Chicken Pineapple Salad

I have been craving yummy salads lately, and my friend Kara told me about this salad that her family enjoys.  We made this last night for dinner, and it was delicious! And SO easy!  It was a hit with the whole family, though my silly kids had to eat theirs with the elements in separate piles on their plates rather than as a salad.  No doubt this will become a classic summer night meal at my home.

Truly, it doesn't get much easier or yummier than this!

Ingredients:

• lettuce, chopped or shredded
• cilantro, chopped
• grilled chicken, cut into bite sized pieces (I actually just sauteed the chicken on the stove top with a little olive oil and lemon pepper)
• avocado, diced or sliced
• fresh pineapple, cut into bite-sized pieces (I'm thinking this would be divine if it were grilled as well....I may have to try that next time!)
• tortilla chips, crushed
• Honey-Mustard Dressing (we think the Brianne's brand Honey-Mustard Dressing is perfect for this!)
• Anything else you want to add!  I was thinking that mushrooms, peppers, or onions might all be a nice addition to this salad.  The beauty of it is that you can add whatever your family likes and adjust to your tastes.

Toss all the ingredients together and serve in bowls.  Such a simple, gorgeous, flavorful meal.

The Perfect Taco Salad

With spring weather coming in, I've been craving good salads.  We made this bowl of deliciousness last night for company, and we all absolutely loved it.  In fact, Gerald has admitted this is his new favorite meal!

I found this recipe on the Pioneer Woman's website.  The woman is a food genius.  The only change I made was I added the black beans.  I recommend you click here for full instructions and photos.

 

Ingredients

DRESSING 

• ¾ cups Ranch Dressing (bottled Is Fine) 
• ¼ cups Salsa (as Spicy As You'd Like) 
• 3 Tablespoons Finely Minced Cilantro 

CHICKEN

• 2 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts 
• 2 Tablespoons Seasoning (Taco Seasoning, Or Your Own Mix) 
• ¼ cups Vegetable Oil 
• 2 Tablespoons Butter (I omitted the butter, and just used oil.)

SALAD

• 1 head Green Leaf Lettuce (1 Large Head Or Two Regular Heads), Shredded Thin 
• 3 whole Roma Tomatoes, Diced 
• ½ cups Grated Pepper Jack Cheese 
• 2 ears Corn, Shucked (I used frozen instead.)
• 2 whole Avocados, Diced 
• 3 whole Green Onions, Sliced 
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed 
• ½ cups Cilantro Leaves 
• Tortilla Chips Of Your Choice (flavored Or Not), Crushed Slightly 

Directions:

First, make the dressing by combining all three ingredients in a bowl and stirring together. Cover and refrigerate. This takes like 1 minute.  :) 

Next, make the chicken: Generously season both sides of the breasts. Heat the oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken on both sides until deep golden brown on the outside and done in the middle, about 4 minutes per side. Remove and set aside to cool for 10 minutes, then cut it into cubes.

Place the ears of corn in the skillet you used to cook the chicken and roll it around so that the flavorful oil/butter mixture coats the corn.  If frozen, saute in the skillet until warm.  If using ears of corn, grill it on a grill pan or cook it in a separate skillet until the corn is still crisp but has color on the outside. Slice off the kernels with a sharp knife and set aside.

To assemble the salad, pile shredded lettuce, chicken, tomatoes, cheese, corn, avocado, green onion, black beans, cilantro, crushed chips, and chicken on a big platter. Drizzle the dressing all over the top, serving part on the side if you’d like. Serve it in individual bowls.

Homemade Hot Fudge

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 (15 oz.) can evaporated milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 cup flour

Combine butter, sugar and cocoa powder in a saucepan on medium heat, stirring consistently until butter is melted.  It will be very thick and chunky. Add milk gradually, stirring constantly until smooth.  Add vanilla and flour.  Bring to a boil, then remove from heat.  Mixture will thicken as it cools.  Serve while sauce is still warm.  You can keep the hot fudge warm in a slow cooker set on the lowest heat setting.  Store leftovers in the fridge.  

Caramel Sauce

I make this homemade caramel sauce as an ice cream or crepe topping, or to dip apples in - delicious!!

Ingredients:

• 1 c. brown sugar
• 1 c. corn syrup
• 1/2 c. butter
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Mix all ingredients in a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil over high heat and boil for exactly one minute.  The longer it boils, the thicker the sauce will become.)  Serve warm.  Store in the fridge.

Yummy Bread Bowls

We had a little snow today.  I took advantage of the fact that this is probably one of our last cold weather days of this spring to make mom's Clam Chowder recipe.  I wanted to make some homemade bread bowls to go along with it.  So, after reading a dozen or so different recipes, I decided on this one from Six Sisters' Stuff.  They were easy to make and turned out perfectly - so delicious!  Click here to read full instructions.

 Homemade Bread Bowls Recipe:
(Makes 6 bread bowls)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups + 4 Tablespoons warm water 
• 2 packages of active dry yeast (5 1/2 teaspoons) 
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted 
• 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar 
• 3 teaspoons salt 
• 6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 

Directions: Using a stand mixer or large mixing bowl, add warm water and sprinkle in yeast. Let dissolve for a few minutes until yeast becomes foamy. Add melted butter, sugar and salt and mix until combined. Gradually add flour. Once combined, allow your mixer to knead the dough for about 5 minutes (you could do this by hand if you weren't using a mixer, but it may get a little tiring!). Punch dough down and form into 6 equal sized balls. Place on a greased cookie sheet and let rise until doubled. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. (Mine took exactly 20 minutes.) Let cool and cut off the top, remove some of the bread from the inside and fill with soup or dip.