Something Old: Magic Chicken Salad

Somehow, it's Monday again. Or rather, it's Sunday night but it will be Monday when this is posted. The weekend never is long enough.

Tonight, Chase and I are cooking meatloaf, a recipe I'll share on Thursday. For today, though, make yourself a great batch of chicken salad for lunches this week. Or for many other things. Chicken salad makes for great sandwiches, but it's also wonderful on top of green salads, or as an appetizer on crackers. Probably more things, but I'm partial to lists of three.

Happy cooking!

ps- I'm so happy the weather is finally cooling. Fall/Winter recipes are my favorite!

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Sarah's Magic Chicken Salad January 5, 2010

This morning, Bobbi asked me if I have a recipe for chicken salad tucked in my arsenal. Scandalously, I did not. So after work tonight, I committed myself to a little experiementation to make my own chicken salad recipe.

Because this is neither “cooking” nor “baking,” but what I can only call “making,” there is plenty of room for your own experimentation with measurements. Like pepper? Add an extra dash. Mayo fan? Use a little more. You get the point. “Making” means the recipe tells you which flavors to add for a great dish, but the amount of these flavors can vary based on your tastes.

Now as I sit here typing to you, I am enjoying the most delicious chicken salad I have ever eaten.

Ingredients

1 ½ cups cooked chicken, cubed

½ - ¾ cup Miracle Whip (light)

1 Tbsp minced onion

½ cup chopped pecans

½ cup chopped celery

½ cup dried cranberries

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

¼ tsp paprika

½ tsp pepper

¼ tsp salt

Directions

1. In a medium mixing bowl, combine Miracle Whip, paprika, pepper and salt.

2. Add onion, celery, pecans and cranberries into miracle mayo. Mix well.

3. Add chicken and stir gently until all ingredients are well coated.

4. Finally, add fresh lemon juice and give the chicken salad a final stir.

5. Serve on bread or roll with dark salad greens, on a green salad, on crackers, on a boat, with a goat. (sorry)

PS for Bobbi- If you like grapes in your chicken salad, add those instead of (or in addition to!) the cranberries. Just make sure to cut grapes into pieces about the same size as your celery pieces.

The ingredients. The magic is in the lemon!

Leftover grilled chicken works great, presuming it's minimally seasoned. Fried chicken

works as well, as long as you take the skin off.

But the EASIEST way to acquire chicken is to buy frozen, fully cooked chicken. Thaw

according to microwave directions and let cool before adding to your mix.

Three chopped quarter cups.

All together, ready for eating.

Happy cooking!

Something Old: French Dip Sandwiches

Welcome again to Monday, food friends!

I had a great weekend with friends. Lots of eating, baking, dancing (kinda), and watching new shows. Even had a girly sleepover. All kinds of fun things.

Unfortunately, Chase has been out of town and will continue to be out of town for a couple of days. When I was searching around the old posts for S.O. recipe, I realized that this would be the perfect thing for me to make for my solo Sunday dinner. Simple, cheap, and most importantly, easy to make for one. Granted, it's also easy to make for 2 or 6 or 10, but so few recipes are single-eater friendly.

Never fear. French Dips are here!

Happy cooking!

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French Dip Sandwiches January 2, 2010

Simplest warm sandwich in the world.

This sandwich was included in sets of recipes from both my mom and grandma, so I knew it had some history and had to be good. And indeed it was! Chase and I made it one week when we were both stressed and needed something warm, tasty, and simple. Perfect sandwich for all of those things.

ps- Pick your favorite kind of bread or roll for this, but I really like it on something with a nice chewy crust to add great texture.

Ingredients

Deli-sliced roast beef (about 4-5 slices per sandwich)

1 package McCormick's Au Jus Gravy mix

Provolone cheese

Bread of your choice

Directions

1. On the stovetop, prepare Au Jus Gravy mix according to package directions.

2. Meanwhile, slice and toast your bread.

3. Once Au Jus is prepared, place roast beef slices one at a time into the gravy until they are heated through (they will look crinkly).

4. Place heated beef on one slice of bread and top with a slice of cheese. Place in toaster oven or under broiler to melt cheese.

5. Serve finished sandwich with a cup of Au Jus.

My favorite crusty bread.

Making the Au Jus (swirl).

Almost ready for eating, and perfect with a side of apples.

Happy cooking!

Something Extra: Red Velvet Cookies

TGIF! Three cheers for the end of the week! And to celebrate, let's make cookies!

My aunt Becci made these for a get-together at my grandma's house, and everyone was smitten. Including me. She was nice enough to send me the recipe, and I made them the other week. Just as good as I remembered.

When I made them, I was being lazy and bought cream cheese frosting from the store (shame on me!) But I've included the recipe for my grandma's red velvet cake frosting, the real red velvet frosting made on the stovetop with flour and waxed paper, among other things. Sounds strange, but it is so good. You'll be glad you made frosting from scratch.

Happy weekend cooking!

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Red Velvet Cookies

Ingredients

1 box Red Velvet Cake Mix (Becci and I recommend Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe)

2 eggs

⅓ cup veggie oil

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix, eggs and oil. (Sifting the cake mix first helps prevent lumps!)

3. Spray your hands and a 1 Tablespoon measuring spoon with cooking spray. Scoop the dough by tablespoon into your hand and roll into a ball.

4. Place the dough balls onto a cookie sheet, leaving a couple inches between each cookie.

5. Bake for 8-10 minutes. The tops of the cookies will crack when they are done.

6. Remove from cookie sheet at let cool while you make the frosting.

7. Here's a step I skipped, but made Becci's cookies extra beautiful: Right before you frost the cooled cookies, make a small cutout in the center of HALF the cookies. Becci says, "I used a washed and dried hair spray lid to make circles!"

8. Divide the cookies into pairs. Frost the flat side of the cutout-free cookie of the pair. Sandwich the cutout cookie on top.

9. Eat away!

Grandma's Frosting

1 cup milk

¼ cup flour

pinch salt

1 cup sugar

1 stick margarine

½ cup stick Crisco

1 tsp vanilla

wax paper

Directions

1. Mix milk, flour and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir continually until mashed potato consistency (4-7 minutes).

2. Remove from heat. Press wax paper down on top of mixture, and leave on while the mix cools.

3. Once mix is cool, combine sugar, margarine and Crisco in a separate bowl. Beat until very fluffy.

4. Add the cooled milk mixture and the vanilla to the mixing bowl. Beat to frosting consistency.

5. Use to frost your favorite red velvet things.

The batter will be pretty thick, and a brilliant red.

When the cookies are done, they'll have pretty crackling on top.

My favorite part of making these cookies was finding a little heart stuck to the

cookie sheet when I removed one of the cookies.

Happy cooking!

Something New: Chicken Primavera

Chase and I were planning on making an apple bacon bread pudding for dinner on Sunday, but forgot the amount of prep time the recipe takes. So we searched around in our fridge and our cookbooks for something new to eat.

I was surprised when I found my mom's recipe for Chicken Primavera and realized that we had never made it together. It's a fairly simple recipe, and was a staple growing up for me, and I've had the recipe since my mom wrote it up for me when I moved to college. There was really no reason for us not to have made it yet! Except that it made for the prefect summer recipe tonight.

My mom would probably tsk that we doubled the amount of parmesan that she uses, but I refuse to be ashamed. It was delicious.

Mom's recipe is below, but feel shameless enough to double your cheese.

Happy cooking!

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Chicken Primavera

Ingredients

½ - ¾ lb chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

1-2 cups broccoli florets

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

½ - 1 cup carrots, julienned

¼ cup chopped onion

1 can (14 oz) chicken broth

½ tsp dried basil

1 Tbsp veggie or olive oil

Dash of pepper

¼ cup parmesan cheese

1 ½ cup Minute Brown Rice, uncooked

Directions

1. Heat oil to medium-high in a large pan. Add chicken and onion and cook until the chicken is done through.

2. Add broccoli, peas and carrots. Cook and stir until vegetables are tender-crisp.

3. Stir in broth, basil and pepper. Bring to a boil.

4. Once boiling, stir in rice. Return to boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.

5. Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes.

6. Stir in cheese and serve.

Chicken, onions and one of the veggies.

My mom's writing. I love her note on how to julienne.

All the veggies in the pot. So colorful!

All together now, ready for cheese and serving.

Happy cooking!

Something Old: Orange Pork Chops, Two Ways

Welcome to Monday, food friends! I've had a refreshing couple of weekends, and I'm ready to share recipes again at full force.

Last weekend Chase and I celebrated our two year anniversary, going to Columbus Fish Market, spending hours at the amazing Columbus zoo, seeing friends, sleeping in, and making Orange Pork Chops!

We love this recipe. It's straightforward, the ingredients are few and easy to find, and it gives me another reason to eat mashed potatoes.

There are two ways to make this recipe. The original way makes a delicious gooey glaze for the pork chops. The second way, our variation, makes an orange gravy for the chops. As a mashed potato fiend (half the time I choose my entrée at restaurants based on the presence of mashers as a side), I always go for the gravy. But both variations are great, and both are found below!

Have a great week! Happy cooking!

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Orange Pork Chops January 2, 2010

This recipe is an absolute favorite for me and Chase. I think I’ve made it 3 times in the last 3 weeks!

I even made it for my family of picky eaters. Caitlin, who doesn’t like pork chops, ate a whole chop herself. And Dad, who doesn’t like marmalade, went back for seconds. Success!

Even better, there are two delicious ways to make this recipe: with orange glaze or with orange gravy. The recipe is easy to half or double depending on the crowd you’re cooking for, and the leftovers are fantastic. Either way you make it, these pork chops are delicious. But if you want my vote, you can’t beat the gravy!

Ingredients (Glaze / Gravy)

4 pork chops

1 Tbsp olive oil

½ cup orange juice / 1 cup orange juice

2 Tbsp brown sugar / 4 Tbsp brown sugar

2 Tbsp orange marmalade / 4 Tbsp orange marmalade

1 Tbsp vinegar / 2 Tbsp vinegar

1-2 Tbsp flour (gravy only)

salt and pepper to taste

Directions (Orange Glaze)

1. In a large skillet, brown pork chops on both sides in hot oil (about 3-4 minutes per side). Sprinkle pork chops with salt and pepper.

2. Meanwhile in a medium mixing bowl, combine orange juice, brown sugar, marmalade and vinegar.

3. After the pork chops have browned on both sides, pour the glaze mixture over the pork chops in the skillet. Cover and simmer for 35 to 45 minutes, until the pork chops are tender and glazed.

4. Remove pork chops to a warm platter. Spoon glaze over chops and serve.

Directions (Orange Gravy)

1. In a large skillet, brown pork chops on both sides in hot oil (about 3-4 minutes per side). Sprinkle pork chops with salt and pepper.

2. Meanwhile in a medium mixing bowl, combine orange juice, brown sugar, marmalade and vinegar.

3. After the pork chops have browned on both sides, pour the glaze mixture over the pork chops in the skillet. Cover and simmer for 35 to 45 minutes, until the pork chops are tender and glazed.

4. When chops are done cooking, remove from skillet. Add about 1 tablespoon of sifted flour into the liquid in the skillet. Whisk to combine. Let the liquid continue to simmer for another 1-5 minutes, until it reaches a gravy consistency.

5. Serve over rice or with mashed potatoes.

The ingredients.

Beautiful browning chops.

Chops bubbling away in orange glaze.

Chops in the beginnings of gravy.

Glorious glazed chops. Don't have a pic of the final gravy, but I promise it's just

as gorgeous and delicious! Happy cooking!

Something New: Meatball Subs

Little introduction is needed for a classic recipe. Chase and I were craving meat and melty cheese, so this happened. And it was delicious.

The meatball recipe was mostly based on this one, minus some heat. And of course they were great on spaghetti too.

Happy cooking!

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Meatball Subs

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef

½ cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs

¼ cup parmesan cheese

⅓ cup milk, or 1 large egg

1 ½ Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp dry onion flakes

¼ tsp garlic powder

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¼ cup chopped onion

¼ cup chopped mushroom

4 Tbsp cooking oil

1-2 cups marinara sauce

1-2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Sub sandwich bread

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, mix the top set of ingredients. Form into 2-Tbsp balls.

2. Put a couple of tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

3. Place the meatballs in the skillet and cook the meatballs thoroughly, turning occasionally. (Or cook for 20-25 minutes in a 400 degree oven.)

4. When the meatballs are almost done cooking (about 5 minutes left), place the last 2 Tbsp of oil in a small skillet over medium heat.

5. Cook the onions and mushrooms in the small skillet until fork-tender. Salt and pepper to taste.

6. Place the fully-cooked meatballs onto your sandwich bread. Top with a handful of mozzarella. Place in a toaster oven to toast until the cheese is melted.

7. Remove from toaster and top with onions, mushrooms and marinara sauce. Enjoy.

Delicious meatball ingredients.

Or will be delicious as soon as it's cooked!

Happily frying away.

Extra flavor.

All together now, into my mouth! Happy cooking!