This was the salad I had with the leftover chicken I made. It was pretty hearty because of the walnuts.
I was able to make 2 salads with this:
1 bunch romaine heart, chopped
1 cup grape tomatoes
1 medium carrot, shredded
1 cup chopped walnuts
leftover grilled chicken, cut into pieces
raspberry walnut dressing (or your favorite dressing)
Combine all ingredients. Toss together to coat dressing evenly.
During the weeknights (or lazy weekends), I try to make something simple, so I don’t spend hours in the kitchen. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy being in the kitchen, but not when it’s yucky and hot outside.
One of my favorite spices to use is Mrs. Dash. I love it because all the herbs and spices have been mixed into a convenient bottle for me. Of course, I can mix a bunch of herbs together to make this, but this is a great shortcut to take once in a while. I used the garlic and herb spice mix. I also used my George Foreman grill for this.
I had some leftover chicken while making this, so I used the leftover chicken for a salad for lunch.
Garlic and Herb Grilled Chicken and Pasta
Ingredients:
1 lb chicken breast (mine was a little under a lb.)
Mrs. Dash garlic and herb spice
8 oz. thin spaghetti
salt
1 head broccoli florets
olive oil
Directions:
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add salt to water, and boil pasta until al dente. Add broccoli during last 4 minutes of boiling.
Meanwhile, butterfly the chicken breast, cover with saran wrap, and pound thin. Coat both sides of the chicken with the spice mix.
Grill on the George Foreman grill for 7 minutes. Cut into slices.
Drain the pasta. Drizzle with 2 TBSP olive oil and toss to coat. Transfer pasta to bowl, add chicken, and serve.
I first made these last year or the year before for a fourth of July also. It turned out very well, although I didn’t use the glaze with it. This year, I decided to make it again, since I my dad requested it. I told him I was making a strawberry pie, but he said he didn’t like strawberries, and he wanted apple pie. Of course. That’s the same thing Gary asks for all the time too!
I tried to access allrecipes.com, but unfortunately their site was down for a few days. Luckily, I printed this recipe a long time ago before I had a laptop, when I was still printing and keeping recipes in a binder.
I didn’t have a chance to get puff pastry from the supermarket, so I used the phyllo dough I had on hand. It was the first time using phyllo dough, and it seemed pretty easy. Maybe I will finally make the baklava I’ve been meaning to make.
Apple Turnovers
adapted from: allrecipes.com
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons lemon juice
4 cups water
4 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced
2 tablespoons butter (I used margarine)
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon water
1 (17.25 ounce) package frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed (I used phyllo dough)
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
Combine the lemon and 4 cups water in a large bowl. Place the sliced apples in the water to keep them from browning. (I didn’t do this. I used an apple peeler/corer/slicer while the butter was melting and quickly placed the apples in the pan once I was done.)
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Drain water from apples, and place them into the hot skillet. Cook and stir for about 2 minutes. Add brown sugar, and cinnamon, and cook, stirring, for 2 more minutes. Stir together cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water. Pour into the skillet, and mix well. Cook for another minute, or until sauce has thickened. Remove from heat to cool slightly.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
If using puff pastry:
Unfold puff pastry sheets, and repair any cracks by pressing them back together. Trim each sheet into a square. Then cut each larger square into 4 smaller squares. Spoon apples onto the center of each squares. Fold over from corner to corner into a triangle shape, and press edges together to seal. Place turnovers on a baking sheet, leaving about 1 inch between them.
Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until turnovers are puffed and lightly browned. Cool completely before glazing.
If using phyllo dough:
Unroll puff pastry onto a dry surface. Cover with saran wrap, then a damp towel.
Take 1 sheet, brush half of the length of the sheet with melted butter or margarine. Fold the other half over the sheet. Brush with more butter. Lay another sheet over that, repeat with butter and fold. You should now have 2 fold sheets (or 4 half sheets) alternating with butter.
Place about 2 TBSP apples on one end of the sheet.
Fold over one corner, and continue to fold until the end of the sheet.
Place on a parchment or silicone lined baking sheet. Brush top with butter. Bake in oven for 15-20
minutes, or until golden brown.
Cool before glazing.
To make the glaze, mix together the confectioners' sugar, milk and vanilla in a small bowl. Adjust the thickness by adding more sugar or milk if necessary. Drizzle glaze over the cooled turnovers. (I did not add the glaze.)
I hope everybody had a great holiday weekend! It’s been a food filled weekend for us!
We went to Gary’s family’s annual BBQ. We were in charge of burgers, hot dogs, and chicken wings.
I made 2 types of wings. One was the hoisin 5 spice marinade I’ve used before. I doubled the recipe for 3lbs of wings and marinated overnight, and it was incredible with wings! We had some left over afterwards, so I baked those for 30 min at 425° on a greased foil lined pan.
I found the second recipe at about.com. They have lots of great recipes! I loved the fact that I had everything on hand. This was such a simple recipe, and it tasted so good!
Sesame Chicken Wings
source: about.com
Ingredients:
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons sesame oil
4 green onions, with tops, sliced
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons sesame seeds (I used roasted sesame seeds)
dash ground black pepper
dash ground cayenne pepper, optional (I added)
3 pounds chicken wings
Directions:
In a large food storage bag, combine soy sauce, water, sugar, sesame oil, green onions, garlic, sesame seeds, and peppers. Add chicken wings; turn bag to coat well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight, turning occasionally.
Remove chicken to a shallow rack in baking dish or roasting pan. Discard the marinade. Bake wings, uncovered, at 350° for 30 minutes. Turn wings and bake 25 minutes longer, or until tender. (I grilled these).
I started making this to try to duplicate something my sister used to make. I think it was salmon dipped in a cornstarch type batter. I didn’t know if it was something that was an egg/cornstarch/water batter or an egg/flour/water batter. I ended up making something totally different from what she made.
In the end, the salmon bites came out very nice, perfectly cooked and looked too perfect to eat! They sort of look like chicken nuggets, but when bitten into, you realize it’s fish. Gary liked it a lot. He checked my plate to see if I finished mine, since he usually finishes off my leftovers, but I ate it all too.
Panko Crusted Salmon Bites
Ingredients:
1 salmon steak, skinned (mine was about 11 oz)
1/4 cup flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup panko crumbs (season with herbs of your choice)
2 TBSP oil (not olive oil)
salt to taste
Directions:
Rinse the salmon clean and pat dry. Using a paring knife, skin salmon steak. Cut it away from the bone and remove as many stray bones as possible. Cut into 1 to 1 1/2 inch cubes. Season with salt if desired, I did not use.
Dip the salmon in the flour, then egg, then panko.
Add oil to a preheated pan. Reduce temperature to medium heat. Cook salmon for 1-2 minutes on all sides. Transfer to a plate line with a paper towel to soak up excess oil. Serve with your favorite sauce.
Gary ate this with ketchup. He’s a ketchup fanatic. He thinks anything breaded and fried should be eaten that way.
