Spring Chicken Salad

Pictures are often the reason that I want to try certain recipes.
Cookbooks and magazines are fun for me to look at and pictures of certain recipes will make me want to try them.
That is what happened here. Partly. I saw the picture for this recipe in Food Network Magazine and was happy about the word Spring in the title. Plus, it looked yummy.
This time of year always makes me want to eat more salad, so everytime I find a good salad recipe that the entire family enjoys I am excited.

I also happened to have most of the ingredients for this salad on hand, which is unusual since I don't usually have potatoes in the house.
I liked that the dressing was made with greek yogurt, which is something that I usually sub for mayo, so the fact that it was already in this recipe made me happy.

I don't really love fresh tarragon, simply because it has that anise/licorice flavor, but in this salad it wasn't too strong since it was mixed with the fresh chives. It was subtle enough that I didn't mind it at all. This was a super fast dinner, that didn't require any cooking, which is always appreciated by me on a weeknight.

I used some cooked turkey breast that I had in my fridge instead of chicken. I also reduced the olive oil by 1/2. Quick and delicious!

Recipe for Spring Chicken Salad

Frittata with Spinach, Sausage, Peppers, and Eggplant

It would be a complete understatement if I said my kids didn't like helping me in the kitchen.
It has gotten to the point where I hardly get to do anything and they start fighting over who gets to stir or add this ingredient or whatever.

I love having them help and love the fact that they are so interested in cooking/baking.

On a Friday night, a couple of weeks ago, my 5 year old daughter told me she wanted to make dinner. I got out some veggies and we started discussing the options.
This frittata is what we ended up with.
I kid you not when I say that my 5 year old made this dinner almost without any help.
She chopped (with me holding the knife with her) sauteed (I watched), whisked the eggs, measured, layered, etc.
She really did all the work and she was so proud and excited to eat what she had made.

The great thing about this meal is that you will end up with roasted veggies and cooked sausage/onion mixture, which will give you a head start on dinner for a couple of extra nights.

Another thing about this frittata is that you can mix and match the veggies and protein to whatever you have on hand at the time.
You could roast mushrooms or zucchini or whatever you have on hand. You could use chicken, ground turkey/beef, tofu, or any other protein in place of the turkey sausage.
You could use thyme or rosemary instead of the chives. You could also add cottage cheese or feta to the egg mixture. Be adventurous and mix it up!

We have started having a frittata once a week using whatever veggies are in the fridge.
I love having the leftover pieces for breakfast later in the week.

The best part about having kids help in the kitchen is that they really want to eat what they create. I did not have to bribe or plead with my kids to eat this. My daughter was so happy that she made it, she gobbled it up and her siblings were so proud they gobbled too.
Not to mention, it was really delicious.

Frittata with Spinach, Sausage, Peppers, and Eggplant by Mary Ann and R (age 5)
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 small eggplant, chopped
2 Tbls olive oil, divided
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pkg Lean Sweet Italian Turkey Sausage, (I used Jennie-O)
1 6 oz bag baby spinach
10 eggs
2 Tbls chopped fresh chives
1/4 cup skim milk
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese


Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Place chopped peppers and eggplant on a baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 Tbls olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast for 15 minutes. Set aside. Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees.

Heat 1 Tbls olive oil in a large skillet. Add chopped onion and saute for a few minutes. Add sausage and break up into small pieces. Add garlic and cook until sausage is cooked through, 6-9 minutes. Place half of sausage/onion mixture in another container and refrigerate for another use.
Add baby spinach to sausage/onion mixture left in skillet, and saute, until wilted. Set aside.

In a large bowl, crack 10 eggs. Whisk to combine. Add chopped chives and milk. Season with salt and pepper, and whisk until combined.

Spray a 9x13-inch pyrex dish with cooking spray. Spread the sausage/spinach mixture on the bottom of the dish. Add half of the roasted peppers and eggplant (put the other 1/2 of veggies in a plastic container and refrigerate for another day).
Pour the egg mixture over the sausage/veggies and make sure all veggies are covered with the eggs. Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella cheese over the top.

Bake in the 400 degree oven for 20-23 minutes.
Serve.

Broiled Salmon with Peppercorn Lime Rub and Quinoa Vegetable Salad

It seems like it will never stop raining around here. I am not going to complain about the weather, but somehow it really affects my mood more than I would like it too.
When I wake up to gray skies and rainfall, I want to snuggle back into my covers and stay there for the entire day. At this point in my life, staying in bed all day is not an option.

That little blurb has absolutely nothing to do with this salmon- I just had to share.

I can't remember exactly where I saw this recipe, I think it was in a Cooking Light magazine or cookbook or something. The combination of the pepper and lime sounded really good to me and I liked the fact that the side dish was a quinoa-veggie combination.
This quick rub comes together is seconds and it is a simple flavor combination. Sometimes those simple things have the best results.

I am lucky because my kids really love to eat fish. I have been trying to serve it at least twice a week and it is really helpful that I don't get any complaints when I serve fish for dinner.
This was a really great, quick dinner.
My family loves quinoa too, so there were no fights about that either.
I love having sucessful dinner experiences.



For Quinoa-Vegetable Salad- combine 1 1/4 cups chicken broth and 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa in a medium saucepan; bring mixture to a boil.
Cover and simmer 12 minutes or until liquid is almost absorbed.
Stir in 1 1/2 cups chopped zucchini and 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper. (I also added 1 cup sliced mushrooms).
Cover and cook 5 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
Remove from heat.
Stir in 2 Tbls chopped fresh chives, 2 tsps olive oil, 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper.

Recipe for Broiled Salmon with Peppercorn Lime Rub

Barefoot Bloggers Bonus-Mini Orange Chocolate Chunk Cake and Chive Risotto Cakes + TWD Rice Pudding Redo

There are alot of pictures going on here today. But both of these cakes were so delicious that the pictures are necessary. The mere mention of the word cake in both these Barefoot Blogger Bonus recipes, is what made up my mind when I was deciding if I was going to make them. I love making cake, so there you go.

Deb, who you can find at Kahakai Kitchen picked the Chive Risotto Cakes and Lisa of Lime In The Coconut, chose the Mini Orange Chocolate Chunk Cake. The risotto cakes were divine. I mixed the ingredients together the night before and had no trouble with them staying together. I used non-fat Greek yogurt since it is always in my fridge and didn't want the rest of the rice in the bag to just sit there, so I made TWD rice pudding again, to try and get the right consistency.

I loved these risotto cakes- they were just perfect. The cheese melted (I used mozzarella, since there was no fontina to be found) and the chives and seasonings were delicious. This might be my favorite BB recipe ever.

The orange cakes I made in my mini-mini bundt cake pan. It has 12 little mini bundts per pan and I got 16 with this recipe. I used mini chocolate chips instead of chunks, omitted the coffee in the ganache, and these smelled so good. The combination of the orange syrup and ganache just really put these over the top! Plus, the servings were smaller, so we enjoyed one, without feeling too much guilt. Go see who else made these fab Bonus recipes by checking the BB Blogroll.

Now the wierd thing- after making rice pudding for the first time the other day and it turning out a little soupy- I woke up craving it the next day. And I wanted to see if I could get the consistency right. I was using Arborio rice for the chive cakes anyway, so I used the rest of the bag on the rice pudding. I changed a few things and it turned out perfectly! It was so good. I kept the pudding bubbling at close to medium, and it thickened up nicely overnight in the fridge. I made half chocolate (so good), but melted the chocolate before stirring it in, and half vanilla. I am going to write up my recipe below. I wasn't the only one who was thankful for the redo- my family was happy too!

Mini Orange Chocolate Chunk Cake from the Barefoot Contessa

For the cakes:

1/4 pound unsalted butter at room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 extra-large eggs at room temperature

1/8 cup grated orange zest (2 large oranges)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus 1 tablespoon

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

3 ounces buttermilk, at room temperature (I used reduced fat)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup good semisweet chocolate chunks (I used mini chips)

For the syrup:

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

For the ganache:

4 ounces good semisweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon instant coffee granules (I omitted this)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 6 individual serving baking molds, such as the flexible non stick 100 percent silicone molds. Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for about 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, then the orange zest.

Sift together 1 1/2 cups flour, the baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. In another bowl, combine the orange juice, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately in thirds to the creamed butter, beginning and ending with the flour. Toss the chocolate chunks with 1 tablespoon flour and add to the batter. Pour into the pans, smooth the tops, and bake for 30 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.

Let the cakes cool in the molds on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the syrup. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, cook the sugar with the orange juice until the sugar dissolves. Remove the cake from the pans, put them on a rack over a tray, and spoon the orange syrup over the cakes.

Allow the cakes to cool completely.

For the ganache, melt the chocolate, heavy cream, and coffee in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally.

Drizzle over the top of the cakes.

Chive Risotto Cakes from The Barefoot Contessa

Kosher salt

1 cup uncooked Arborio rice

½ cup Greek yogurt (I used non-fat)

2 extra-large eggs

3 tablespoons minced fresh chives

1 ½ cup cups grated Italian Fontina cheese (5 ounces) ( I used mozzarella)

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

¾ cup panko (Japanese dried bread flakes)

Good olive oil

Bring a large (4 quart) pot of water to a boil and add ½ tablespoon salt and the Arborio rice. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. The grains of rice will be quite soft.

Drain the rice in a sieve and run under cold water until cool. Drain well.

Meanwhile, whisk together the yogurt, eggs, chives, Fontina, 1 ¼ teaspoons salt, and the pepper in a medium bowl.

Add the cooled rice and mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight, until firm.

When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Spread the panko in a shallow dish. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Form balls of the rice mixture using a standard (2 1/4 –inch) ice cream scoop or a large spoon. Pat the balls into patties 3 inches in diameter and ¾ inch thick. Place 4-6 patties in the panko, turning once to coat. Place the patties in the hot oil and cook, turning once, for about 3 minutes on each side until the risotto cakes are crisp and nicely browned.

Place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and keep warm in the oven for up to 30 minutes. Continue cooking in batches, adding oil as necessary, until all the cakes are fried. Serve hot.

Revamped Rice Pudding adapted from Dorie Greenspan

1/2 cup + 1/3 cup Arborio rice

6 cups whole milk

1/3 + 1/6 cup sugar
1 Tbls pure vanilla extract

3 Tbls bittersweet chocolate

Bring rice and 3 cups water to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain rice, but do not rinse.

Bring milk and sugar to a boil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium or medium high heat, and stir to dissolve sugar. Add rice and cook for 55 minutes over medium or medium-low heat. Make sure that the pudding keeps bubbling a little while cooking. Stir frequently. The rice should thicken a bit. Divide the pudding in half. Melt chocolate in the microwave and stir into half the rice, until smooth. Stir the vanilla extract into the other half of pudding.

Place in bowls or small dishes and cover with plastic wrap, pressing down onto the pudding, so a skin doesn't form. Refrigerate overnight.

Come back tomorrow for The Cake Slice- Sweet Potato Cake with Chocolate Cream Frosting and Orange Cream Filling