Chicken and Broccolini Stir-Fry

Stir- Fry is always a great option for weeknight dinners around here. I love how quick they are to prepare and also the versatile number of veggies that you can use in them. I saw this fun take on stir-fry in a recent issue of The Food Network Magazine and thought it looked delicious.

My kids have been snacking on sweet mini peppers lately, so I had no problem slicing up a few of them for this stir-fry. My family really enjoyed this meal and I hope you do too.

Here is the recipe for Chicken and Broccolini Stir-Fry
* I used rice wine vinegar instead of mirin

Lemon Chicken Soup & Pea Pesto Crostini

Every once in a while I will watch a cooking show and one of my children with beg me to make the dishes that are being showcased. Or, one of them will say, "I bet you can't make that!"

I don't remember if this meal fell into either of those categories, but I do remember seeing this meal being made and really wanting to try the cake that went along with it. I didn't end up making the cake (mostly because we don't eat dessert every day, so I don't let myself bake everyday), but the rest of the meal came together quickly. I used some chicken that I had poached myself a few days earlier and also used celery and peas, since I was out of carrots. I used whole wheat thin spaghetti for the noodles and my kids really liked this dinner. Nothing too spectacular, but an easy, quick meal that was simple enough to prepare using things that I had on hand.

Here is the recipe for Lemon Chicken Soup with Spaghetti
* I kinda did my own thing with this recipe just because it was so basic I didn't really feel like I needed directions
* I used celery and peas instead of carrots (simply because I ran out of carrots)
* I used poached chicken that I had cooked myself

Here is the recipe for Pea Pesto Crostini
* I used a little less olive oil than called for

Recipes from The Help Book Club Meeting

I'm guessing that a large number of people out there have read The Help. And maybe you have also seen the movie. My sister bought me a copy of the book over a year ago and I read it from front to back in a little less than 6 hours. It was a great read and a very enjoyable book.

Our local Book Club recently discussed this book and I was hosting, so I was in charge of the refreshments. I am not a Southerner and I don't claim to know how to cook like one, but I chose recipes that were "traditional" Southern recipes and used them to help with our evening. I tried to choose food that had at least been mentioned in the book and most of these were also shown in the movie.


Chocolate Pie was an absolute must. I found a recipe from the author online and used that. It was one that her maid, Demetrie used to make for her. The recipe stated that you could use a graham cracker crust or a pie crust, so I made both. I used Dorie's recipe for the pie crust because it is the easiest and best one I have ever made. This filling reminded me of a mild chocolate pudding. I topped both of them with sweetened whipped cream.

These cheese crackers are originally from the Lee Brothers and I have made them before, but in a different shape.
A basic chicken salad that I served in little phyllo cups and also with crackers.
I made a caramel cake, but as you can see from the plate it is on, it was a messy experience, and I wasn't really sure if I was going to share these recipes or not, so I didn't get a great picture of it. Fun frosting. Very fun. (I have an alternate caramel frosting recipe linked up below if the original one scares you).

And of course, deviled eggs.

It was a great night!

Here is the recipe for Demetrie's Chocolate Pie


Here is the recipe for Chicken Salad with Grapes and Pecans
* I used nonfat Greek yogurt instead of sour cream
* I used fat free mayo

Here is the recipe for Traditional Southern Deviled Eggs
*I used fat free mayo

Here is the recipe for Caramel Cake
and here is an optional quick Caramel Frosting

Here is the recipe for Cheese Crackers
* I used all white whole wheat flour

Dorie Greenspan's Good for Almost Anything pie crust

for a 9-inch single crust:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 T sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 sticks (10 T) very cold (frozen is fine) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces
2 1/2 T very cold (frozen is even better) vegetable shortening, cut into 2 pieces
About 1/4 cup ice water

Put the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor fitted with a metal blade; pulse just to combine the ingredients. Drop in the butter and shortening and pulse only until the butter and shortening care cut into the flour. Don’t overdo the mixing — what you’re aiming for is to have some pieces the size of fat green peas and others the size of barley. Pulsing the machine on and off, gradually add about 3 tablespoons of the water — add a little water and pulse once, add some more water, pulse again and keep going that way. then use a few long pulses to get the water into the flour. If, after a dozen or so pulses, the dough doesn’t look evenly moistened or form soft curds, pulse in as much of the remaining water as necessary, or even a few drops more, to get a dough that will stick together when pinched. Big pieces of butter are fine. Scrape the dough out of the work bowl and onto a work surface.

Shape the dough into a disk and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour before rolling. (If your ingredients were very cold and you worked quickly, though, you might be able to roll the dough immediately: the dough should be as cold as if it had just come out of the fridge.)

To roll out the dough: Have a buttered 9-inch pie plate at hand.
You can roll the dough out on a floured surface or between sheets of wax paper or plastic wrap or in a rolling slipcover. (I usually roll this dough out on the floured counter.) If you’re working on a counter, turn the dough over frequently and keep the counter floured. If you are rolling between paper, plastic or in a slipcover, make sure to turn the dough over often and to life the paper, plastic or cover frequently so that it doesn’t roll into the dough and form creases.

If you’ve got time, slide the rolled-out dough into the fridge for about 20 mins to rest and firm up.

Fit the dough into the pie plate and, using a pair of scissors, cut the excess dough to a 1/4- to 1/2-inch overhang. Fold the dough under itself, so that it hangs over the edge just a tad, and flute or pinch the crust to make a decorative edge. Alternatively, you can finish the crust by pressing it with the tines of a fork.

To partially or fully bake: Refrigerate the crust while you preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Better the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil, fit the foil, buttered side down, tightly against the crust and fill with dried beans or rice or pie weights. Put the pie plate on a baking sheet and bake for 25 mins. Carefully remove the foil and weights and, if the crust has puffed, press it down gently with the back of a spoon. For a partially baked crust, return the pie plate to the oven and bake for about 8 minutes more, or until the crust is very lightly colored. To fully bake the crust, bake until golden brown, about another 10 minutes. Transfer the pie plate to a rack and cool to room temperature before filling.

Giada's Pizza Pot Pie

A couple of weeks ago, my kids helped me make a variation of these Mini Chicken Pot Pies.
I don't think they have ever really had chicken pot pie or any kind of pot pie that they could remember, so it got them interested in the whole idea of a pot pie.

When I was asking my family members for suggestions for the weekly menu, someone of course wanted pizza, so I found this recipe and thought it would be a fun twist. The sauce starts out with some pancetta and fresh rosemary and the filling contains cubes of mozzarella cheese, chicken, and broccoli. It was fun for us to eat these for dinner because everyone had their own individual little ramekin to enjoy. The one pictured above was the one that we made for Dad, so it was bigger than the others.




Here is the recipe for Pizza Pot Pies

Chicken and Zucchini Salad

I have decided that zucchini is quite delicious raw. I don't know why I never realized this before, but having so much zucchini to use has really made me appreciate the many ways it can be delicious.

This salad was something I threw together quickly on a weekday afternoon for lunch before we went for our daily swimming adventure. My son thought that the zucchini was cucumbers and when he tasted them, he didn't revolt! I guess that they passed for cucumbers even though he knew they weren't. The raw factor added that crunch that he was looking for.

We all really liked this one. I was surprised by how much we liked it. I loved the freshness the little bits of fresh mint added and the pecans were a fun little crunchy item as well.

Here is the recipe for Chicken and Zucchini Salad
* I used less oil than the recipe called for
* I used a spinach & arugula mix for the greens
* I used less pecans than called for

Chicken, Kiwi, and Mango Salad

Finally, it is beginning to warm up around here! I think Spring might be right around the corner. I'm so happy about this because the cold is going to leave and go away for a really long time!

The sun is shining and it is beautiful outside. Those two things make me think of fresh, springy (or summery) salads.

This is a salad that will make you feel happy and it is really easy to make. You just need a handful of ingredients. The dressing is made with mayo, but I used lowfat greek yogurt instead and it is flavored with ginger and lime. The kiwi and mango are delicious with the chicken and those cashews add just the right amount of crunch. Yum.

Recipe for Chicken, Kiwi, and Mango Salad
* I used greek yogurt instead of mayo

FFwD- Curried Spicy Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup

This week's selection for French Fridays with Dorie, chosen by Dorie herself, was Spicy Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup.
One thing that I love about Dorie's cookbooks, is that she always includes different options and ideas to add a little flair to the basic recipe. This recipe had the option of making a version with curry powder. I love curry powder and I thought it would give great flavor to this soup.

So, I made the curry version. I couldn't help but add some veggies- mushrooms and spinach. I used rice sticks because that is all I could find. Topped with chopped cucumber, chopped peanuts, basil & mint leaves and lime wedges. I omitted the sugar.

This soup was delicious. The flavors all melded together into something wonderful. The fresh mint and basil leaves were the perfect little compliment.
I was really happy with the results. Dorie does it again! You should really get a copy of this book and try the soup for yourself.

Go check out the other versions of this soup by heading over to French Fridays with Dorie!

Chicken with Arugula Pesto

Do you love arugula?
I do.
It is a delicate little green that has a big bite. It is often described as "peppery" and as having a "strong" flavor.
It definitely has some taste to it and I think it is wonderful.

I love using arugula in salads, on sandwiches, pizza, basically anywhere you would use spinach.
I had a couple cups left in my fridge a couple of weeks ago and decided I wanted to make pesto with it.
I found this recipe for Chicken with Arugula Pesto on epicurious.com and thought chicken would be great with the pesto.
Some of the recipe reviews said that they subbed in a cup or so of spinach in the pesto to tone down the arugula and I am sure that was a tasty substitution.

The leftover pesto is great spread on sandwiches, wraps, as a base sauce for pizza or even with pasta.

The recipe called for poached chicken, but seared both sides of my chicken before I added the broth to the pan, so that the chicken would have a better texture on the exterior.
I should have sliced the chicken for the picture, it would have looked better, but thought of that after the fact. Oh well! It was yummy!

Recipe for Chicken with Arugula Pesto

CEiMB-Curried Chicken Salad

This week's CEiMB recipe, Curried Chicken Salad, was chosen by Sarah, who blogs over at Sarah's Kitchen Adventures. You can find the recipe on her blog or by clicking HERE.
This will be the last time that I am participating in CEiMB and what a great recipe to go out on.

I really loved this one.
I made a few changes, which I noted on the recipe below.

I love curry powder, so I was pretty sure that I would like this take on chicken salad.
My mom makes a chicken dish that combines plain yogurt and curry powder, so the flavor wasn't really anything new to me.
Of course, I did not use mayo at all. Don't like it and never will.
I just subbed non-fat Greek yogurt.
I also subbed in pecans for the almonds, because I had them on hand. I just mixed them into the salad.
I love that Ellie serves this over lots of fresh salad greens. I didn't use any oil to dress my greens, just the fresh lemon juice which really gave this salad a bright taste.

I even served the leftovers in my husband's lunch, but turned it into a chicken salad sandwich.
My kids enjoyed this tucked into mini whole wheat pitas.
I will definitely make this again.
Check out the CEiMB Blogroll to see what everyone else thought about this Curried Chicken Salad!
Curried Chicken Salad from Ellie Krieger

• 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup water
  
• 1 1/4 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast halves, no more than 3/4-inch thick
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt (I used nonfat Greek yogurt)
  
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise (I omitted this completely)
  
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 cup halved red grapes
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 5 ounces mixed greens (about 5 cups lightly packed))
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (I omitted this)
  
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Bring the broth and water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add chicken to broth and simmer, covered, for 8 minutes. Turn the heat off and let chicken stand in the cooking liquid, covered, until cooked through, about 20 minutes. Remove the chicken from the broth and cool completely in the refrigerator. Cut into 1/4-inch dice. Toast the almonds in a small dry skillet over medium-high heat until fragrant and beginning to turn golden, 2 to 3 minutes.

In a large bowl, stir together the yogurt, mayonnaise, and curry powder. Fold in the chicken, grapes and cilantro and season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

In a large bowl, toss the greens with the oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper, to taste. Arrange the greens on 4 individual plates, top with a scoop of the chicken salad and sprinkle with the almonds.

Recipe for Curried Chicken Salad

Red Curry Chicken

This is going to be a super quick post. I wanted to get to this sooner, but had a really lazy morning, so here it is.
I saw this recipe on Prudence Pennywise a couple of weeks ago and since I absolutely LOVE red curry paste and this recipe looked super easy, I made it on a random weeknight.
I have made tons of Prudy's recipes and they always turn out fabulously. Always. I had absolutely no doubt that this one would be any different.
I used apricot preserves at the end and they really tone down the red curry paste, so that it isn't too spicy at all.
Prudy suggested that you could sub garbanzo beans for the chicken to make it vegetarian, but I thought it was a great addition, so just threw a can of them in with the mix.
Very good.
Very easy.
Make sure you come back tomorrow for National Bundt Day!

Recipe for Red Curry Chicken on Prudence Pennywise

CEiMB-Easy Chicken-Mushroom Quesadillas

I picked my mom up at the airport yesterday and we are so excited that she is going to stay with us for a whole week! It has been fun already and having an extra pair of hands all day is wonderful! I have to apologize about my lack of commenting on other blogs while she is here. Last thing I want to do is sit at the computer when there are so many fun things to do. I will get to all of you, as soon as I can.

There are a few foods I don't like. Not very many, but mushrooms are one of the things that I am not especially fond of. I will eat them if they are mixed into something or on top of pizza, but I will not eat them plain, on their own. ( This little tidbit of information relates to the post- just hold on a second.)

This weeks Craving Ellie in My Belly recipe, Easy Chicken Mushroom Quesadillas, was chosen by Marthe over at Culinary Delights. You can find the recipe on her blog or by clicking on the link at the bottom of this post.

These quesadillas were very easy to throw together. Good thing, since easy is in the recipe title.
You saute onion and mushrooms, add garlic, chicken, oregano, cumin, chili powder and spinach.
I already had some cooked chicken in the fridge, so I just shredded that and used it. I also added matchstick carrots, since they were in the fridge.

After the filling was cooked and warm, I melted the cheese and finished off our quesadillas in the microwave. That is how make quesadillas for my kids most of the time. My husband requires that his quesadillas be cooked in butter, so they are nice and golden on the outside (since he is an adult, he can get away with unhealthy demands sometimes) and he doesn't like whole wheat anything, so we used normal flour tortillas.
Hubs said " it's pretty and seems fancy and healthy. Doesn't taste bad either." (He really isn't that demanding, he puts up with a lot of wierd food, when he would rather be eating McDonalds.)

We dipped ours in the best jarred salsa out there- Herdez, it is the only jarred salsa I like. We used greek yogurt instead of sour cream.

We liked these. A nice way to get some vegetables into something that usually is just full of cheese and chicken. Plus, there were enough other things inside of these that I wasn't too bothered by the mushrooms.

Go see what the other Ellie's thought by checking out the CEiMB Blogroll!



Recipe for Easy Chicken-Mushroom Quesadillas

One Year Ago-Weekly Lunchbox

Peanut Chicken Soba Salad

Whenever I need a quick salad or side dish, I go to myrecipes.com. I just type in a keyword and I always find a recipe that I want to make.
The recipes are rated, like many other sites, so I can go and read what people thought about a certain recipe before I make it.

I chose this salad because I needed to take something to a get together that could be served cold and still taste good.
I also chose it because I didn't have a lot of time to prepare and wanted something that I already had all the ingredients for that I could throw together. The fact that most people had given it 5 stars on the ratings helped give me the extra little push to go ahead and make it.

The method for cooking the chicken could also be used for the Chicken Nachos that I posted yesterday.
I left out the red onion and used sesame oil instead of peanut oil.
I also used whole wheat angel hair pasta because I didn't have any soba noodles on hand.

I ate this at the get together and really enjoyed it. The bowl was clean when the whole thing was over so I suppose that means everyone else liked it too!


Recipe for Peanut Chicken Soba Salad


One Year Ago-Slow Cooker Vegetable Casserole

Chicken Nachos

A couple weeks ago I accompanied my daughters to a birthday party. It was really fun with lots of princesses and princess activities.
The birthday girl's mom had made some cute little sammies and snacks for the kids as a light lunch and had also prepared these chicken nachos for the adults to munch on.
They tasted really good and so I asked her for the recipe. Turns out that it is super easy.
I don't usually use sour cream, but I happened to have some in my fridge because I used it in a baked good, so I went ahead and used the rest of it in this recipe. I am sure that plain yogurt or greek yogurt would work just as well.
I added a can of black beans and also garnished it with green onions and cilantro.

I made these for a dinner get together and we had the leftovers for dinner another night wrapped in a tortilla with chopped tomatoes inside. It would also make a great filling for a quesadilla.


Chicken Nachos adapted from Misty Francom
Season 4 chicken breasts witih lemon pepper and garlic salt.
Cook and Shred.
Add 2 cans of corn without juice (I used Mexi-corn because I had it in the pantry)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1-2 cups of shredded cheese
1 large scoop of sour cream
1 jar of salsa
green onions and cilantro, for garnish

Simmer together for 10-15 minutes
Serve with chips

* Misty's note- I (Misty) don't cook it this way anymore, but it basically tastes the same as the way I make it. I cook the chicken and shred it the night before. Then in the morning I through everything in the Crockpot and let it cook until lunch and it is ready!

One Year Ago- Weekly Lunchbox

CEiMB-Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

This week's CEiMB recipe- Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwiches, was chosen by Pam, whose blog- Cookies with Boys, is a really great one- she always has great healthy recipes and delicious treats. She just seems like the kind of person that you would really want to have living next door. She has 2 adorable little boys and I am sure if she was your neighbor she would probably bring you a plate of cookies or invite you over for a lunchdate.
You can find the recipe on her blog or by clicking on the link at the bottom of this post.

The night that I made these for dinner my husband walked into the kitchen, looked at the pan I was cooking in and asked, "What is that?"
I said "BBQ for sandwiches."
He replied, " Well, I know what it is, but you don't ever cook stuff like that."

So, I guess that was his reaction when he saw me cooking something "normal". I thought it was pretty funny.

I don't really know that much about BBQ. I don't have a certain taste that I am looking for in the sauce or anything like that. I can't tell the difference between vinegar-based or whatever. In fact, the word BBQ meant to me growing up, that we were going to have a BBQ in the backyard, cooking something on the grill.
When I moved to the south, I soon realized that BBQ is actually a food. The confusion with words and phrases didn't stop there, but I won't go into that.

So, anyway- I made this sauce as is, because I wouldn't really know how to change it and I am not that particular about this stuff anyway. I left out the liquid smoke because I don't have any and this dinner was enjoyed by all. If I did make it again, I might mess around with the sauce and add something to give it a little heat and I would probably cook my own chicken to shred because the rotisserie chicken I found was quite pricey.

I had some of the BBQ leftover and I ate it the next day over some salad greens. It made a pretty tasty salad.

Check out the other CEiMB members by going to the Blogroll!
And if you haven't already entered my giveaway, go and comment for your chance to win a cookbook!
Recipe for Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwiches


One Year Ago- Lunchbox #2

Back to School Giveaway! 2 Cookbooks- Hello, Cupcake! and LunchBoxes and Snacks

It's Back to School time and that means it is time for a giveaway! I will be giving away 1 copy of each of these cookbooks- Hello, Cupcake! by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson and Lunch Boxes and Snacks by Annabel Karmel.

To enter, just leave a comment on this post- if you don't have a blog leave your email address, so if you win, I can contact you!
This giveaway will close on Sunday 9/13 at 12:00 midnight. The winners will be announced on Monday.
The first cookbook is Hello, Cupcake! It came out in 2008 and has tons of super cute and easy ideas for decorating cupcakes. You don't need any special decorating tools or supplies, it can all be done with plastic baggies and other things you already have at home.

This is a great book to have and so many of these designs would be great for school parties or snacks. There is also a webpage for this book and a blog!
I decided to let my 7 year old son pick out a cupcake design for us to try at home. Of course, he had to pick one of the scariest ones that was in the book- Shark Attack!

I scaled it back, because there are only 5 of us here and made 3 sharks, 3 life preservers and 1 cupcake with gummy fish. I had a few problems with my sharks, but that is just because of the way I put them together. As you can see in the last picture, my shark was starting to fall apart, but that was my fault, not because of the directions.
I have to say that these were fairly easy. It is nice that you can do most of the decorating with a knife and a plastic baggie. Success! My kids thought these were awesome.
We also made the Garden Party Cupcakes from this book last year for Father's Day. The great thing about this book is that the designs are easy to adapt and make your own. We really like this book.

The second book, Lunch Boxes and Snacks, is a great resource for packing lunches for school and also for providing good wholesome snacks. This book is geared towards children, but I have made many recipes from it with success for my entire family and other adults as well.

I decided to make the Caesar Salad Lettuce Cups for a summer dinner and we really loved them. I added shredded carrots, cherry tomatoes, chopped cucumbers, and made my own croutons with a whole wheat baguette. Yum!

I have also made the Finger-Picking Chicken Balls,
Pita Pockets stuffed with Tuna, Egg and Corn,
Chicken Chunks on a Stick, Couscous Confetti Salad,
and many other things that I haven't blogged about, like her no bake chocolate squares. She also has a webpage- which has recipes and all sorts of other helpful information.

Best of luck to all who enter!
Caesar Salad Lettuce Cups from LunchBoxes and Snacks by Annabel Karmel
makes 2 portions

1 small skinless, boneless chicken breast
Marinade:
1 Tbls olive oil
1 tsp lemon juice
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Caesar Dressing:
3 Tbls mayonnaise (I used fat-free)
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tsps water
1 tsps freshly grated Parmesan cheese - plus extra to serve
2 or 3 drops Worcestershire sauce -to taste
salt and freshly ground pepper
Extras you can add:
grated carrot, diced cucumber, diced apple, chopped cherry tomatoes, sliced scallions

2 Boston lettuce leaves
croutons

Place the chicken breast between 2 layers of plastic wrap and flatten with a rolling pin to 1/4-inch thick. Mix together the marinade ingredients, add the chicken, and marinate for 30 minutes. Heat a griddle and brush with oil. Remove the chicken from the marinade and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side or until cooked through.

Whisk the dressing ingredients in a bowl. Dice the chicken and toss it in the dressing.
Add extras if you wish. Spoon onto the lettuce leaves, add a few croutons, and sprinkle with Parmesan.


One Year Ago- Chocolate Malted Whopper Drops

CEiMB- Chicken Sate with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce

Today's CEiMB recipe- Chicken Sate with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce, is one that I have been wanting to try for awhile now. I am so glad that Cathy picked it! You can find the recipe on her blog- The Tortefeasor, which I highly suggest you start reading, if you don't already or you can find the recipe HERE.

Now, I know my chicken is looking kinda sad, without any grill marks, but for some reason I decided to broil mine. Not really the best idea, since I put the broiler pan on the very top rack and even though I soaked my skewers, we still had some flames. Unbelievable!-especially since the day before my neighbor's kitchen was on fire. I stayed right there and watched them, but it was still a bit scary.

I moved the rack down to the next notch, a little bit farther from the heat for the next batch and luckily we didn't have any more flames.

My whole family liked the chicken. It was tender and flavorful, thanks to the marinade and the kids really enjoyed the whole eating-something-off-of-a-stick-that-you-can-then-turn-into-a-weapon-at -the-dinner-table idea.
Review on the peanut sauce- my husband said it was good. My son didn't like it, my daughters did. It was good, but not my favorite peanut sauce that I have ever made or tasted-It was a little too thick. Maybe I am too picky about peanut sauce. Maybe I have made too many different peanut sauces-idk. I don't want you to think it isn't good, it is! (This one is my favorite so far)

Overall though, we really enjoyed this recipe. Go see what the other CEiMBer's thought by checking out the Blogroll!

I also revisited the Oven Baked Onion Rings that I picked a couple weeks ago. The recipe uses Baked Lays Originals for the coating and I thought it would be fun to try it with some of the other Baked Lays flavors. We tried Cheddar & Sour Cream, Sour Cream & Onion and Barbeque Flavor. The Sour Cream & Onion were the fave and the BBQ were the least fave, a little too sweet, but it was fun to try other flavors.
Pam tried the onion rings again recently too- check out her post-HERE!

One Year Ago- What's in your Lunchbox #1-Finger picking chicken balls, mini caramel apples, mini bagel sammies, and fruit parfaits with homemade granola

Kids Choice- Chicken Nuggets and Rainbow Salad Boats

The other day my oldest child asked, " When can we choose what we have for dinner?"
I replied, "how about right now?"

I pulled some kid cookbooks off the shelf and told my 7-yr old son and my 4-yr old daughter that they could each plan a night's dinner. They could choose a main dish and a side.

My daughter wasted no time at all. She chose these 2 recipes from the first cookbook that she picked up, C is for Cooking:Recipes from the Street.

My son, on the other hand, had to look at every single kid cookbook, before he decided on chicken burgers, green beans and olives.

My kids enjoyed these homemade chicken nuggets and it was really fun letting them help in the kitchen. The C is for Cooking Cookbook has certain steps that it deems appropriate for kids, so they can help put the meals together.

Two of my kids love any kind of salad dressing. They like dipping their veggies and lettuce or enjoy salad dressing when it is poured over the salad on their plates and this apple-y vinaigrette was no exception.
My son doesn't do salad dressing, but will still eat the veggies.

Everyone was excited about this dinner and I have to admit that the chicken tasted better than I thought it was going to. The honey mustard gave it just the right amount of flavor.

The kids are already begging for another chance to pick dinner.


Grover's Little & Adorable Chicken Nuggets from C is for Cooking: Recipes from the Street by Susan McQuillan
Ingredients:
24 saltine crackers (I used Nabisco's Premium Multigrain Saltines)
1 pound thin-sliced chicken breasts (I used chicken tenders)
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbls mayonnaise (I used fat-free)
1 egg white
2 tsp honey mustard

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a large rimmed baking sheet.

2. KIDS- Place the crackers in a large plastic bag and zip the bag. Now gently pound your fists to crush the crackers into thin crumbs. Pour the crumbs onto a large plate. Set the plate aside.

3. Cut the chicken breasts into 1 1/2 squares. Sprinkle evenly with salt.

4. KIDS- In a large bowl, stir together the mayo, egg white, and honey mustard until well-mixed. Add the chicken to the mayo mixture and gently toss to coat the chicken pieces.

5. KIDS- Gently press each piece of chicken into the cracker crumbs until the nugget is covered all over. Transfer the nuggets to the prepared sheet.

6. Bake the nuggets, until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Zoe's Rainbow Salad Boats from C is for Cooking
Ingredients:
Apple Vinaigrette
1/4 cup apple juice or cider
2 Tbls apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
6-8 Tbls olive oil

For our veggies we used:
baby carrots
cherry tomatoes
bell peppers
celery
cucumbers
olives
hard-boiled eggs

Other veggies suggested:
cooked potato
cooked beets
green peas
broccoli
orange sections
apple pieces
canned beans
avocado
grated cheese



1. In a small bowl, make the salad dressing: Whisk together the apple juice, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Whisk in the oil until blended.

2. Arrange separate bowls of salad ingredients on the table. Give everyone a salad plate and let each person make his or her own salad. Try to "use" as many colors as possible! Use whole lettuce leaves as salad "bowls" or "boats". Drizzle a little salad dressing over you salad.




One Year Ago-Granola Grabbers with Homemade Maple-Pecan Peach Granola