Tasty Tuesday: Grilled Citrus-Glazed Chicken Salad

Grilled Citrus-Glazed Chicken Salad

I’ve been meaning to share this recipe for quite some time. It takes me back to just a couple of months ago when, while the weather was cold, we did not have snow on the ground and we used our grill from time to time. Since Valentine’s Day it has been far too cold and snowy for such things.

The original chicken recipe came from McCormick’s 3-StepCooking with Flavor cookbook.

Grilled Citrus-Glazed Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

1 ½ c orange juice

2tbsp honey

1tbsp low-sodium soy sauce

1 clove minced garlic

1 tsp lemon pepper seasoning

½ tsp ground mustard

1lb boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

Directions:

1. Combine the orange juice, honey, soy sauce, garlic, lemon pepper, and mustard in a gallon size plastic resealable bag. Add chicken, seal and squeeze to coat the chicken. Allow to sit in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

2. Pre-heat the grill to medium-high heat.

3. Remove the chicken and discard the remaining marinade. Grill for about 12 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

4. Allow the chicken to rest for 5 minutes and then cut into cubes or strips. Place on top of a bed of fresh greens.

*I added toasted pecans, dried cranberries and a light walnut balsamic dressing. Enjoy!

Any leftover chicken can be used for additional salads or sandwiches.

Linking up with Green Fashionista

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

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Snow days + pregnancy cravings + ample amounts of baking supplies equal good things (unless my obstetrician tells me otherwise at my upcoming appointment). Last week I had a ridiculous craving for chocolate chip cookies. Someone may or may not have demolished an entire package of chocolate chip cookies last week…can’t blame the hubby or toddler for that one. So naturally, when I was trying to decide what to make for my husband’s volunteer fire department’s annual dinner fundraiser, I knew what was going to be my contribution.

Each year the wives, along with some of the fire department’s auxiliary team, make desserts to go with the main meal. I opted to make some super delish chocolate chip cookie bars. Now, this recipe makes a lot…I cut 15 large (maybe giant is more appropriate) bars but you could easily double or triple that number by cutting them smaller.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

You can find Martha Stewart’s original recipe and directions here.

Ingredients:

1 ½ c (3 sticks) of butter at room temperature

4 c all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 c sugar

1 ½ c packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1 12oz bag of chocolate chips (butterscotch or peanut butter would also work well)

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350.

2. Cream together the butter and both sugars. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well. Add the vanilla.

3. Add the baking soda and then slowly add the flour. Mix until well combined (the mixture will be thick).

4. Add the chocolate chips. Mix until just combined.

5. Line a 9x13 pan with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Evenly spread the cookie dough batter into the pan (I found using a wooden spoon to work best).

6. Bake for 25-30 minutes and check. The top of the bars should be slightly browned. Over baking will make them dry and crumbly. I baked mine for almost 35 minutes and they turned out perfectly.

7. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Remove from the pan, slice and serve. Yum!

These were delicious! It is a good thing that they are not staying in my house because I would be in some serious trouble. These are so good! Enjoy!

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Tasty Tuesday: Butterscotch Haystacks

I'm giving credit to my first grade teacher for this one. If I had tasted these before her then I apologize.  I remember her bringing these to school one day and I was hooked.

Now it's been several years since I've made these but last night I had to have them. The cravings with this baby have been very similar to my first.  Eggs and sweets. Normally I can take or leave dessert but currently I'd rather eat it as the first course.  Last night's craving revolved around butterscotch...not the candies, but the chips, pudding,  pie, etc.

I happened to have what I needed for this recipe...so now present to you Butterscotch Haystacks!

Ingredients :
1c. butterscotch chips
1/2c. Peanut butter
2c. Chow mein noodles

Directions:
Combine the butterscotch chips and peanut butter into a medium-sized microwavable bowl. Heat for about 2 minutes and make sure to stir about every 30 seconds until the chips and peanut butter are well combined and smooth. Spoon the mixture into little piles on a sheet of foil or wax paper and allow to set completely. This recipe makes 12 to 15 generous haystacks but will easily make many more smaller ones. You could also mix it up and instead of using butterscotch chips use chocolate or white chocolate chips for a different flavor.

Enjoy!

Linking up with Green Fashionista for Tasty Tuesday

Christmas Memories: Homemade Sugar Cookies

I was so blessed to have my mom come up for Christmas. I love seeing her interact with G. I hate that our time together is so short and that the distance between us is so far...I have dreams for it to change some day. So until that day, we soak up every second and make as many memories as we can.

One of my favorite memories from childhood was making Christmas sugar cookies with my mom. She has used the same recipe forever and it always tastes the same. It is the essence of my childhood Christmases. To my delight, my mom chose to keep the tradition going with her granddaughter.

She even brought matching aprons! Isn't that the cutest thing?!

She and G enjoyed themselves thoroughly. Granna taught G how to roll out the dough and use the cookie cutters.

We opted out of the frosting this year and just decorated the cookies prior to baking. What fun!

Homemade Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

2/3 c shortening

1 1/2 c sugar

2/3 c butter (10tbsp)

2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

8 tsp milk

4 c flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

Cream together shortening, butter and sugar. Add the vanilla and eggs, add flour, baking powder and salt. Add the milk. Mix well and chill for several hours (or overnight).

Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

Flour your work surface. Roll out the dough and cut with cookie cutters. Bake until the cookies are very lightly browned (10-12 minutes). Cool, frost and decorate.

Linking up with Green Fashionista

Inside Out German Chocolate Cake

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Oh how I love holiday baking. The kitchen gains a whole new scent from Thanksgiving to Christmas. The house is always filled with some type of sweet or savory smell this time of year. We had a short notice family gathering this past weekend and with some other fantastic activities we had planned, I didn't have time to do a lot of additional baking for the family event. That's when this semi-homemade dessert came to mind.

I have to give credit to one of my fellow teachers who first introduced me to the basic concept. Her recipe calls for a Butter Pecan cake base (A.MAZ.ING!) which was the only cake mix that was not available at our local Wal-Mart. What are the chances?

Time to improvise. What else goes well with coconut and pecans? Well chocolate of course! I call this cake simple (almost embarrassingly so) and you'll soon see why...

Inside Out German Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

1 box of German Chocolate cake mix

1 can of coconut pecan frosting

Eggs

Oil

Water

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350.

Generously spray a bunt pan (I could not find my "pretty pan" so my angel food cake pan had to suffice) with cooking spray.

Prepare the cake mix according to directions on the box. Before pouring the batter into the pan, remove the foil seal from the frosting and microwave it for about 35 seconds. Scoop the frosting into the cake batter and mix well.

Pour the batter evenly into pan. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Cool for 10 minutes and then remove from the pan by flipping it out onto a plate or platter.

 This cake is heavenly served warm but is also perfect the next day with a cup of coffee. You can't go wrong! I hope you'll find this recipe just as tasty and easy as I have. I continue to receive compliments on the taste and I never come home with leftovers (which could be a good or bad thing, depending how you look at it.)

Happy Baking!

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Peanut Blossoms

I think one of the reasons I love the Christmas season so much is that it reminds me of the good times from my childhood. I love looking back on days filled with snow, Christmas lights, the gathering of family and of course the cooking. There are many Christmas favorites but this one takes me back to my mom every time...

Peanut Blossom Cookies

Ingredients:

48 Hershey Kisses, unwrapped
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup  Creamy Peanut Butter
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
Dash of salt
Additional granulated sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Cream butter and peanut butter in until well blended. Add white sugar and brown sugar; beat until fluffy.

Add the egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to the peanut butter mixture.

Ok, here comes the fun part!

Roll the dough into 1-inch balls. I use a melon baller scoop to give me the perfect amount of dough. Pour a 1/4c of sugar into a shallow bowl. Roll the dough balls in the sugar and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from the oven. Immediately press a Kiss into center of each cookie. The cookie will crack around the edges. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Let cool.

Now honestly I can rarely wait for them to cool...simply because the combination of slightly melted chocolate and warm peanut butter cookie is perfection.

You could use peanut butter cups or other flavors of Kisses. No matter how you do it, I'm sure you'll enjoy.

Linking up with Green Fashionista

Tasty Tuesday: Apple Crumble

I'm alive! I know I've been out of the blogging world for a bit but life has been crazy...a good crazy, but crazy nonetheless. We enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with friends and family. The food was good. The fellowship was great. The time with my sweet little family was priceless.

I've been savoring every moment. Before I get too sappy, I wanted to be sure to share a new go-to recipe. I opted to stray from the typical pumpkin desserts for Thanksgiving this year. I had some delicious apples that I had made and frozen a few weeks ago. (You can find the recipe here.)

I chose to make an Apple Crumble. Oh. My. Word. I could literally just eat it out of the skillet. Now that I've peaked your interest, here is the recipe. (The original recipe can be found here.)

Apple Crumble

Ingredients:

6 c. of Freezer Apple Pie Filling, thawed

1 c. wheat flour
1 c. old-fashioned oats
2/3 c. brown sugar
1/2 c, white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
12 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, diced

Directions:

-Preheat the oven to 350.

-Coat a cast iron skillet with cooking spray.

-Spread the apples evenly in the skillet.

-In a large bowl combine the remaining ingredients. Using your hands (seriously the best method), mix the butter into the dry ingredients until a crumble has formed.

-Sprinkle the mixture over the apples evenly.

-Bake for about 40 minutes or until the topping is browned and bubbly.

-Enjoy alone or with a scoop of ice cream.

Linking up with Green Fashionista



Simple Cinnamon Rolls

I've been a little MIA lately with a sick toddler, home projects and work consuming my days. I finally opted to take a little break and share a recipe I recently tried.

I'm a sucker for cinnamon rolls and I have a great homemade recipe...but it is pretty time consuming (although well worth the effort.) When I stumbled upon this no yeast recipe, which means no rise time, I had to give it a shot. I had everything for the rolls on hand but not for the icing. We opted for pre-made cream cheese icing and that worked just fine.

No Yeast Cinnamon Rolls

For the Cinnamon Filling:
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons butter, melted

For the Cinnamon Roll Dough:
2-1/2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for rolling out dough
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
5 Tablespoons butter, melted and divided

Directions:


Preheat oven to 425. 

Combine filling ingredients in a small bowl, and mix well. In a larger bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. 

Whisk together buttermilk and 4 Tablespoons melted butter in a separate bowl, then pour into the dry ingredients. Stir together until dough just comes together (do not over mix.) Kneed slightly with your hands until the dough forms into a ball, then slice it in half.

On a lightly floured surface, roll each half into a rectangle that is a little larger than a piece of paper. Press half the filling mixture into the center, leaving 1/4″ of the dough clear on all 4 sides, then roll, starting with one of the short ends. Pinch together the seam, trim the ends and cut into 8-10 slices. 

Repeat with the other dough half, then place rolls in a non-stick sprayed 9×13 pan. Brush the rolls with remaining melted butter and bake for 15 minutes, or until tops are golden brown.

Top with icing and enjoy! 

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Tasty Tuesday: Sticky Chicken

Let me begin by saying that I have had continued requests for this dish by my husband since I made it the other night. I found the original recipe here.

Sticky Chicken

Ingredients:

1lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into large chunks or strips

½ cup flour
3 eggs
2 tablespoons water
1 cup panko crumbs

For the sauce:
1½ cups brown sugar
⅓ cup Frank's hot sauce
½ teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons water

Directions:
-Preheat your oven to 425 and line a cookie sheet with a piece of foil sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
-In a zip lock bag, combine the flour and chicken pieces. Shake to coat them well.
-Pour the panko onto a plate.
-In a bowl, whisk together the eggs and water.
-Dip the chicken pieces into the egg mixture and then coat well with the panko.
-Place on the baking pan and bake for about 20-25 minutes or until cooked through.
-Meanwhile, combine the hot sauce and brown sugar in a sauce pan and mix well. Bring to a boil. Allow to boil for about a minute and then remove from the heat. Add in the garlic powder and water. Whisk until smooth.
-When the chicken is baked, toss it along with the sauce in a large bowl.

I served with ranch dressing and they were delish!

The Countdown is Coming to an End

I've been linking up with Tickled Pink this October for the Countdown to Halloween. I've loved it! I've gotten great ideas and I've been able to share the sweet things that have been going on around here.

I'm sad to see this month end, but it was definitely filled with some wonderful things. This past week was no exception.

[Pumpkin Carving]
G was old enough to "help" us carve her pumpkin this year. I saw this adorable pumpkin and had to do it. I free-handed the outlines and my hubby and I took turns carving. G loved the pumpkin guts. We all had a sense of excitement when it was finally finished and lit.

[Secret Pal]
We have Secret Pals at work. It's a lot of fun. At the beginning of the year we randomly pick a person to give little gifts to throughout the year. My SP rocked my gift for Halloween. I played into my person's love of fruit by putting together a cute little "pumpkin" basket based on this adorable idea.

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[Fall Festival]
Our church puts on a fall festival every year as an alternative and/or additional activity to trick or treating each year. There are bounce houses, games, candy, and so much fun. It's an amazing ministry. Last year G was so little. I had to carry her everywhere.

G with her Aunt Mary and Uncle Colton...such a cute little caterpillar

G chillin' with our pastor

This year she was Little Miss Independent.

Playing games like a big girl

A girl and her balloon

[Annual Orchard Trip]
For the last several years our family joins our dear friends for a trip to a nearby apple orchard. We typically enjoy a hayride, the pumpkin patch, apples, cider donuts, etc. We also typically go earlier in October but due to the excessive rain, we held off. We decided next time we'd take our chances. We arrived at the top of the mountain to find bitter winds and cold temperatures. It was as if winter had come early. Bundled up, we browsed the market, scoped out the pumpkin patch and then of course delighted ourselves with hot cider and fresh cider donuts. Afterwards we took the bus to Fuji (apples that is) and did a short walk through the trees. Thankfully the impending rain held off and we were able to leave just short of numb. It's always a treat to be with our friends. We love them dearly and look forward to this tradition every year.

The bus to Fuji

Enjoying the pumpkin patch

The apple stare down

Our traditional family picture

[Sausage Dip]
I was introduced to this recipe by a dear friend of mine several years ago. In fact, I remember the first time I had it. We had gone to visit them at their first home and they treated us to this delicious dip and chips. I ended up making it the other night for a football game...it's been so long! I'll definitely be making it again soon.

(I wish I had a pic but it was gone before I thought about taking one...trust me,

if you make it, you'll forget about taking a picture too.)

Sausage Dip

Ingredients:

1lb Sage sausage (I use Jimmy Dean)

1 8oz package of fat free cream cheese

1 can rotel

Directions:

Brown and drain the sausage.

Mix it together in a baking dish and microwave until it is bubbling (5-7 minutes)

You can mix it in a bowl and then transfer to a microwave safe container...

Serve with tortilla chips.

Linking up with Green Fashionista for Tasty Tuesday.



Fall Is My Favorite

A beautiful fall sunrise from earlier in the week.

If I could have this fall weather all year with a few snow days mixed in I'd be one happy girl. I love fall. There are so many wonderful things that are solely reserved for this time of year. We've had a lot happen over the last week and we're working on checking off more things from our Fall Fun List.

[Apple Pie Filling]
We went apple picking the other week and I've got oodles of apples to use up. I decided to make some apple pie filling.  It's really versatile and is perfect for holiday get togethers. It freezes well and makes a good amount.

Apple Pie Filling

12c sliced and peeled apples

1/2c white sugar

1/2c brown sugar

1/2c cornstarch

2 tsp apple pie spice

3c water

Prepare the apples and set them to the side. Combine the remaining ingredients in a large pot and stir well. Bring to a boil and as it begins to thicken add the apples. Lower the heat to medium/low and mix well so the apples are coated. Cover and cook until the apples start to soften a bit (10-12 minutes). Stir occasionally. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 30-45 minutes. 

Scoop about 2.5c of apples into each quart freezer bag. It yields about 4 quarts. Allow to cool completely and then freeze.

[Family Pictures]

We had family pictures done and got them back this week. I'm in love. You can check out more of them here. 

[6 Years]

We celebrated 6 years of marriage on Saturday.  Our friends graciously watched our daughter so that we could enjoy a night out. 

Our view from our dinner table

We took a walk around the lake after dinner

The restaurant

Smores! 

We returned to their house and cozied up next to the fire and made Smores. 

[Trunk or Treat]

Our friends' church had their annual Trunk or Treat on Sunday evening.  I must say we have the cutest little ladybug. We enjoyed dinner and of course there was candy. We'll enjoy our church's Fall Festival this Friday.

[Fall Field Trip]

We took our class to a local pumpkin patch. They enjoyed lots of fun activities and got to take home their very own pumpkin. 

Linking up with Tickled Pink

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