Chicken Salad Sandwich Filling/Sweetheart Tea

Last weekend I threw a Sweetheart Tea for all the women in my family (there were 17 of us!).  Originally it was supposed to be one year after our Teddy Bear Tea, which would have put it last November, but on calling around to my daughters, they all agreed that November/December was too busy, and why not schedule it for January/February when the weather is terrible and you're just dying for a party to go to to break up the monotony of winter.  I thought that sounded like a good idea, so we had it last Saturday, Feb. 5th, which was a little early for Valentine's Day (hence the theme) but I also wanted to work in a celebration of my mom's 93rd birthday on Feb. 4th.  Everyone was supposed to wear a Valentine shirt or Valentine colors, bring a card for my mom, and could bring their favorite doll if they wished.  My mom brought her only doll from her childhood (it's 81 years old) and told us about it.  I decorated with dolls from my childhood

and several of the granddaughters brought their dolls.  Here's Lauren showing us her doll:

For the menu, we had mini croissant chicken salad sandwichs (no gluten intolerance in this group) and Pasta Chicken Fruit Salad for the savory course, mini Poppy Seed Muffins and Applesauce Spice Raisin Muffins, and Orange-Cranberry Scones cut in heart shapes (recipe coming soon) for the scone course, and Valentine's Day Breakfast Cake (also coming soon) for the sweet course.  Here's a picture of the table with the above dishes on it:

I got the recipe for the sandwich filling from my daughter-in-law Julie (who also supplied the recipe for the previous post).  It would look and taste great on any of the GF breads sliced thin, lightly toasted, crusts cut off and cut into small squares or triangles (or hearts for a Sweetheart Tea :), especially the Soft White Bread. 

Chicken Salad Sandwich Filling

3 Cups cubed cooked chicken

1-1/2 Cups grapes, sliced in half

1/2 Cup sliced almonds or roughly chopped cashews

4-5 diced green onions

2 stalks celery, diced

8 fresh basil leaves, minced (if you can't find fresh basil leaves, substitute 1 tsp dried basil)

3-4 - 1 Cup mayonnaise

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

Havarti cheese

lettuce

Mix the mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt, pepper and basil together until well mixed.  Combine chicken, grapes, nuts, onions and celery.  Fold in mayonnaise mixture.  Refrigerate.  When making sandwiches, top filling with a thin slice of Havarti cheese and a lettuce leaf.  Serve immediately.

I decided to serve all the courses at once this year because at the Teddy Bear Tea I did each course separately, and everyone was too full by the time we got to the sweet course.  Here's everyone filling up their plates:

and our group shot:

A good time was had by all!

Yummy Fall Salad

This is a wonderful recipe that I got from my daughter-in-law, Julie.  Whenever we have a family get together, it's always a potluck (there are 30 of us and there's no way I'm cooking for that many on a regular basis :) and she brought this salad to one of them.  Everyone loved it so much that she has to bring it to every party now.  As a side note, we usually serve the cashews in a little bowl separately rather than mixed in the salad since we have some family members who are allergic to nuts.  It's such a tasty salad, that it's good even without them, although better with!  Also, don't let the Fall in the name deter you from making this anytime -- I think it's called that because of the apples and pears which are usually considered fall fruits, but which you can find most of the year.  Be sure that the pears are perfectly ripe so that they'll be full of flavor.  You'll also notice that there are no amounts for the salad -- make as much as you need!  Serve the dressing separately too, letting each person put on the amount they want.  You'll find yourself hoping that there is some left over for later -- it's a wonderful dressing.  Enjoy!

Yummy Fall Salad

Salad:  Romaine lettuce, chopped
            Swiss cheese, cubed tiny
            Cashews
            Craisins
            Cubed apples
            Cubed pears
  
Dressing: 1/2 Cup sugar
                1/3 Cup lemon juice
                1/2 tsp dry mustard
                1 tsp salt
                2 tsp chopped onion
                2/3 Cup oil
                1 Tbsp poppy seeds

Combine sugar, lemon juice, dry mustard, salt and onion in blender; blend well.  While blender is running, add oil in a slow, steady stream;  blend until smooth.  Pulse or stir in poppy seeds.

Gail's Green Beans

I made the yummiest green beans for Thanksgiving dinner!  I got the idea from my friend Gail who is one of the most creative cooks on the planet.  She's always up to something wonderful in her kitchen, and doesn't use recipes much, preferring to create as she goes.  Anyway, she brought these beans to a dinner we both attended and they were so wonderful I had to ask her how she did them.  No recipe, of course, but she told me what she had put in, so I did the same for Thanksgiving, and voila!  They were as easy and delicious as Gail said they'd be! 

Gail's Green Beans

Enough fresh green beans for 3-4 people (about 1 lb)
1 Tbsp butter
2 green onions, sliced
6 medium sized fresh mushrooms, cut in half and then sliced
2 slices bacon, fried crisp and chopped

Cook green beans in boiling water until tender-crisp.  Drain.  While beans are cooking, melt butter in large fry pan; saute onions and mushrooms in butter until cooked.  Add cooked chopped bacon and drained green beans and cook together briefly, stirring well.  Serve immediately. 

Pasta Chicken Fruit Salad

This is another fantastic salad recipe from my friend Janice, who also supplied the wonderful Strawberry Spinach Salad.  If you like fruit in your pasta salads, you'll love this one.  It makes a bunch -- enough to feed 12-15 people -- so it's a great party salad.  If you don't have gluten intolerance, just use regular pasta.

Pasta Chicken Fruit Salad

2 Cups brown rice shell pasta, uncooked
1/2 tsp grated green onion
4 Cups cooked chicken, chopped
2-20 oz. cans pineapple chunks
2 Cups grapes (I like to cut them in half so you don't have to chase them around your plate :)
2 apples, peeled and diced
1/2 Cup slivered almonds
2 Cups celery, diced
1 Cup mayonnaise
1 Cup coleslaw dressing (you can buy this at the supermarket - I like Hidden Valley brand)

Cook pasta and drain.  Mix all ingredients together.  Refrigerate.  Salt to taste before serving.

I took this to a party tonight and came home with maybe 1-1/2 cups worth -- everybody loved it!

Avocado Cucumber Dip and Salad Dressing

This recipe is a great way to use avocados that are getting too ripe (besides guacamole), a wonderful dip for fresh veggies, or a tasty salad dressing.  Talk about multi-tasking!  It has a bright, fresh taste and a smooth texture.  You're gonna love it!

Avocado Cucumber Dip and Salad Dressing

1/3 Cup olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
2-4 Tbsp dried cilantro or 1/2 - 3/4 Cup chopped fresh cilantro (depending on your taste)
2 avocados, peeled, seeded and chunked
1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and chunked
1/4 Cup fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Put olive oil and garlic into a blender; process until smooth.  Add cilantro, avocado, cucumber and lemon juice.  Blend until smooth.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Refrigerate.

Orange Cole Slaw

I love cole slaw!  I have several different recipes for cole slaw (sweet, spicy, oniony) which I use depending on what I'm serving it with.  However, since my doctor has had me on a strict no-sugar diet, cole slaw has not been the same.  Commercial mayonnaise has sugar in it, and all of my recipes call for mayonnaise and include added sweetener of some sort.  When I tried making it with my own homemade mayonnaise and no added sweetener, I didn't care for it at all.  So, I began experimenting.  Was it possible to make it sweeter with things I was allowed on this diet?  The answer was yes!  So here's the recipe I created, which has given me back cole slaw and bonus! my husband loves it too.

Orange Cole Slaw

1/2 small head cabbage, sliced fine (about 4 cups)
2 oranges, peeled and cut into chunks
1/2 Cup plus 2 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 rounded Tbsp finely grated orange peel (be sure it's just the orange part--no pith, which is bitter)
1/4 Cup freshly squeezed orange juice

Put cabbage and orange chunks into a large bowl.  In a small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, orange peel and orange juice.  Pour over cabbage and oranges and mix thoroughly.  Serve immediately.  Serves 4.

Refreshing, delicious, and good for you too!  Such a deal!

Pasta Salad

Happy Independence Day!  Today's recipe is a natural at Independence Day picnics -- healthy, easy to fix and transport, pretty to look at, and always popular.  I don't think I've ever had leftovers to take home after a picnic.  OK, I know most everyone has their own version of pasta salad and that you can buy them at delis everywhere, but you have to agree that it's one of the most versatile dishes on the planet and therefore worth talking about a bit.  The good news for those who have to eat wheat free is that there are now great wheat free pastas available.  (Look here if you're searching for one.)  And, there's no better way to use up leftover vegetables or clean out your refrigerator than a pasta salad -- virtually anything works in it!  The trick is putting together good combinations.  So here's some suggestions of how to get started, and then some variations.

Pasta Salad

1 12-16 oz pkg brown rice pasta, your choice of shape, cooked, drained, rinsed with cold water, drained again
Chopped vegetables -- the following are basic to all recipes:
celery, sliced
radishes, sliced
green pepper, diced
carrots, cut small
zucchini, diced
cucumber, diced

For an all-vegetable pasta salad, you can add any or all of the following:
green onion, sliced, or red onion, diced
broccoli, cut small
cauliflower, cut small
mushrooms, sliced
peas
avocados, ripe but firm, diced
canned beans of your choice, drained and rinsed well
olives

To make it super easy, just use your favorite gluten-free Italian salad dressing as the sauce for it.  Add some, stir, taste, add more and keep going until it's to your liking.  If you make it a day ahead, be sure you stir and taste before serving -- you may have to add more dressing as the pasta absorbs some while it sits.  If you'd like to make your own dressing, here's a good one:

1/2 Cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 Cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
ground black pepper to taste

Whisk together in a bowl.  Pour over pasta salad and stir.  Add additional salt to taste, if desired.

For a vegetable/fruit pasta salad, you can add any or all to the basic recipe:

pineapple chunks
mandarin oranges
fresh oranges, chopped
grapefruit sections
apple chunks
kiwi fruit, chopped
fresh berries or strawberries if serving immediately (they turn everything pink if left overnight)
raisins, craisins, dried cherries, or other dried fruits

Here's a light citrus dressing I love for a fruited pasta salad:

1/2 Cup orange juice
1/4 Cup lemon juice
1/4 Cup vegetable oil
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
1/8 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp pepper

Combine all ingredients in a blender, cover and process until blended.  Pour over salad, stir and taste, adding salt as desired, until it tastes right to you.  Refrigerate any leftover dressing.

Mayonnaise thinned with a little fruit juice also works well as a dressing.

Nuts or seeds can be added for additional crunch and good taste. If you want to make either salad into a main dish salad, just add cooked, chopped meat:  chicken, turkey, ham, shrimp, beef, or pork.

The variations are endless!  Get creative and have fun.  Here's a picture of a pasta salad I made today -- it's just the basic recipe with chopped fresh orange added and the citrus dressing.  Yummy!

Orange and Avocado Chicken Salad

Has everybody noticed how super sweet and delicious oranges are right now?  Time to take advantage of them!  This recipe is a great flavor combo -- oranges, avocados, and chicken.  (I'll bet it would taste good with shrimp too, but you know me and shrimp :).  I clipped this recipe from a Sunset Magazine about 10 years ago -- it's quick and easy and won't heat up your kitchen at all if you grill the chicken or buy one at Costco.  I hope you'll like it as much as we do.

Orange and Avocado Chicken Salad

4 oranges (about 1/2 lb each)
3 firm-ripe avocados (about 1/2 lb each)
1/2 Cup orange juice
6 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp chopped fresh dill or 1 tsp dried dill weed
1/2 tsp sugar
Salt to taste
2 Cups diced or sliced skinned cooked chicken or turkey breast (smoked is good too)
About 1/2 Cup very thinly sliced red onion

With a very sharp knife, cut peel and white membrane from oranges.  Thinly slice oranges crosswise.  Peel and pit 2 avocados.  Dice avocado and mix with 3 Tbsp orange juice, 2 Tbsp lime juice, dill, sugar, and salt to taste.  Mound chunked avocado equally on plates.  Top equally with chicken.  Peel and pit remaining avocado and thinly slice lengthwise.  Separate onion slices into rings.  Mix remaining orange juice and lime juice.  Arrange orange slices, avocado slices, and onion rings equally on plates, then moisten with orange-lime juice mixture.  Add salt to taste.  Makes 4 servings.

If you like, you can garnish this with dill sprigs and minced fresh jalapeno chili peppers.

Braised Leeks

Have you ever done much cooking with leeks?  I didn't for the longest time -- I thought they looked like overgrown green onions, and couldn't imagine what I could possibly do with them.  However, they're very adaptable.  You can use thin slices in salads or on sandwiches, or slice them into soups and pasta dishes.  They're very mild and delicate tasting.  This is the first recipe I've run onto (besides leek soup) where they are the star ingredient!  I decided to try it, and it's delicious.  I hope you'll try it too. 

Braised Leeks

3 leeks, white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise and cut into 3" lengths
2 Tbsp butter
Coarse salt and ground pepper

Separate layers of leeks and rinse well.  Melt butter over medium heat in a large skillet.  Add leeks and 3/4 cup water.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cover and cook at a medium simmer until leeks are very tender (adding more water if necessary) for 14-16 minutes.  Serve hot.  4 servings.

Zucchini with Lemon and Thyme

Here's another recipe for you green-thumb, gardening people to save for later in the summer when your zucchinis start running amok.  Our first experience with zucchinis was an interesting one.  When my husband was in graduate school at Utah State we lived in student housing, and thus didn't have a garden.  However, one summer someone in Logan offered a 1/2 acre of their land to any group of students who wanted to have a small garden (each couple got about two rows), and we were poor and thought this would save us money, so we signed up.  We had never gardened before, but knew we wanted some tomatoes and cucumbers, and had heard that zucchini was pretty easy to grow.  So we planted a couple tomato plants, a couple cucumber plants, and five hills of zucchini with 3 plants in each hill.  I can hear you experienced gardeners laughing from here, and for you inexperienced gardeners, take my word for it, you only need 1 or 2 zucchini plants, not fifteen.  Having no idea what the harvest would be, we carefully tended our plants, which grew like crazy, and before we knew it we were harvesting 15-20 zucchini per day.  I kid you not -- PER DAY.  Well, there's only so much zucchini you can eat, and you quickly discover that there's only so much you can give away.  We hated to see it go to waste, so being enterprising college students, we hit on the idea of leaving boxes of zucchini in the student housing laundry centers (under the cover of dark so no one would know where they were coming from :).  Amazingly, every day the boxes were emptied.  We wondered where all that zucchini could possibly be going, and eventually discovered that the large population of foreign students attending Utah State were mostly vegetarian and were delighted with the free produce that had started magically appearing in the laundry centers!  Talk about a win-win situation!  We never did disclose the source of the zucchini; we were just happy that it was getting eaten.  And we never planted fifteen zucchini plants again.  Anyway, here's a tasty recipe for zucchini, whether you grow your own or not (I found this recipe and the recipes in the next two posts in the Everyday Food Magazine.  It's a great little recipe magazine that I'm having fun cooking through :).

Zucchini with Lemon and Thyme

1-1/2 lbs zucchini (about 3 medium), chopped
4 tsp olive oil

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add the zucchini and toss to coat in oil.  Season with coarse salt and ground pepper and cook until golden brown in spots, about 4 minutes.  Transfer to serving bowl.  Add:

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves (or sprinkle on some dried thyme if you don't have any fresh)

Season with additional salt and pepper if you think it needs it.  Serve hot.  4 servings.

If you want another recipe using zucchini, check out the comment on this post from a devoted reader.  Thanks Anna! 

Summer Squash Casserole

If you have a vegetable garden this year, and have planted crookneck squash or zucchini squash, be sure you keep this recipe handy.  It's a delicious, different way to use summer squash.  Today I used crookneck squash that I bought at the store -- it was the first time I had seen crooknecks since last summer!  I actually prefer them for this recipe because they have a firmer texture, even when cooked, than zucchini do.  However, if you get overrun with zucchini (and who doesn't :) they can be used too.  Just be sure not to overcook them in the first step, and drain super well.

Summer Squash Casserole

2 lbs. crookneck or zucchini squash, cut in 1/2" rounds, do not peel
2 eggs, beaten
1 Cup mayonnaise
1 small onion, chopped (if your family doesn't like chunks of onion in their food, and you still want the flavor, grate the onion instead)
1/4 Cup green pepper, chopped (I used yellow today, because I had some left over -- use any color you like)
3/4 Cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 tsp thyme
salt and pepper

Cook squash in boiling water 5-10 minutes or until done.  Drain well.  (I drain the water off, then place them on several paper towels in a single layer and let them rest, blotting the top with additional paper towels.)
Beat eggs, blend in mayonnaise until smooth.  Add green pepper, onion, and thyme and 1/2 Cup of the cheese.  Fold in well drained squash gently.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Spoon into 9 x 13 glass casserole dish.  Sprinkle top with remaining cheese, dot with butter, and bake uncovered in a 375 oven for 25-30 minutes, or until lightly browned.   Serve hot.

Dig in!

Citrus-Roasted Asparagus

This is a recipe that combines two of my favorite foods:  asparagus and oranges.  I love asparagus and will eat it just about any way at all; usually I just steam it until tender and eat it with butter, salt and pepper.  But this recipe takes it to new heights and is totally worth the extra preparation.  In case you didn't know, the fattest spears of asparagus will be the most tender.  If you have picked wild asparagus, you know that the first spears that make their appearance in the spring are the fat ones.  After you pick them, another shoot is sent up, but it's much thinner than the first one and not as tender.  After you pick that one, the next one is even thinner and less tender.  By then, the season is about over.  My husband used to take our kids asparagus hunting along riverbanks and ditches in the early spring.  It's not easy to see asparagus fronds--they blend in with all the other green and growing things.  When you know what you're looking for, though, you can spot them if you try.  He used to tell the kids to put on their "asparagus eyes" so they could find delicious fresh spears for our dinner.  When it's fresh picked, it even tastes good raw, crunchy and flavorful.  One year we estimate they found almost 30 pounds worth during the season!  I think that was the only year I had all the asparagus I wanted.  Anyway, memories aside, I hope you'll try this recipe and see what I mean.

Incidentally, do you have a citrus zester?  It's a small tool that looks like this:

I only got mine about a year ago, thinking it was one of those tools that's nice to have for an occasional use, but could totally be done without.  I was wrong.  I've been surprised at how often I use it; I should have bought it years ago!  If you have one, it'll make quick work of the first step in the recipe.

Citrus-Roasted Asparagus

1 seedless orange
1 lemon
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil + amount needed for vinaigrette
1 lb asparagus spears
1-2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1-1/2 tsp tarragon leaves
Salt and coarsely ground pepper

Cut orange and lemon in half.  From one half of each, cut 1/8 x 2 inch strips, avoiding the bitter white pith; set aside.  This can be done with a very sharp knife, or your handy dandy citrus zester.  Squeeze juice from the halves you just zested; set aside.

Thinly slice remaining halves of the orange and lemon.  Place slices on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Drizzle slices with 1 Tbsp of the olive oil.  Bake in a 400 oven until it begins to brown, about 12-15 minutes.  Remove from oven and set aside.

While orange and lemon slices are baking, prepare asparagus and vinaigrette:  wash asparagus; break off woody bases (see how to do this below).  Place spears in a 9 x 13 glass casserole dish.  Sprinkle with garlic, tarragon, and citrus strips.  Drizzle with 1-2 Tbsp olive oil; toss to coat spears.  Spread in a single layer.  Season with salt and pepper.

Roast asparagus in 400 oven, turning once or twice with tongs, until asparagus is tender, 12 to 15 minutes.  While it's baking make vinaigrette:  in small dish whisk together reserved orange and lemon juices with an equal amount of olive oil; season with salt and pepper.

Remove cooked asparagus from oven.  Transfer to serving platter.  Drizzle with 1-2 Tbsp of the vinaigrette and decorate with roasted orange and lemon slices.  Serve immediately.  Supposedly serves 4, but that's only if my husband and I aren't there :).  Otherwise, there's only enough for the two of us.

You probably already know this, but just to review how to prepare asparagus for cooking:

Select crisp, colorful spears with tightly closed tips that are similar in size for uniform cooking.  To remove the woody base, hold a spear in two hands and bend it.  Snap off the base at the point where the spear easily bends.  If the stem still seems tough, use a vegetable peeler to remove the outer layer.

P.S.  The roasted oranges are actually yummy too, if you're needing some Vitamin C and don't want to waste any extras :).  Also, you'll have some vinaigrette left over.  Don't throw it out -- it's delicious on green salad.

Shrimp and Avocados with Chiles and Lime

This is a recipe I got in an email over a year ago and didn't try until recently.  All my favorite foods were in the title, so I figured it had to taste good, and I was right!  It's delicious.  Don't let the long list of ingredients put you off -- it's really pretty simple to put together, looks great, and tastes even better.

Shrimp and Avocados with Chiles and Lime

1 lb medium shrimp, thawed if frozen, peeled and deveined
1/2 tsp grated lime peel
3 Tbsp fresh lime juice, divided
1/2 tsp salt, divided
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp ground red pepper
1 lb ripe tomatoes, cut into 1/2" chunks
1/2 Cup coarsely chopped sweet white onion
1/4 Cup + 2 Tbsp coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
2 Tbsp chopped pimiento-stuffed green olives (black work too)
1-2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh jalapeno chile pepper, with the seeds (or no seeds if you don't like the hot.  Wear plastic gloves when handling, or if you don't have any, wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water after you're done chopping.)
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 ripe avocado, pitted, peeled, and cut into chunks
4 Cups mixed greens

Place the shrimp in a medium bowl and add the lime peel, 1 Tbsp of the lime juice, 1/2 tsp of the ground cumin, 1/4 tsp of the salt, the pepper, and the red pepper.  Mix well, cover, and set aside while preparing the salad.

In another medium bowl, combine the tomatoes, onion, 1/4 Cup of the cilantro, the olives, jalapeno, oil, the remaining 2 Tbsp lime juice, 1/2 tsp of the cumin and 1/4 tsp salt.  Mix well.  Let stand for 10 to 15 minutes to blend the flavors.  Add the avocado and mix gently.

Spray a medium nonstick skillet with cooking spray.  Warm over medium high heat.  Add the shrimp and cook, turning often until just opaque in the thickest part.  Remove from heat.

To serve, place 1 cup greens on 4 plates, mound 1/4 of the tomato/avocado mixture in the center of each, and top with 1/4 of the the shrimp on each plate, drizzling the pan juices over each salad.  Sprinkle with the remaining 2 Tbsp cilantro.  Serve immediately.

Basic Chicken Salad with Additions and Serving Suggestions

The warm weather is here, so time to break out the salad recipes!  I don't know about you, but when it's warm out, I hate heating up my kitchen cooking.  Plus, the range of fresh fruits and vegetables just gets better and better during the coming months, so great salads are at the top of the list of preferred foods!

I was looking through my recipes for my favorite chicken salad and discovered that I have three!  So I thought I'd start with the basic ingredients they all share, and then move on to the additions.  And this is really only to get you started on your own endless additions, depending on your likes/dislikes/allergies.  Chicken salad is nothing if not totally versatile!  You'll notice there aren't any amounts (something my mother would love) -- that's because you can add and subtract to your heart's content and your tongue's delight (and use up all the leftovers in your fridge too :).

Basic Chicken Salad

Cooked, cut-up chicken or canned chicken chunks
Green onions, diced
Slivered or sliced almonds
Celery, diced or thinly sliced
Mayonnaise, enough to moisten and hold together
Lemon juice, dried basil, salt and pepper to taste

Additions
Grapes, sliced in half
Strawberries, chunked
Apple, diced
Cashews, chopped, instead of the almonds
Craisins
Green peppers (or red, orange, or yellow peppers), diced
Radishes, halved or quartered and thinly sliced

To Serve
For tea sandwiches, shred chicken to make a smoother spread.  Cut crusts off bread, spread on chicken salad, and cut into triangles or squares.
Serve on split croissants with lettuce and havarti cheese.
Serve a scoop on half an avocado.
Core a ripe tomato and cut into fourths, not cutting all the way through to the bottom, so it opens like a flower.  Fill center with chicken salad; garnish as you like.

Doesn't that look appetizing?  Chicken salad is definitely a summer staple!

Brown Rice Salad with Grilled Chicken

This is a recipe I got from my good friend Jill.  It is super nutritious and low calorie -- you'll feel virtuous just eating it!  Plus it's delicious -- a winning combo!

Brown Rice Salad with Grilled Chicken

3 Cups cooked brown rice
2 Cups cubed grilled chicken breast
2 medium tart apples, diced
1 medium sweet red pepper, diced
2 celery ribs, finely chopped
2/3 Cup chopped green onions
1/2 Cup chopped pecans
3 Tbsp minced fresh parsley or 1 Tbsp dried parsley
1 Cup grapes, cut in half (I always put in 2 cups--they're my favorite part :)

In large bowl, combine all the above.  In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine dressing ingredients and shake well.
1/4 Cup cider vinegar
3 Tbsp canola or olive oil
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Pour over rice mixture and toss to coat.  Serve immediately or refrigerate.  Keeps well.  8-10 servings.

Isn't it pretty?  It tastes as good as it looks!

If there are types of food or recipes that you'd like to see on this blog, please leave a comment and let me know!  I'd be happy to try and help!

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Since strawberry season is here, I thought I'd give you another yummy recipe using strawberries.  I got this recipe from my friend Janice and it is so simple, but so delicious!  And it looks pretty too:

Strawberry Spinach Salad

1 bag spinach

1 quart (2 lbs) fresh strawberries, sliced

Dressing:

1 egg yolk

1/4 Cup sugar

6 Tbsp oil

juice of one lemon

Put dressing ingredients in small jar and shake well to blend.  Pour over salad, toss, and serve immediately (the spinach starts to wilt after its been in the dressing for awhile, so dress it right before you serve it).

The strawberry container in the picture is the 4 lb size, so you would need half of it for the recipe.

Main Course Salad

About once or twice a month we have a salad like this for dinner.  Each one is different, depending on what I have on hand, what's in season, and what sounds good.  Tonight's was especially tasty.  I hadn't anticipated using it for the blog, but my husband was so enthusiastic about it that I decided to go ahead.  I'll tell you what I used for one salad, then you can multiply it for however many people you're feeding.  Just pile up the ingredients on the plate as they're listed and you're done!

Main Dish Salad for One

1/2 head romaine lettuce, chopped

1 large radish, sliced thin

1 stalk celery, sliced

5 baby carrots, julienned

1/4 apple, chopped

1/2 naval orange, peeled and chopped

1 kiwi fruit, peeled and chopped

5 large raw shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails removed, cut into thirds (I use frozen ones that are already peeled and deveined, thaw them, remove the tails, and snip them into thirds with kitchen shears)

5 medium sized brown mushrooms, thickly sliced

1/2 large clove garlic, minced fine

Saute shrimp and mushrooms together in olive oil just until shrimp turn pink, adding garlic right at the last so it doesn't brown, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.  Remove from pan; set aside.

1/2 chicken breast

In same pan, fry chicken breast in vegetable oil until cooked through and browned on the outside (5-7 minutes per side).  Season with Lawry's seasoning salt.  Remove from pan and let rest 5 minutes.  Cut into bite-size chunks.  

Sprinkle shrimp/mushroom mixture on salad.  Top with chicken.  Serve.  

If I prepare this for a party, I set out the ingredients in individual bowls like a salad bar, including a variety of salad dressings, and let everyone create their own salad.  My salad dressing of choice is Briannas Home Style Poppyseed Dressing -- it is particularly wonderful on salads that have fresh fruit in them.  My husband's favorite is Oak Hill Farms Vidalia Onion Vinaigrette Salad Dressing.  We have tried a number of different brands of Vidalia Onion Dressing, but Oak Hill Farms is by far the best.  If you have seen it and thought it sounded gross, you need to know that it is not overwhelming oniony tasting at all, like you might think from the label -- it's sweet/sour/spicy/yummy with just a hint of onion.  Costco has been carrying it lately or you can order it online from http://www.vitaspecialtyfoods.com/.  We buy it 10 bottles at a time to tide us over when Costco doesn't have it -- it seems to be somewhat seasonal and we go through a lot of it.  Salad days are almost here -- my favorite time of year!

  

Mom's Potato Salad

When I was growing up, there were some dishes at Easter dinner that were always the same, and some dishes that varied from year to year.  The standards were ham, fruit salad, and potato salad, and the other side dishes and desserts changed.  The potato salad was the most anticipated one of the year, because it was the first one of the year, and signaled the start of spring and summer meals featuring barbequed meats and salads galore.  My mom is a great cook and her potato salad is, I think, unique.  I've never tasted another one like it anywhere.  It's very simple, creamy, not vinegary, and has no pickles in it.  Its surprise ingredient, which people always have a hard time identifying, is fresh cucumber.  When I first started making this potato salad, it never tasted the same as my mom's!  It was so frustrating!  The first problem was that there wasn't an actual recipe -- mom rarely used recipes, preferring to just put things together.  Finally, one year my grandmother decided she wanted a written recipe, so she watched mom make it and wrote things down as they went along.  That helped, but mine still wasn't as good as hers.  Then, a couple years ago, mom happened to mention that red potatoes work best because they stay firmer when cooked, which was not noted in the recipe.  Also not noted was what size to cut the vegetables.  After watching mom make it about a year ago, I realized I'd been cutting mine much too big.  Just that change alone made a huge difference!  You'll note in the picture that there is a tool laying on the board.  It's a cutter for making french fries.  I've found it's the perfect tool for cutting up the cooked potatoes, at least for the first cut.  Then I just cut the long pieces shaped like french fries into little cubes.  Perfect!  And then there was the issue of the dressing -- again, no amounts were given, so it was experiment and take notes, over and over until the big day finally arrived:  potato salad that tasted just like mom's!  So, here it is, with all the details noted so you can have success your first time around.  Oh yeah, another note:  this tastes best if made the day before you want to serve it -- the flavors really meld and the salt mellows out.  If you're going to serve it shortly after making it, you'll need to cut back on the salt a little.  The potatoes seem to absorb quite a bit as it sits -- sometimes you even have to add a little the next day.  Be sure you taste test it before serving.

Mom's Potato Salad

6-8 large red potatoes, boiled whole in jackets, then peeled and cubed small when cool
8 hard boiled eggs, peeled and cut small
1 medium onion, chopped very fine
3 single celery stalks, cubed small
1/2 large or 1 small cucumber, cubed small
3 Cups real mayonnaise
2 rounded Tbsp regular yellow mustard
1-1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp pepper

Cut up all vegetables and combine in large bowl.  Mix mayonnaise, mustard, salt and pepper together.  Pour over vegetables and mix well.  Refrigerate overnight for best flavor.  Makes about 10-11 cups of salad--enough for a crowd (12+)!

The onion I had was huge, so I just used half of it.  I also used half of an English cucumber, since they're sweeter and have tiny seeds compared to the cucumbers you can get at the store this time of year.  Later in the summer, the regular cucumbers get better, or best yet, you can get a perfect one out of your garden!

You can see how everything is cut up pretty small.

Here's what it looks like when it's done:  cool, creamy, yummy!  I sprinkled the top with some dried parsley for a little color.  Feel free to decorate it with whatever you'd like--be creative!  If you've made it the day before serving, cover it with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator.  Remember to taste it to adjust the salt before serving.  Enjoy!