbers or roasted broccoli and have Naan to go along with the rice. You'll definitely want Naan, pita or some sort of bread to soak up any last bit of sauce. I almost licked my plate tonight. But I am a lady, sort of, so I restrained myself.

For the Chicken Tikka Masala you will need:


1 cup of plain Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
salt and pepper
4 boneless skinless chicken breast

Combine yogurt, ginger, garlic, salt and pepper in a gallon size freezer bag, add in chicken and toss. Let marinate for an hour or more.

2 tablespoons butter
2-3 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced
2-3 tablespoons garlic, minced
1 Serrano or Jalapeno pepper diced (remember to remove the seeds unless you like it HOT)
4 tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoom garam masala
8-10 Roma tomatoes diced
1-1 1/2 cup of water
1/4 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper

In a skillet melt butter and add in ginger, garlic and the pepper. Saute until slightly golden approximately 3-4 minutes then add tomato paste. Cook until darkened just a bit add in paprika and garam masala, cook 2 minutes. Add in tomatoes and a cup of water. Simmer uncovered for 15-20 minutes. Transfer to food processor and process until a smooth texture. Add back to skillet and simmer while you grill chicken add in the remaining half cup of water if needed. I used my griddle but you can sear it in a skillet or on a grill. Grill until just brown on the outside and add to the curry. Finish cooking for approximately 5 minutes, could be more or less depending on your stove and size of our breast. Once chicken is cooked through stir in cream and season with salt and pepper. Serve with white or brown rice.

Happenings and Sweet and Spicy BACON Wrapped Chicken

  

Currently I'm listening to The Joker by The Steve Miller Band, because I'm from the wrong decade, and looking through some of my Instagram pics. Now I'm going to force them on you before I give you my new, bad for you, splurge on calories, seriously I don't even want to know how bad it is for you chicken recipe. 

  

 Got my hair did!!! New cut, check! New color, still undecided!

Starting to feel human again. I was beginning to feel like sweats pants with spit up and peanut butter stain were all I owned!

3 months old already!!! 

Splurged on some statement pants and boots! Momma needed a little treat. 

Date Night Chicken Spaghetti alla Carbonara and Due Date

Already fighting... 

i ♥ fall!!! 

boots

knock off Poutine 

(no cheese curds to be found and the only cheese on hand was mozzarella) 

still sinfully delicious!

Already listening to Christmas music! 

My Doodle Bug!

Pomegranate!!!

The rest of the dinner needs some tweaking but the Chicken is worth sharing...

Bacon Wrapped Sweet and Spicy Chicken

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/8 tsp garam masala
1/4/ tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp chili powder
4-8 strips of bacon (depending on the size of you chicken, or your love for bacon)
4 boneless chicken breasts

Combine sugar and spices on a plate or in a small bowl. Pat seasonings onto chicken breasts, reserving some for the top. Wrap the chicken in bacon and top with remaining seasoning bake approx 20 minutes or cooked through. Cook time will vary depending in size.

I also made a pomegranate Sriracha dipping sauce but that is a recipe for another day! I'm not 100% pleased but the hubs tried to drink it then almost spit fire. True Story!

Crockpot BBQ Chicken

I'm back, finally! Sort of... This is just a short post for now and crossing my fingers to be back soon. I made so amazing BBQ chicken in my slow cooker a couple of weeks ago. So easy and gooooooood.

You'll need: 

6 boneless skinless Chicken Breasts

2 18oz bottles of BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's)

1 bottle of beer (we used Samuel Adams Boston Lager)

garlic powder

onion powder

Place the thawed chicken in the crock pot. Pour 1 1/2 bottles of BBQ sauce over the chicken, along with the beer. Sprinkle on just enough of the powder to lightly cover. Cook on low for 6 hours. Shred chicken with two forks toss back into slow cooker. Use the remainder of the sauce for extra for the sandwich.

for the slaw

You'll need:
1 head of cabbage
salt
honey
juice of 1 lime

Shred or chop your cabbage to the texture you like. Mix in the ingredients to taste.

I started making this slaw for fish tacos but it is the only slaw that I can get my husband to eat so it is the only slaw allowed in our house now. But it is so good I will eat a bowl of just slaw for lunch some days. Does that make we strange? If you think that makes me strange you must not know me then... Just sayin...

What's for dinner?

This is what we've been eating this week for dinner. I'd love to give you recipes but most of these have all had an inspiration recipe but then I just rolled with the punches and tweaked things as I went. I really do try to stick to a recipe but just can't stay focused enough.

Coconut Ginger Chicken Stir-Fry with Broccoli, Bok Choy and Brown Rice

Here is the basic run down of the sauce:

Coconut Milk

Soy Sauce

Honey 

Ginger

Lemon Grass

I stir-fry my veggies then let them rest while I brown the chicken add the sauce to my wok then add the veggies back in and add a slurry of cornstarch and water to thicken and serve on brown  rice. 

This is my basic stir-fry I just swap out proteins, veggies, and sauce ingredients.

Baked Chicken Nuggets, Baked Parmesan Zucchini with Faxby Sauce and Caramelized Onion Balsamic Sauce

 Ok, this one was easy but time consuming. The chicken is easy. I use kitcehn shears to cut the chicken into nuggets. Coat them in a beaten egg then toss in a gallon storage bag with  Panko Bread Crumbs. Bake ate 350 F until cooked through and golden brown. You can see some of mine are extra crispy, almost blackened, but that is the way the hubby likes them. You may need to flip them half way through cooking. 

For the zucchini cut into "fry" shapes and coat your sliced zucchini the same as the chicken but add some salt. Bake and right before you take it out add shredded Parmesan to the top and give it another minute or two. 

For the sauces all I can do is tell you what is in them because I have no earthly idea what the measurements were.

Faxby Sauce (my knock off of Zaxby's sauce)

mayo

ketchup

garlic powder

anchovies (trust me here)

just a drop of honey

Worcestershire sauce

lemon juice (if needed) 

salt
black pepper lots and lots of black pepper

Caramelized Onion Balsamic Sauce

caramelized onions, pureed or finley chopped

balsamic vinegar (I used blueberry balsamic this time)

I make this one in the pan. Caramelize your onions then deglaze the pan with vinegar. Turn down to a simmer add the rest of your ingredients. 

salt (just a pinch or two)

honey or agave nectar

black pepper

spicy brown mustard

 Sweet and Spice Chicken with Pomegranate Carrots

I made a rub for the chicken out of

Brown Sugar

Salt

Cumin 

Spicy Brown Mustard

Garlic
a very tiny bit of Sriracha

Marinated the chicken in the rub for a couple of hours and brown in a skillet that can go from stove top to oven. Once brown bake in the oven until cooked through.

Cut the carrots into match sticks then steam in chicken or veggie broth. Once tender crisp add honey, spicy brown mustard, pomegranate juice and salt to pan a finish cooking until sauce is thickened and carrots are tender.

Creamy Cauliflower Soup

For this one I can actually give the recipe. It's from Annie's Eats. It is super yummy!

A Night of New Recipes.... Orange Chicken and Peas

This chicken recipe has been patiently waiting in my "Recipes To Try" folder for months now and I finally decided to try it. Honestly I was a bit skeptical of it. I was wrong, it was wonderful. I figured while I was at it I would finally use the frozen peas in my freezer. Lee and I both HATE the texture of peas but I don't want to stop Caleb from trying new food just because we don't like them. So for that reason I reluctatnly bought some peas a month or so ago and decided since I was afraid of the result of the chicken I might as well go for broke and make a brand new dinner.

We had Crispy Skinned Orange Chicken and Pea Puree. For the Chicken recipe go here. I added a little Sriracha because I cannot get enough of that stuff. For the peas I was inspired by Nigella Lawson's pea puree but I did not follow the recipe exactly. I didn't have creme fraiche and I omitted the mint and Parmesan. I used milk and a bit of cream cheese and added parsley.  I added too much milk so we decided it was Cream of Pea Soup. We liked it very much.

 When I started plating everything I thought it was a funny little sight. Caleb's dishes are a kid's set from Ikea and he almost always eats off of them. Lee's and mine are different because I wanted a smaller bowl therefor I used matching plates for each of our bowls. I bought the white set from Pier 1 a million years ago and the pink set was a random find in the Target Dollar Spot, in the front of the store. It made me think of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

Back Yard Cookout!