Chinese Chicken Salad

This is another great salad recipe - something different. I love the dressing and the way it soaks into the chicken. I got this recipe from a cookbook my mother-in-law's Relief Society put together.

Chinese Chicken Salad

1 head cabbage, chopped
2 bunches green onions, finely diced
2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced
2 pkgs. Top Ramen noodles (chicken flavor), broken into small pieces
1/2 cup toasted, slivered almonds

Dressing:

1/4 cup oil (I used canola.)
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 tsp black pepper
3 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2 chicken seasoning packets from the Top Ramen noodles

Mix the dressing well and add to salad mixture not more than 1 hour before serving. **This makes a lot so I only used about 1/2 a head of cabbage and one package of Ramen noodles. I also halved all the dressing ingredients. I omitted the almonds due to a nut allergy in our family.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

I love that these cookies use whole wheat flour and they really taste great. Much better the first day than the second, in my opinion, but the dough freezes well or keeps well in the fridge for several days.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

1 ¼ cups brown sugar
1 ¼ cups sugar
1 ¼ cups butter
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder
1 ¼ teaspoon salt
2 ½ cups wheat flour
2 ½ cups oats
2 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla extract. Stir in dry ingredients and then chocolate chips. Scoop rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. *Makes 3-4 dozen.

Southwestern Barbecue Chicken Salad

This salad was SO good! I loved the combination of ingredients, especially the barbecue chicken. It was pretty easy to whip up last minute too. This is another recipe from The Sisters Cafe. The summer is over but I'm just getting going on great salad recipes. I'm not ready for the cold weather yet!

Southwestern Barbecue Chicken Salad

2 large chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

1 cup BBQ sauce

1/2 head Romaine lettuce, chopped

1/2 head Iceberg lettuce, chopped

1 can corn, drained

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped

4 Roma tomatoes, diced

2 Haas avocados, diced

shredded cheese, Mexican blend or cheddar

crispy tortilla strips

Stir shredded chicken in with the BBQ sauce until well coated. Of course you can use less or more sauce, it's up to you! I like quite a bit since I love the smoky flavor of BBQ sauce in a salad. Toss together the lettuce, cilantro, corn, beans, and chopped veggies. Top with shredded chicken, cheese and crispy tortilla strips. Drizzle ranch or cilantro lime dressing over salad and enjoy!

Buttermilk Waffles

I love making waffles and pancakes from scratch. I especially love any recipe with the word "buttermilk" in it. Mmmm. This recipe comes from my go-to site for great recipes: http://sisterscafe.blogspot.com.

Buttermilk Waffles

1 stick butter, melted

2 cups flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

3 large eggs

2 cups buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat waffle iron. Beat eggs until fluffy. Beat in everything else just until smooth.

Update 8/15/12:  I have a new go-to buttermilk waffle recipe.  I've never tried the cheese though.

Classic Buttermilk Waffles

INGREDIENTS:
2 large eggs
1 3/4 cups (14 ounces buttermilk)
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups (7 1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:
In a medium-sized bowl, beat together the eggs, buttermilk, melted butter, and vanilla. In another bowl whisk together the dry ingredients; combine the wet and dry ingredients just until smooth.
 

For an 8-inch round waffle iron, use about 1/3 cup batter (adjust according to waffle iron size). Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the iron stops steaming. If making cheese waffles, pour 1/3 cup batter on waffle iron and sprinkle 2-3 tablespoons shredded cheddar cheese over batter before closing iron.

Banana Nugget Cookies

I grew up on these cookies! My mom made these all the time when we were young - I think she got the recipe from her mom. They became my favorite cookie at an early age. I love that they are always soft (due to the banana in them).

Banana Nugget Cookies

Mix together in a large bowl:

3/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg, well beaten
1 cup mashed bananas (about 2 1/2) - very ripe ones work the best
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cups oats
2 cups chocolate chips

I always double this recipe. I also go easy on the nutmeg and I usually use bananas that I've thrown in the freezer previously. Mix everything up and drop by spoonfuls onto lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for about 12 minutes.

Hawaiian Haystacks - Reinvented

Please try to ignore the ugly paper plates in a couple of my last posts. :) We had company in town and used paper plates a couple of nights. The first time I ever had Hawaiian Haystacks was when I was a freshman in college. I ate dinner at a friend's house and his mom made them. I thought they were wonderful! I made them quite a bit when Ben and I were first married. But in the past year or two, I've really tried to lessen the amount of cream soups I use. In fact, I used to use A LOT of cream of chicken soup and I rarely use it anymore. Recently I came across a recipe for the Hawaiian Haystacks sauce that doesn't use cream soup. I didn't think that was possible! So I tried it and it did not disappoint.

Hawaiian Haystacks Chicken Sauce

*Makes about 4 cups chicken sauce (enough to serve 4-6 for Hawaiian Haystacks)

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size chunks (or leftover cooked chicken, cubed)
3 tablespoons butter
½ onion (about ½ cup), finely chopped
3 cloves garlic; finely minced
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
¼ cup flour
2 cups milk
1 cup chicken broth

In a large skillet melt the butter over medium heat and add the onion and raw chicken (if using leftover cooked chicken, don’t add it to the skillet now, you’ll add it later). Saute the onion and chicken, if using, until the onions are soft and translucent and the chicken is cooked through, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for about one minute, stirring, until fragrant.

Sprinkle the flour over the onions and chicken and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat for one minute – this helps get rid of the starchy, flour taste. Slowly whisk in the milk and chicken broth. Cook, stirring constantly with a whisk, and bring the sauce to a simmer over medium to medium-high heat. Add the salt and pepper. If you are using leftover cooked chicken, add it now. Continue simmering, stirring the sauce frequently, until the sauce has thickened, about 5 minutes.

Serve the chicken sauce over rice with your toppings of choice, such as olives, tomatoes, shredded cheese, celery, green onions, pineapple, coconut, raisins and/or chow mein noodles.

Peanut Butter Cup Trifle

So this was my first ever trifle. I found an inexpensive trifle dish at WalMart a month or so ago and had been waiting for company to come into town so I could make this dessert and have people to help me eat it! This dessert is really rich and filling! The recipe has you add peanut butter to the pudding but I bet it would be great (and less peanut-buttery) to just use plain vanilla pudding. But either way - it is good!

Peanut Butter Cup Trifle

9x13 pan of brownies, cut into 1 inch pieces
5.1 oz instant vanilla pudding
3 cups milk
½ cup creamy peanut butter
2 tsp vanilla
8 oz container thawed whipped topping (Cool Whip), divided
20 peanut butter cups, crumbled (buy in a 10-pack. Not the bite-sized)
6-8 peanut butter cups to garnish.

Combine pudding and milk. Beat for 2 minutes. Add peanut butter and vanilla, beat until smooth. Gently fold in 2 cups cool whip.

Layer in trifle dish ½ the brownies, ½ the crumbled peanut butter cups, ½ the pudding mixture. Repeat. Top with cool whip and peanut butter cups. Chill until serving.

Chicken Alfredo Bake

I love this dish because I use my friend Sarah's "Guiltless Alfredo" recipe and it's much lighter than regular alfredo sauce. You don't feel sick after eating it!

Chicken Alfredo Bake

16 oz. pasta, cooked al dente (penne or rigatoni work well)
1 chicken breast, fried in olive oil and seasoned with your favorite seasoning, then cut into cubes
Guiltless Alfredo Sauce (see recipe below)
1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
bacon, cooked and crumbled (optional)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Mix pasta with alfredo sauce and chicken and pour into greased 9X13 baking pan. Sprinkle with one cup mozzarella cheese. Bake for 20 minutes covered at 350. When finished baking, sprinkle with 1/2 cup parmesan cheese.

Guiltless Alfredo Sauce

2 cups low-fat milk (not skim)
1/3 cup (3 oz.) 1/3-less fat cream cheese
2 Tbsp flour
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp butter
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Toss the milk, cream cheese, flour and salt in a blender. Process until smooth and set aside.

In a non-stick sauce pan, melt butter on medium heat and then add garlic. Saute garlic for about 30 seconds, until fragrant.

Add milk mixture to the pan. Stir constantly for about 3-4 minutes or until it just comes to a simmer. Keep stirring and let it cook for a few minutes more. It should be much thicker now.

When it's nice and thick, like a normal alfredo sauce, remove pan from heat. Add cheese and stir. Then cover and let stand 10 minutes. It will continue to thicken upon standing.

Barbeque Brisket

I threw this in the oven before church, made the sauce up when we got home, and an hour later we were eating. The meat was really tender and tasted great. You could also shred this meat and eat it as a sandwich.

Barbeque Brisket

6 lbs trimmed beef brisket (I used a tri-tip roast.)

Marinade:

3 Tbsp liquid smoke
2 tsp onion salt
3 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp celery salt

Sauce:

3 cups brown sugar
1 cup ketchup
1 tsp celery salt
1 chopped onion
1/4 cup worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

Trim excess fat off meat and place in 9X13 pan. Rub marinade over meat. Also sprinkle pepper and worcestershire sauce over meat. Double cover with tin foil and bake at 275 for five hours.

Drain off juice. Mix together sauce ingredients and pour mixture over meat. (I halved the sauce recipe and I still had plenty of sauce.) Bake at 275 for an additional hour. Remove from oven and slice into thin strips. Pour remaining sauce over meat and serve.