Summer Salad

Story:

I have a "salad spinner" and I love it; I've had it for years. It's great to wash up some lettuce in it, spin it dry, and then I always have clean, crisp lettuce ready to throw on a sandwich or on a plate for a quick salad. Anyway, this recipe for a "Summer Salad" came with the SoftWorks Salad Spinner when I bought it. It sounded good, so I tried it. It's become a fave.

Ingredients:

Salad

mixed salad greens

strawberries, sliced

3 kiwis, peeled and sliced

1/2 C dried cranberries

Dressing

1/4 C red wine vinegar

1/2 C olive oil

3/4 t salt

1/2 C sugar

Topping

1 C slivered almonds

1/3 C sugar

Directions:

For the salad: Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.

For the dressing: Combine all ingredients, shake well, and pour over salad.

For the topping: Heat almonds and sugar in a saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly until sugar melts. Stir until almonds are coated. Remove from heat and let cool. Sprinkle almonds over the salad.

And, well, there you have it. Enjoy!

Notes:

The original recipe called for a cubed mango, too. That just seemed a little too much sweetness, even for me...

Also, note that the almonds probably don't need to be sugar-coated... though they are really good. Also, when I do prepare them, it always takes longer than I remember it's going to. So when you prepare the salad, probably start with the almonds first. Then they can cool while you do everything else. Just a simple little tip.

Fruit Salsa

Story:

A few years ago, I picked up a crock pot cooking cookbook called: Fix-It and Forget-It Lightly, by Phyllis Pellman Good. At the time, it seemed like we were going to lots of game nights and outdoor BBQs with neighbors and such... and at times I was perplexed as to what to take as an appetizer to share. But that is when I discovered this FRUIT SALSA. It's a crock pot appetizer, so it makes it easy to do ahead as well as easy to serve. And most importantly, it tastes good.

For some reason, I thought of it the other day, and now I'm itching to make it again...

Ingredients:

1 can mandarin oranges (11 oz)

1 can unsweetened sliced peaches, undrained (8 1/2 oz)

1 can unsweetened pineapple tidbits, undrained (8 oz)

1 medium sized onion, chopped

1/2 of a medium-sized green bell pepper, chopped

1/2 of a medium-sized red bell pepper, chopped

1/2 of a medium-sized yellow bell pepper, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 T cornstarch

4 t vinegar

(And Tortilla Chips to eat it with, of course.)

Directions:

Combine all the ingredients in a slow cooker. Cover. Cook on high for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Serve with tortilla chips. (If I remember correctly, it was good hot--right out of the crock pot-- OR cold.)

Notes:

I think I remember that I liked to double it. It

made a LOT, but that way I just used the whole pepper (of each color). And it makes good leftovers.

Pineapple Slush

Story:

This one right here is a great "refreshment" ... and you will often see something like it at many Mormon activities. I first got the recipe from Emily K. when we worked together on Relief Society Enrichment activities. (We used it at the RS Commemoration dinner in March of '08). The only time I've made it myself was for Megan's baptism (March of '09). I just had a request this afternoon for the recipe, so I thought I'd go ahead and post it while I was thinking of it.

Ingredients:

6 C water

4 C sugar

46 oz can pineapple juice

1/2 - 2/3 can frozen orange juice concentrate

1/2 - 2/3 can frozen lemonade concentrate

1 t almond extract

Directions:

Combine water and sugar in a large pot. Bring to a boil, then let it cool. Add pineapple juice, then add frozen orange juice concentrate, lemonade concentrate, and almond extract. Stir well. Pour into a large container and freeze.

When ready to serve, put frozen mixture in the punch bowl (or whatever) and pour 7-up or ginger ale over the top. Break it up a little, and... voila! Pineapple slush.

Spicy Honey Chicken Salad

Story:

All I can say is, "Soooo good." I am so glad that I happened upon this recipe on good friend Becky D's blog. Click here for the link to the recipe on her blog. She actually got it off of a cooking blog she follows, so click here for the original recipe on "Our Best Bites."

I saw it on her blog, and trusting Becky the way I do, I just had to try it ASAP. I even trusted her enough to try it (untested) on my little dinner group. Two of the three families loved it. (And the third just hadn't made it yet, last time I checked.) I made it... and I was absolutely drooling over it. It's definitely a fave!!

Please note that most of the instructions you read below come from "Our Best Bites." (I'll put my comments in parentheses.)

It looks a little confusing at first glance, but it's really pretty simple. And the other day for lunch, I didn't have any of the chicken, but I made the salad without chicken (just lettuce, mango, avocado, and the dressing) and it was fabuloso.

Spicy Honey Chicken
Ingredients:

8 boneless chicken thighs (Our Best Bites swears by the thighs. I used thighs, and they were yum. Becky says breasts work fine too. I want to try it with tenderloins next time.)

2 t vegetable oil

For the Rub:

2 t garlic
2 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/2 t coriander
1 t kosher salt
1 t cumin
1/2 t chipotle chili powder; for extra heat, increase chipotle or add ground red pepper

For the Glaze:
1/2 C Honey
1T Cider Vinegar

Directions:
Combine the rub spices in bowl and mix well.
Use kitchen shears to trim off any excess fat from the chicken pieces. Pat dry.

Drizzle oil over chicken and rub in with your hands to lightly coat all the pieces.

Then toss chicken with the spice rub to coat all sides well.

Use your hands and get in there!

Grill chicken a few minutes on each side, until cooked through.

While chicken is cooking, warm honey in the microwave so it's not so thick.

Add the vinegar and combine well. Reserve 2T honey glaze for later.

Take the rest and brush on chicken (both sides) in the final moments of grilling.

I'm gonna warn you that this can make a hot mess, literally. It's sugar, and it's gonna drip. But the smelly smoke is worth it for a minute or two. Just leave your grill on for a few minutes after the chicken is done to burn off any excess glaze. It's totally worth it once you taste this stuff.

If you don't have a bbq, try it on an indoor grill pan or use your broiler. Just be sure to open a window in case you burn your glaze!

Remember how I had you reserve that extra couple tablespoons of glaze? Ya, drizzle that on top now. You're taste buds will thank you.

Honey-Citrus Vinaigrette
Ingredients:
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 T grated onion
1/3 C fresh orange juice
3T fresh lime juice
1T honey
1 t cumin
1/2 t salt
1/4 t ground black pepper
1/2 C vegetable oil

Directions:
Place all ingredients in a tightly sealed jar and shake your bootie (and the jar) vigorously.

Store in the fridge, and shake before dressing salad.

Spicy Honey Chicken Salad
1-2 heads Romaine or Red Leaf Lettuce
2 ripe but firm mangoes, chilled
2-3 ripe but firm avocados
Spicy Honey Chicken
Honey-Citrus Vinaigrette

Directions:
This serves 4 large salads or 6 smaller sized ones.
While chicken is grilling, wash lettuce and divide among serving plates. Slice avocados and mangoes and place them on top of the lettuce. When chicken is finished, let it sit for 5 minutes before slicing to preserve the juices. Then slice it up and divide among the salads. Drench it all in the Honey-Citrus Vinaigrette and pretend you're at a fancy restaurant!

Ham Fried Rice

Story:

I love Chinese food. Even when it's not "real" Chinese food... Americanized versions work just fine for me. And the fried kind is especially good!

I found a basic ham fried rice recipe in "The Domestic Diva's Party Cookbook." That's basically what I use, just tweaked a little.

Ingredients:

2 T butter

2 ribs celery, diced

1/2 C chopped onion

1 C frozen peas

2 C diced ham

6 C cooked rice

soy sauce

Directions:

Melt butter in a large frying pan; add celery and onion and cook until tender, but not brown. Add the ham, the rice, and the frozen peas. Stir until blended. Add soy sauce until mixture is a light brown, or to taste. Heat through.

Note:

The original recipe didn't call for the peas; I added those. I've also added shredded carrots before, mostly just for color. I am not real strict with the measurements of anything. I usually add more celery and onions... just 'cause I love 'em.

The recipe also said to use 6 cups of refrigerated cooked rice. I've never done that... so I don't know if that would improve the texture or something... But I just always do some up in my rice cooker and just add it to the skillet when it's ready.

Lemonade Specialty

Story:

Sarah E. gave me this recipe. If I remember correctly, she made it for me for a party or something at my house once. (Sarah, was it for Ben's 30th surprise party? I can't remember.) Anyway, it is delicious.

Ingredients:

5 quarts water

3 C sugar

2 T lemon extract

1 T citric acid

slushy ice

Directions:

Mix first four ingredients in a punch bowl. Add ice, and serve.

Cowboy Caviar

Story:

Another one from good ol' Sarah E. In our Utah neighborhood, we would try to have little outside dinner parties with other families now and then. She brought this to Zak & Kelly's one time, and I thought I was in love! I had found a new favorite. Sarah called it Black Bean Salsa; Kelly dubbed it "Cowboy Caviar." Great summer treat (when tomatoes are a'growin'!) to take to a BBQ or something.

Ingredients:

1 can black beans

1 can shoepeg corn

1 can diced green chilies

4-5 tomatoes, diced

2-3 avocadoes, chopped

chopped red onion (to taste)

chopped cilantro (to taste)

lime juice (about 1 lime)

2 T white wine vinegar

salt (to taste)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Sample. Add onion, cilantro, salt, or lime juice to taste. Sample again. Adjust. Sample some more.

Serve with tortilla chips.

Lisa's Sweet Chicken Fingers

Story:

Another good one from sweet Lisa P. I got it through my friend Heather D., though. She posted it on our ward's recipe blog: Sharing Is Love. She posted it, I tried it, and it's a hit. I've had some chicken tenderloins in the freezer that need to be used, so I'm making this tonight.

Ingredients:

Chicken tenderloins (as many as it takes to fill the tummies)

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 C flour

1/2 C cornstarch

1/2 t garlic salt

1 T oil

1 1/2 C sugar

1/2 C water

1/2 C ketchup

2 T soy sauce

1 t salt

Beat the eggs in one bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, and garlic salt.

Dip the chicken in the eggs. Then roll in the flour mixture. Coat the chicken well and then fry in a lightly-oiled skillet until browned on both sides. (Add extra oil as you go, or in between batches.) Place the chicken in a 9x13 baking dish.

Whisk the ketchup, water, sugar, soy sauce, and salt together in a saucepan. Simmer until warm. Pour over chicken and bake for 45 minutes at 350. (Heather recommends making extra sauce or save some to pour over your rice or egg rolls.) Serve with white rice.

Notes:

As I've noted before, some things tend to be "too sweet" for Ben. The first time I made this, he was surprised by just how sweet is was. The next time I cut the sugar by a third. Still too sweet (for him). The third time I cut the sugar in half, and he liked it better, though it wasn't quite sweet enough for me to still be able to call it "Sweet Chicken Fingers." So depending on the intensity of your sweet tooth, adjust accordingly.

Moroccan Chicken

Story:
Ben and I were able to have a week-long getaway in April. It was great! Ben, being the patriot that he is, has really wanted to go to Washington DC. Neither of us had ever been there, and we know it's a "must see." One of the biggest highlights of the week, however, was that we got to stay with my life-long friend Becky, her husband Mark, and their cute, cute little boy, Abram. They were excellent hosts and excellent company. They even had dinner ready for us every night when we got back from our adventures, regardless of the time. Mark cooked a few times, and this is one of the meals he prepared. I LOVED it.

(Note to my dinner group: I haven't actually MADE this meal yet, so I have no special "tips" to give you. Good luck!)

Ingredients:
1/2 t olive oil
2 lbs boneless, skinless thighs (or breasts)
2 C thickly sliced yellow onion
1 T fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 t ground cumin
1/2 t salt
1/2 t ground coriander
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t black pepper
4 cloves minced garlic
1 1/2 C chicken broth
1 (15.5 oz) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 (7oz) package dried apricots, halved (about 1 1/3 cups)

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large dutch oven (I'll just use a skillet, I guess) over medium-high heat.

Add half of the chicken to the pan and cook for 5 minutes, browning on all sides.
Remove chicken from the pan and repeat with the remaining chicken.

Add onion to pan; saute for 3 minutes or until tender.Add ginger and next 6 ingredients (through the garlic).  Saute for 30 seconds or until fragrant.
Stir in broth, scraping the pan to loosen the browned bits.
Return chicken to pan; bring to a simmer.
Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 1 hour, or until chicken is tender.

Remove chicken from the pan with a slotted spoon; cool slightly.

Cut chicken into bite-sized

pieces.  Add chicken, chickpeas, ad apricots to the pan.  Cover and simmer 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated.  Serve with couscous.

(Yield 8 servings, about 3/4 C each)

Amazing Sandwich

Story:
Have any of you ever been invited to do one of those "recipe exchanges"? It's like one of those good ol' fashioned chain letter things that you used to get invited to do as a kid... only this one you forward on a recipe on to one person and then you get like a zillion recipes from other people. I'm not very good at following through on these kinds of things, but if I get one when my mood is just right, I try to do it.
Well, this recipe came from one of those recipe exchanges a few years ago. The gal didn't put her name on the recipe card, so I have no recollection of who sent it to me. But, man!, this is a yummy sandwich. Now that my kids are getting older and eating more, I usually do two loaves... or just one if I have a side dish to go with it. We all like it a lot.

Ingredients:
1 or 2 Pillsbury French Bread Loaves (refrigerator section)
Guacamole (I like Wholly Guacamole... so good!)
Turkey (deli meat)
Monterey Jack cheese, sliced
Tomatoes, sliced
Olives, sliced
Lettuce

Directions:
I think it's pretty obvious... but bake the loaves according the instructions on the package. Then layer on all the ingredients. Be sure to spread the guacamole on generously.