Yummy Chicken Salsa Salad

I've been working hard at staying healthy lately. I'm not going to lie, it's been mostly for vanity reasons. Our recent spring break trip to the sunny state of Florida, was a huge motivator.  My goal was simple: feel better than last year.

I have a confession.I'm not a big breakfast person. I drink green tea or coffee every morning, and consider that my meal. Not very healthy I know. It usually means that by lunch time, my blood sugar has dropped and my hyperglycemia self starts to get crazy and then I grab the nearest carb loaded quick junk food I can find to show down on.

Not the best thing to do when you're working on looking good for a trip!

Enter: The chicken salad. It's quick, it's super easy, and it's loaded with great things for your body.  I could seriously eat this every meal and be satisfied. (Which is saying something since I get bored with food easily!)

I got this recipe from a friend who made it for me for lunch one day. After tasting it, I knew I had to have it, and I've done well to pass it on the same way when I invite girlfriends over for lunch dates.I'm forever indebted to my friend for passing on such an amazing meal :)

I usually serve it over a bed of lettuce, but to make it more fun for the kids, this time I put it on lettuce leaves, for them to roll and eat themselves. I won't lie: it was a messy meal. But they had fun, and they clean up pretty well with water.

Chicken Salsa Salad

2/3 C Salsa (any brand- but if you use a "fresh" variety make sure to drain some of the liquid!)
1/2 C fat free Mayo (I actually use something called Veginase that I get from the health food store, it's like Mayo but made out of grape seed oil!)

1 C. halved grapes (I use red)
1 C celery, chopped
1 lb chicken, shredded. I usually use a rotisserie
Salt/pepper


Slivered almonds for topping
Salad or lettuce leaves


Combine all ingredients except the salad and almonds. Mix well and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Serve over lettuce and sprinkle with almond slices.

Enjoy!

Gauva Coconut cupcakes

Oh yum. That's about all I have to say about this easy and delish recipe I have for you today.

I know the cupcake scene came in fast and furious. I've heard it speculated for the last couple of years that cupcakes shops are on their way out. But, as a baker, I can tell you that I still have loads of people interested in these tiny, perfect bite sized treats!

Who doesn't smile when they see a cupcake? They just look so cute!

With summer around the corner, I've been working on some special summer combos for my cake business.
Since my family and I took a trip last summer to do mission work on the islands of Trinidad and Tobago, I've fallen in love with tropical... well... everything!

When I saw this recipe for Guava cake over at Kuki's Kookbook, I knew I had to try it. I mixed it up ever so slightly, and made it into mini cupcakes instead of a sheet cake like in her original recipe, which is here.

Now here's my version:

Guava Cake


Preheat oven to 325.

Cake:

• 1 package yellow cake mix (Duncan Hines is my favorite)
• 1 1/3 cup guava juice-(found in my grocery store in the "Mexican food" section)
• 4 eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 box instant cheesecake pudding
• red food coloring- add until you get the color you want

Make the cake together for 2 minutes, then scoop into mini cupcake lined pans. Bake at 325 for 11-12 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. While those bake make the filling.


Guava Filling:

• 2 cups guava juice
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup corn starch
• a few TBSP COLD water
• red food coloring
• Pinch of salt

In a medium saucepan, bring guava juice and sugar to a boil. In the meantime, make a paste out of the cornstarch and the small amount of cold water. It's going to resemble cement Keep mixing adding water a drop at a time until it resembles runny elmer's glue. Remove guava juice mixture from heat and whisk in cornstarch paste. return to heat and bring back to a boil. boil for one minute stirring frequently. Cool in the fridge, or if in a hurry, in the freezer. Once cooled, stir in red food coloring until gel is the color you desire. 

Icing:
2 Pkg. Cream Cheese, soft
2/3 C white sugar
3 TBSP.coconut milk (the canned kind! Use the thick, part that is usually on the top after you open it)
1 tsp. Vanilla
2 TBSP, salted butter, soft


Mix all ingredients together until light and fluffy.

Toast 1 C. coconut by spreading sweetened coconut out on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 and check every 5 minutes to stir until most of it is brown. Make sure to cool it before dipping your baby cupcakes!

By now, you've baked lots of minis. After they are cool, use a Boba tea straw (they're perfect for cutting holes in mini's!) Or anything small that you could punch a hole with. Fill the hole with some of the filling, then smear just a tiny bit on top of each cupcake. Put your icing in a piping bag (or a ziplock with the corner cut out) and ice them.

After they are iced, turn them over and "dip" them into the toasted coconut.

Even my husband, who hates guava, loved these. Enjoy!

Broccoli baguette pizza

Hi again! I'm getting a little behind in this whole blogging thing- not that I am surprised. It seems that sometimes I like to pretend that I'm superwoman, whilst forgetting that I am, in fact, not. Ha!
Then I get behind in pretty much everything. Like right now.
We've been home from spring break for over a week and I just now put the last load of laundry in from that- am I pathetic or what?!

This recipe today is one that I've been making for my family for years. It's unbelievable how the flavors meld together to create something unexpected yet delicious. I think I started making it when we went on a vegan kick many years ago. It didn't last long. I discovered I really have a hankering for meat and cheese  :) This isn't really pizza if you only count pizza as toppings on a rolled out crust. But here in our home, I've found that if I call anything pizza, I entice the kids to try it at least!

My family really loves it and the kids have been begging me to make it for them. You should have heard the squeals of excitement flowing from my kitchen after I told one of them. It traveled down the line of kids in a domino affect, and I had 4 giggling, crazy kids helping me before I knew it. Over broccoli. Someone pinch me!

You won't need much time for this recipe. I like to keep most of these things stocked in my pantry anyway.

Broccoli Baguette Pizza


1 baguette split down the middle from top to bottom
2 cloves garlic- crushed
Olive oil
Kalmata Olives- diced (be careful, these have pits! I use a cherry pitter to de-pit them or you can buy them already sliced- which is obviously the better route here.) You find these in jars in the olive section!
1 1/2 small onion- sliced very, very thin.
1 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp dried rosemary (try fresh in the summer- just add more!)
1 1/2 bunches of fresh broccoli crowns. Washed and cut small

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 


Place baguette on a cookie sheet and brush with olive oil. Sprinkle with crushed garlic- 1 clove for each half. (I use the back of a large spoon to spread it around more evenly)

In non-stick skillet, combine 1 tbsp olive oil, all the onions, and the rosemary.. Cook a few minutes on high, then reduce heat- but still keep it towards the hottest setting. Add sugar to the onions and stir frequently until they start to caramelize. 

Remove them from the heat once they are brown and caramelized. Put in a separate dish as you still need your skillet! 


Add broccoli to your skillet. No need to wash it out, and you shouldn't need any more oil either. Cook on high heat for a few minutes. Put a dash of salt and pepper on them. and then add about 1/4 C water. It will help "steam your stems" :)

Cook for a few minutes more, just until you see your greens getting greener- don't overcook! When they turn bright green remove them from the heat!

Now assemble your goods. 


Sprinkle olives evenly down the bread. You want the pretty thin, but you also want the bread mostly covered.

 Next do the same with your onions. Sprinkle them evenly as well.

 Last, add the broccoli, in the same manner. Don't worry if some falls off. You can put it back on later.
I like to pour a tiny amount of olive oil over the top before cooking.

Bake for 10-12 minutes.


Usually I make this as our main dish. However, I have also made it as an appetizer for company, and it's always a hit. I do recommend slicing the bread into 5 pieces before assembling if you plan to use it as an appetizer. It's just easier to cut before it's put together!

Chicken,Bacon, Strawberry pizza

No, that wasn't a typo up there in the headline. Today, I'm sharing one of my favorite new recipes. Ii nabbed this one off of Pinterest (of course!) and boy, oh boy I can't get it out of my mind. It's that good.

If you've been to the grocery store lately, you'll notice it's that time again: Strawberry time! I love this season when they are so cheap. My family counts to eat them in their salads, in their desserts, (of course in their cupcakes and cakes), and in their lunches as snacks. I also spend a day or two making freezer jam to carry us through the next year. Never before had they thought I would serve them on a pizza. In fact, I never thought I would (or could) get away with it.

The first time I made it, I didn't tell them, and hoped they wouldn't notice. I thought maybe, just maybe those red pieces on top could pass for red peppers. I considered turning off the lights that night and eating by candlelight. I didn't want them to scrutinize before they had a chance to taste it. In the end, they (of course) saw the berries and were alarmed. We encourage our children to try different food before they determine they don't like something. At least 1 bite. And one bite for them (all of them!) was all it took. The entire pizza was done before I could blink, and they were begging for more. I was delighted!

Before you judge- try it! It's a pretty quick meal to ship up when you use store bought dough. Yes, that's right. I use dough found in the freezer section by the frozen rolls etc. Bread baking/dough making is just not my thing. I seem to always mess up the yeast, not knead it enough etc. So, I skip the part I'm not good at to get to the stuff I really like.

There's something about taking that ball of thawed dough and stretching it out. Tossing it in the air in between rolling, pretending I'm a guy named Luigi and I have a captive audience of people who are in awe at my dough-making ability. Everyone wants to know how I do it.... until I miss and it falls with a plop onto the floor. With that, my day dreaming ends, I grab another ball of thawed dough, and this time, I gently knead and roll it until it fits my baking sheet.

 The original recipe, found here at  The Caf'e Sucr'e Farine 
is amazing. She's a genius.  Go ahead and pop over to look at all her scrumptious pizza recipes!

In an effort to make things a tiny bit simpler, I (as mentioned) use frozen dough. The dough really helps make this, so make sure you are using a great dough! I also made it simpler by cooking my pizza's on a baking stone. I love the way the crust turns out both crispy and chewy. So without further adieu, the pizza you've been wanting to try and just didn't know it!

Chicken, Bacon, Strawberry pizza
(I double this recipe for my family and make 2 large pizza's)
For the sauce:
 ½ cup strawberry jam or preserves, (I used Smucker's Simply Fruit, no sugar added)
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

 ¼ cup balsamic vinegar

For the Pizza: 
1 cup diced or shredded chicken breast, from rotisserie chicken or left over chicken of any kind
1/2 pkg. bacon,  cooked crispy and drained then crumbled or cut into tiny bits
½ of a med. sweet onion- sliced very thin!
12 ounces shredded Italian blend cheese
 ¼ cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
 ¼ cup fresh strawberries, diced small

First, preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Make sure your dough is ready (thawed if using frozen dough). Knead, stretch, and roll it out. I usually do it directly onto my baking stone, and only use a little flour on the top so my rolling pin doesn't stick. If you are using another kind of baking sheet make sure to oil it or grease it, and roll dough onto a floured surface.

                           (Notice my dough isn't perfectly round- it still looks gorgeous when cooked!)

In a small saucepan, cook balsamic vinegar until it is about 1/2 the volume. It'll get a little thicker and a tiny bit syrupy. Add in jam, and cook another minute. Remove from heat.

Take 1/8th C. of sauce and add to your cooked chicken. Toss to coat.

 Spread onto dough using the back of a large spoon. Make sure to leave a small edge for the crust!

Evenly spread cheese over the sauce, add the chicken, the onions and then sprinkle the bacon. 

                                             (everything's better with bacon!)

Bake for 8-13 minutes or until bubbly and brown.


Remove from oven, let set for 2 minutes, then add fresh berries, and cilantro.

Enjoy with a side salad of greens and berries and nuts. this one's a real crowd pleaser!

Fruit Nachos with Cheesecake Fluff- the perfect summertime dessert!

Hi! Have I got a tale to tell today.

Ok, well it's not really a tale, it's more like a recipe. We just got back from a vacation to the sunny and warm state of Florida and it was delightful. Never have I been more excited to see summer arrive, now that I am home.

Since we just returned, I've been busy with unpacking, doing a mountain of laundry, and getting the house back into order, which is not fun nor exciting at all. However, I had a last minute guest pop over for dinner last night (we love that kind of company- so spontaneous and fun!) but I was a little unprepared for company. I had gone to the store for a few essentials but dinner last night was pretty much a 'look in the pantry to see what you have then throw it in a pot' kind of a meal.

I had about 10 minutes notice that company was coming, so I quickly looked in my fridge, pantry to see what I could add to my meal to make it a little more memorable.

After taking inventory of what we had, I was thrilled to discover that I had everything needed for this delicious dessert I had just had in FL! (Ok, I really didn't have everything. I had my darling husband run to the store for 2 items that were missing. He's such a good guy, and he loved these so much that he was happy to quickly fetch me the needed items.)

It only took a few minutes to make, and is super-duper delicious. Be sure to make plenty as they will go quickly!

Fruit Nachos

For the chips:
1 pkg. flour tortillas
1/4-1/2 C melted salted butter
Cinnamon/sugar ( I make my own with  1 tsp. cinnamon and 1/4 C sugar)


For the fruit:
1 can pineapple (drained) crushed works best but you can chop up any other cuts you have
1 large apple, diced small
1 container strawberries, diced small


For the Fluff:
1 container Cool Whip
1 pkg. "cheesecake" flavored pudding mix
1/2 C. greek yogurt


Heat oven to 400.
Take the tortillas and butter each side. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, then cut into triangles, the way you would slice a pizza. (I use kitchen scissors to do this, but a pizza cutter works well also), then spread out in  a single layer on a cookie sheet.


Bake for 5-7 minutes, take them out, turn each chip with tongs, and pop them back in for 5-7 min. You want them brown and crispy but not burned. The sugar will caramelize a bit and make them look darker- that's a good thing! Now take them out and set them aside. These can be made in advance, and kept at room temp. for a day.


For the fruit, chop everything and mix it together.


For the fluff, add the Cool Whip, pudding and yogurt and mix with a hand or a stand mixer until fluffy and mixed well.


Serve with the chips on the bottom, fruit on those, then the fluff on top. You can also leave each separate and guests can build their own.

Enjoy! And don't forget to let me know when you try them!

Nasi Goreng or Indonesian Fried rice

Yesterday I posted a great banana roll up recipes reminiscent of what you may find on a warm tropical island. Today, I decided to stick with the island theme and post this recipe for Nasi Goreng, or Fried Rice Indonesian style.

Now, I love to cook. I would rather spend my days in the kitchen covered in edible soot (flour/sugar or the like), then say, be outside gardening. (Although I do love to garden as well.) However, with 4 kids and a business that I run out of my home, sometimes a girl has to have something quick and easy. That looks gourmet, and like it took a lot of sweat and tears to create. Enter Nasi Goreng.

I first learned of this exotic sounding meal from my husband, who in the 90's, was the first person to cross the island of Papua New Guinea without the use of motors. Allow me to pause here for a shameless plug for the book about their adventure. It was written with the use of my husband's carefully detailed journals, by his travel buddy Joel Kramer. It's a good edge-of-your-seat-yet-quick read! You can get it anywhere, but here's a link to reviews online Beyond Fear, a Harrowing Journey across New Guinea. Trust me when I say it will NOT disappoint you.

Ok,now that you've bought a great book, back to food! So, my handsome and adventurous husband ate this (among other things like pig poop, bugs and bat brains) in order to survive in the jungle. Obviously, of those things listed, the Nasi Goreng sounds like the only one I want to recreate for my family :) He remembers it being the most delicious thing he's eaten in a while.... but of course it was, look at the other things on that jungle menu!

I've tried over the course of many years to recreate the dish to no avail. By his standard, there is always something not quite right. I've tried little bag mixes, box mixes, you name it! He's tried it in Belgium and Holland, only to be disappointed.Until now.

I was googling recipes one day and came across this baby on Food.com.
I've tweaked it below, but let me tell you the results were fantastic. And fast. And delicious. I made it veggie since we were out of meat, (I really need to get to the store) but no one missed it. It was THAT good.

I served it with a bag of frozen pot stickers that I steamed. Remember that I cook for a hungry crowd. If your crowd is smaller, just cut this in half. Unless you want to freeze leftovers for another time.

Nasi Goreng

4 C cooked rice (I actually used sushi rice, but you can use basmani as well)

1 onion chopped small 

3 stalks sliced celery 

2 peeled, diced carrots/ few pieces broccoli

1/2 C shredded cabbage 

(You can also replace veggies with a bag of frozen ones!)

2 cloves garlic , crushed

 2 chicken stock cube

1/2-1 tsp. crushed red pepper

4 Tbsp. Ketsup Manaese (or ABC Sweet Soy sauce found at Asian stores)

 1 tablespoon coriander seed

5 Tbsp. butter or olive oil

2 eggs for the omelet to decorate the top

Heat the oil in a skillet or Wok. Add onions, celery, and carrots other veggies. Salt and pepper these, or use plain soy sauce.

 

Add garlic, the bullion cubes, coriander, and red pepper. Cook 2 min. more until translucent. 

Add the Sweet Soy sauce (It's thick and red, like ketchup!) Cook for another 2-3 minutes.

 

 Now add the rice, turning carefully to coat and mix thoroughly.

Use a metal bowl and PACK the rice into it. Allow it to rest for a few minutes while you cook your omelet in the pan Scramble 2 eggs and cook so that they are still 1 large disk (like an omelet).

Once done, turn the metal bowl of rice over onto serving platter and tap gently (or pound!) until it releases. Slip the omelet onto the top, and serve (and pretend you are on that exotic tropical island of Indonesia or Papua New Guinea) Oh! Almost forgot! It never hurts to add a little green sprig when serving. We added the pot stickers around the sides and top along with some fresh celery.Yum!

Easy Peasy Banana Breakfast roll-ups!

Happy Monday!

The sun is shining, the weather is getting warmer, and I can see daffodils and hyacinths blooming in my yard... it's going to be a good day!

I know most people hate Mondays, and you may want to stone me for saying this, but I LOVE them! Monday is the day I get to recoup from long busy (and loud!) weekends. I love having my family home, but lets face it, they destroy all my hard work in 2 single days at home.

Mondays are the day I get to re-take my territory. The kids are back to school, and the hubby is back to laboring hard to provide for us. Monday is the day I get to blast my music as loud as I want, throw on my wrinkled clothes with tiny bleach stains all over them, throw my hair into a quick pony, and reclaim the land once known as "Clean as a Whistle!".

Lest you think my Mondays are prefect let me share they are not. It's also the day the kids don't want to get up on time, we remember that we didn't get that project or paper done- that we had all weekend to finish- and the day I have to peel my eyes open at the crack of dawn after getting two whole days to sleep in (until 7). It's the day I wake up and realize I forgot to get to the store, so we are out of all things important. You know, eggs, milk, cereal, oatmeal, bread. Wait!! What are we going to eat??!

This recipe is easy and healthy and can help make any Monday madness turn into Monday gladness. It takes only  a few ingredients so when the pantry is empty, this is a good go to.

I usually keep a bag of frozen over ripe bananas in my freezer. I pull out a few, zap them in the microwave for a couple of minutes, and viola'! (I've also used just ripe bananas and they were still good.)Ready for a unique and healthy meal that hopefully your kids will love as much as mine do. (Note: I have a banana hater in my family and she still gobbles these things up!)

-Now, when you make these for the first time, you may want to NOT make them when you are in a  rush. They can be tricky to get the hang of the first time since the dough is very, very sticky. You'll want to make sure you have about 30 minutes to spend making them the first time.

-You'll also want to make sure that you have a nonstick skillet. These will stick, they are sticky!! Don't say you weren't warned about stickiness.

The Original recipe can be found here at Love Food Eat.

Banana Breakfast Roll ups

2 C. Whole wheat flour (If your family isn't used to whole wheat you can use 1 C white and 1 C wheat or all white)
1 C. Mashed bananas
1 Tbsp. sugar (I use raw in this particular recipe)
2 Tbsp. Canola oil 
Extra flour to roll
Extra oil for cooking

Honey and Butter for serving.

Measure flour into large bowl. Add bananas. (In this photo I added whole, just ripe bananas directly to the flour and mashed them into the flour using a potato masher!) But the proper way is to mash them first.
Add oil and mix well with a spoon or spatula. It's going to be sticky remember?!

Section dough in the bowl the same way you would hamburger meat. (using the side of your hand "cut" the dough the way you would a pizza. so all pieces are even.)

Pour 1/2 C or so of flour onto the counter top, and roll out on section of dough into a circle. You want it thin.  about 1/4" thin or so. Make sure to gently sprinkle flour on each piece as you roll so your rolling pin doesn't stick!

                (This my friends, is my super duper PVC pipe rolling pin- cheap and they work so well!)

Make sure you have a few rolled out and your pan is pretty  hot. Add a little oil to pan and then cook each flat bread until just brown on each side.

Once they are done, put a little butter and honey inside, roll up and enjoy the squeals from your happy children! (sorry I forgot to take a photo before my kids snarfed down all the rolled ones.)