Archive for the ‘Recipe of the Month’ Category
If you weren’t aware until now, Adam and I are expecting a new family member come September; and I promise this will be one of the only posts where I go into greater detail about our new adventure, but I also promise this little diatribe does relate to the food portion of our programming. 
Now for the most part, from the little I know of pregnancy, my first time around has been golden. I really haven’t had much to complain about and honestly have felt really great and active most of the time. I also have really enjoyed the changes my body is undergoing (again for the most part). Sure, I am still human and a woman, so there are days when the reality of getting bigger by the day is odd and disheartening, especially someone who has battled with her appearance and self confidence in the past. However, for the most part there is something also so freeing about just letting nature take its course and just eating what sounds good to me; and I am finding I am more in tune with my body and intuitive eating habits with pregnancy…, something I really want to pass along to our daughter.
Now that isn’t to say I haven’t at times gone crazy and eaten every morsel in sight. I mean…come on…what pregnant woman hasn’t? Still, for the most part I really am trying to eat relatively healthy for the baby…just sneak in some fun items every now and again…the whole 80/20 mindset of eating. What I wasn’t really prepared for, however, is the nagging cravings that come with pregnancy. We’ve all heard about them….usually going something like ice cream with pickles….right? 
I would hardly say I have had any so bad as to send Adam out to the store at midnight, but there have been a few times when I simply can’t get a dish out of my head and won’t be satisfied until I have it; and while I haven’t had many of those instances, the past few days have been cheeseburgers cheeseburgers cheeseburgers on the brain!
….so I made myself one….and boy was it every yummy! Two weeks ago, however, I got a craving for chicken salad that just would not quit. And not just any ol’ chicken salad would do…, I wanted one chalked full of yummy extras like grapes and what not. Subway happened to have just introduced their Orchard Chicken Salad, so I figured that day after 2 days of a full-on craving, it would be the perfect time to try it. Let’s just say it didn’t do much for me. That’s not to say it was bad, it just wasn’t as flavorful as I had hoped in my head, and well….it just didn’t really do the trick.
It was then that I realized I might have to take matters into my own hands and make a version of what I was looking for. I scoured the web looking for a recipe with what I thought I wanted, until it dawned on me to check a website I had been hearing tons about and reading a little of myself.
The Pioneer Woman is a wildly popular blog by a fabulous woman named Ree Drummond who went from city life to ranch life when she fell in love with and married an Oklahoma Rancher. Her website is divided into sections where Ree is able to deliver wonderful candid and funny advice from what it is like living on a ranch, home schooling and raising 4 children, photography, and cooking for her big bunch. Her stories and recipes have become so popular she has even written a book. Women and men alike love her candor and life approach in which she never takes herself too seriously.
Well…, I had heard wonderful things about some of her recipes, so I figured I would see if she had a chicken salad recipe for me… and boy did she ever!
Chicken Salad
Added by Ree on August 7, 2009 in Meat Salads, Salads
Prep Time 20 Minutes
Cook Time 1 Hour
Servings 6
Difficulty Easy
Ingredients
- 1 whole Cut Up Fryer Chicken
- 2 stalks (to 3 Stalks) Celery, Chopped
- 3 whole Green Onions, Chopped
- 2 cups (to 3 Cups) Grapes, Halved
- ½ cups Mayonnaise
- ½ cups Plain Yogurt Or Sour Cream
- A Small Handful Of Fresh Dill, Minced
- 1 Tablespoon (to 2 Tablespoons) Lemon Juice
- 1 Tablespoon (to 2 Tablespoons) Brown Sugar
- Kosher Salt To Taste
- Fresh Ground Black Pepper To Taste
Preparation Instructions
Rinse chicken thoroughly and place in a large pot of water. Turn on the heat and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is done (about 45 minutes to an hour). When you are ready, remove the chicken from the pot and place on a plate. With your fingers or a fork, pull all of the meat off the bones, chop into bite-sized chunks and set aside.
Chop all of your fruits and veggies and place them in a bowl with the chicken.
In another bowl mix mayonnaise, yogurt (or sour cream), lemon juice, brown sugar and salt and pepper to taste.
Add fresh herbs (dill, oregano, cilantro…whatever makes your skirt fly up) and if you’re feeling a bit brazen throw in a dash of cayenne pepper!
When the dressing tastes just right (you must taste test for appropriate saltiness especially), pour it over the chicken/veggie/fruit mixture and stir gently until everything is thoroughly mixed. If you are feeling naughty add a sprinkling of bacon bits.
Allow the salad to chill for several hours (or even overnight). Serve on a bed of lettuce or in a sandwich or heck, eat it straight out of the bowl with a serving spoon.
Try it soon – you’ll love it!
I want to start off by saying that I didn’t photograph my steps or finished product because if you follow the recipe link, Ree does such a wonderful job of depicting step by step how the process should be unfolding. I also chose not to cook a whole chicken myself and rather used a rotisserie chicken from the store, mostly out of ease and I didn’t think it was going to affect the taste that dramatically. But outside of cooking the chicken, this recipe was a cinch to whip up and I am not sure I would really ever make another chicken salad recipe again. I loved it that much! The only downside was it made so darn much that I couldn’t eat all of it before it went bad. Still, let’s just say it more than certainly satisfied my craving, and I highly recommend that you attempt to let it satisfy yours!
TASTE: Since this type of chicken salad, chalked full of non-traditional ingredients (not really some’s cup of tea….like my husband), I am the only person to have actually tried it, as well as I had a HUGE craving for chicken salad, so I may be a little biased. That being said, I’ve had other chicken salads prior with my craving and this is the only one that did the trick…it was that tasty! There is something about all those lovely crunch and fruity bits that play so well off the chicken itself. And the addition of yogurt and dill add flavors that carry this recipe over the top. Can we say happy pregnant tummy!
EASE OF PREPARATION: I opted to use a store bought rotisserie chicken with this recipe, so I think it was way easier to prepare than typical. But I really don’t thinking cooking the chicken looked entirely out of my realm of possibility. I just figured if I could make it easier…, seeing that I’m preggers… than why wouldn’t I? The rest of the recipe is simply just chopping and stirring ingredients together….so all around pretty easy.
COST: Another great perk of this dish is that it doesn’t require any expensive ingredients; and because the dish makes such a large amount, it really is super cost effective.
COMPLEXITY: As I mentioned above, this dish is so far from complex, especially if you cheat a little and buy an already cooked chicken. The most difficult part is really just the chopping…, so needless to say not very complex.
PORTION SIZE: According to the recipe it says this serves 6. However, I would say it serves at least double that unless you are eating a large amount. I made 5 very good portioned sandwiches and still managed to only eat about half of what I made, so I just need to cut the recipe in half next time or find someone else who likes it. Either way, I give The Pioneer Woman’s Chicken Salad and whole hearted 5 ‘Little Piggies’!
Although it is starting to get warmer (at least in most places in the country), I’d say this next recipe would maybe be more fitting for the cooler months of the year. However, I am also guessing there are many of you out there who are still craving some comfort food…, at least to curl up with and escape all this rain Mother Nature seems to be dumping on us this month. I’m starting to figure that we are really not going to get a spring this year and rather immediately dive into summer weather come Mid May. But in the meantime, no sense breaking out those spring and summer recipes when there doesn’t seem to me much sign of that or even sunshine anytime soon. NOT THAT I’M BITTER OR ANYTHING!
So when I first noticed this recipe in an issue of Food Network Magazine, I was immediately intrigued…, Mac and Cheese soup, really? And if you know my better half at all, you know that mac and cheese and anything like it is his FAVORITE food…almost to a downfall. 
True, I like it just as much as the next person, but I am just a wee bit pickier. Still, I was so intrigued by this recipe as a soup. I figured it had to have a similar flavor but likely be a heck of a lot lighter than you average heavily cheesy pasta dish; and as an added bonus, after reading the directions it seemed rather simple and I thought it would be a great idea to whip up on a random chilly evening.
Mac and Cheese Soup
Recipe courtesy Food Network Magazine
- Prep Time:
- 15 min
- Inactive Prep Time:
- Cook Time: 20 min
- Level: Easy
- Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients
- Kosher salt
- 4 ounces elbow macaroni (1 cup)
- Cooking spray
- 2 plum tomatoes, sliced 1/2 inch thick
- 4 1/2-inch-thick slices baguette
- Freshly ground pepper
- 3 shallots
- 1 carrot, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 stalk celery, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 3/4 cups fat-free low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 1/4 cups 2% milk
- 6 ounces shredded cheddar cheese (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Directions
Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees F. Bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the macaroni and cook as the label directs; drain.
Mist a baking sheet with cooking spray and arrange the tomato and baguette slices on it in a single layer; season with salt and pepper. Bake until the bread is golden brown, about 7 minutes.
Mince the shallots, carrot and celery in a food processor. Mist a saucepan with cooking spray. Add the vegetables and cook over medium-high heat until softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Gradually stir in the broth and bring to a boil; cook, stirring, until thickened, 6 to 7 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Add the milk, cheeses and macaroni and stir until the cheeses melt. Season with pepper. Top the toasts with tomatoes; serve on the soup.
Per serving: Calories 476; Fat 20 g (Saturated 12 g); Cholesterol 84 mg; Sodium 636 mg; Carbohydrate 46 g; Fiber 2 g; Protein 27 g
Photograph by Antonis Achilleos
I was surprised how easily this dish came together and really was quite a great alternative to just warming up a can of Campbell’s on a cold night. I simply followed the directions and while I was cooking the noodles themselves I went about preparing the other ingredients, including toasting my baguette slices since they seemed a little too soft to be toppers. I also was unable to find plum tomatoes at any of 3 grocery stores I tried, so I instead I substituted sundried tomatoes, which I would not do again because these really didn’t fit well with the whole texture. That being said…, the tomatoes are not a major player in this dish…more of a garnish…. so if you can’t find them, no worries.
I was pleasantly surprised with how creamy and comforting this dish was. While it does taste similar to Mac and Cheese, it is really just a really great flavored creamy and cheesy noodle soup, which of course are the 3 major things you want in comfort food…right? And that being said…, while it is cheesy and creamy, it is not so heavy that you can’t enjoy it or even feel guilty about it because it is much healthier than a huge bowl of the real deal.
Adam also enjoyed this dish, and I agree with him in that it tasted MUCH better the second day. Something about the shallot and cheese really sitting together for more time really helped the flavor expand and bind with the noodles. Although this soup was far from bland on the night of, it didn’t wow us as much as it did for leftovers. Still, definitely a winner in my book and a recipe I will be repeating in the future. After all, it is always great to have good comfort food dishes on hand!
TASTE: I was pleasantly surprised with how yummy this soup turned out. While I have had much more decadent and wonderful Mac and Cheese in my lifetime, this was just a nice alternative to the “blue box” or other types, and just as easy to put together. Also, while this is considered a soup, I certainly didn’t feel I needed anything else for our meal. It is plenty filling and fulfilling all in one.
EASE OF PREPARATION: This dish could not be EASIER! It really just takes monitoring the ingredients and adding them at their proper time. While some might find that annoying, I think it is nice to be able to have something to do while the dish is coming together.
COST: This is definitely also a dish that is cheap to put together…, very few ingredients and the few it does have are inexpensive and easy to find. Also, the portion sizes are very good, so this is money well spent when you consider how many it can feed.
COMPLEXITY: It is far from complex, and as I mentioned above really just takes monitoring and reading the directions. What is also nice about the dish is how other fun ingredients or flavors could be added if you so desire. Once the basics are followed, there is really room to play around with what else you want to add in…just like normal mac & cheese
PORTION SIZE: This recipe made 4 rather large bowls of soup, so if you are wanting it as a meal, I would say it would feed a family of 4 perfectly. Or if you would rather it be a side dish, it could serve as many as 8 or 10…, quite a deal if you ask me.
While this recipe was far from complex in preparation or flavor, it is certainly a recipe I am glad that I tried. I now know I can make a healthier and natural alternative for my husband’s favorite food, which is a blessing considering. I also thought it really was a great addition to our comfort food repertoire and something I will for sure be making in the future. Definitely worth the 4 ½ ‘Little Piggies’
I love salads…, salads of all kinds; and although I know to most people that sounds utterly boring, to me it is a way to mix things up. I find that salads offer so many opportunities to put together a lot of fun combinations to create one complete meal or side dish. Now, sure, I have to admit that I’ve never been very fond of those “salads” that you often find in the deli section of your local grocery store…you know the ones I mean…., the mayonnaise heavy potato, pasta, or egg varieties. It’s just I find them to be tasteless and pointless calories. That being said, I know potato salad is often present at many a summer cook-out, so I am always on the lookout for varieties I can try that are a bit more adventurous.
So I happened to be looking through one of my trusty Food Network Magazines one day to discover a new take on potato salad, and I came upon one from none other than the queen of butter herself, Paula Deen. At first glance I would have never thought that this recipe came from her, because…well, let’s face it…, the ingredient list is all pretty healthy. I was even more excited that the dressing was not mayo based, but rather more of a mustard-vinaigrette. Needless to say, I quickly cut it out and knew I was going to be making this recipe soon!
Red Potato Salad With Bacon
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen for Food Network Magazine
- Prep Time:
- 10 min
- Inactive Prep Time:
- —
- Cook Time:
- 15 min
- Level:
- Easy
- Serves:
- 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients
- 6 cups cubed red-skinned potatoes, unpeeled (about 1 1/4 pounds)
- Salt
- 2 ounces bacon (2 or 3 strips)
- 1 cup chopped bell pepper (any color or a combination)
- 1/4 cup minced red onion
- 1/4 cup sliced scallions (about 2 scallions)
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
- Freshly ground pepper
Directions
Put the potatoes in a large pot; add water just to cover and season with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Bring to aboil over medium-high heat and cook until tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and cool slightly.
Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a large skillet until crisp. Drain on paper towels and finely chop.
In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, chopped bacon, bell pepper, onion and scallions.
In a small bowl, whisk the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, mayonnaise, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Pour over the potato mixture, tossing gently to coat. Cover and refrigerate or serve at room temperature.
I decided to try this recipe out on a night when we were getting together with Adam’s nanny, Gloria (more affectionately known as "Momma Glo") and her nephew for dinner. She was teaching me how to make REAL southern fried chicken, so I figured this would be the perfect recipe to go alongside.
One great thing about this recipe is that it does not lie in the fact that it only takes about 15 minutes to put together. It took me maybe a 1/2 hour, only because I had to cook the bacon and potatoes before assembling the whole salad together. But, you can prep all the other ingredients while those two items are cooking. Then, all you have to do is toss it all together and let it sit until you are ready to eat it. It can be served warm or chilled.
Momma Glo absolutely loved this potato salad…, so much so she asked for the leftovers for lunch the next day. That meant a lot from someone who has cooked for a profession for the better part of 50 years and has them down home southern roots. I too enjoyed it, with all the different flavors from the peppers to the onion to the bacon that gave every bite a little zip; and even better, I loved that this dressing had a tang, rather than the bland flat taste that heavy mayonnaise based salads typically do. Sadly, Adam wasn’t a huge fan…, he said it was good, but he is one of those store bought potato salad types. Still, I loved the dressing so much I have continued to use it on a variety of other things like broccoli and spinach, because it just whips up so fast!
TASTE: Personally I thought it was delicious and Momma Glo agreed; and although my husband wasn’t a big fan, I know if made for a crowd, it would definitely please. Also, it makes you feel much less guilty, since it is not slathered in a bunch of mayonnaise.
EASE OF PREPARATION: This was possibly one of the easiest recipes I’ve taken on yet. It is just so simple to put together I don’t know why I would ever use the excuse of needing to buy one at the store. This was just a matter of chopping and assembling a variety of things and then pouring the dressing over top and tossing.
COST: This dish is very cost effective, especially since it requires very little ingredients, and the ones it does require we either have on hand regularly or were easy enough to pick up. It would even be more cost effective the more of it you made.
COMPLEXITY: As I mentioned above, this dish is so far from complicated, rather if you can cook some bacon and potatoes all while chopping up the veggies, you are good to go!
PORTION SIZE: The serving size is definitely accurate, seeing that it fed the four of us a great portion and left enough for someone to eat the next day. Obviously if you were cooking it for a larger crowd, you may want to double or even triple the recipe.
Even if you like the store bought variety of salad, I beg you to give this one a try just once. I am not trying to change your mind completely, just allowing you to introduce some uniqueness and variety into your cook out this summer. 
I think you’ll enjoy this 5 ‘Little Piggy’ recipe!
