Chicken (Curry) Salad

(The chicken salad is in the blue bowl behind my spinach artichoke dip)
Ingredients:
-4-6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves - boiled and shredded or cubed (whichever you prefer)
- 1 1/2 to 2 stalks celery diced (fairly small) I'm not big on the taste of celery (or lack thereof) but I like the crunch, so if you like it chunkier, go for it, but I like it diced pretty small.
- red grapes either whole or cut in half. I usually cut them in half. Maybe a 2/3 cup or less
-For 6 chicken breasts about 1- 1 1/2 cups of mayonaise ( a little less for 4 breasts)
- About 1/4 cup orange juice ( to dilute the mayo)
- 1/2 cup pecans chopped
- 11 oz can of mandarin oranges (drained)
- diced apple ( or half an apple) if you like :)
- about a teaspoon of curry or more
- salt and pepper to taste. (SALT IS A MUST- THE CHICKEN HAS NOT BEEN SALTED!)


Directions

- mix the dressing separately
- mix all other ingredients EXCEPT oranges in a large bowl
- pour dressing over mixture in bowl and check to see if it the consistency you want. I sometimes add a little more mayo or orange juice if it looks too dry.
- fold in oranges last.

Spinach and Artichoke Dip

I have to warn everyone (again) that I RARELY measure things when I cook. This works for me... it may not work for you. This is why generally Cliff is the baker in the family and I am the cook most of the time. With this recipe it is all about the consistency and what YOU like, so if it looks like too little mayonaise - ADD MORE and vice versa. I have also mixed in some mozzarella cheese with my cream cheese/mayo/parmesan base so do what you like! It really is delicious, though :)

Ingredients:
- I think it was about an 8 oz package of cream cheese? Maybe a 1/2 a cup? I just eye balled it.
- About the same amount of mayonaise - maybe a little more or less (this with the cream cheese and parmesan cheese made up the base
- About a 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese.
- 14 oz. can of Artichokes drained and chopped
- about a bag of fresh baby spinach chopped and sauteed with a little garlic and then drained of excess water OR about 1/2 bag frozen chopped spinach thawed and WELL drained. ( you might have to squeeze to get the liquid out)
- Parmesan and Muenster cheese to top it (Maybe two slices or so torn? )
- A little minced garlic or garlic powder to taste. I like garlic.
- a little cayenne pepper and black pepper to taste. If you don't like things very spicy you can certainly skip the cayenne all together. I didn't use very much when I made it for the shower.

Directions -

- Grease a small-ish baking dish (I think I used an 8"x 8" or a 9"x9" and pre-heat oven to 375
-Mix the cream cheese, mayo, and parmesan together with a little minced garlic or garlic powder and your pepper. Fold in Artichokes and Spinach.
- Top with muenster cheese and a little extra Parmesan.
- Bake for about 25 minutes or until cheese starts to bubble or the edges are slightly golden brown.
- Enjoy!

Lemon Basil Carrots

LEMON BASIL CARROTS

baby carrots, or cut up whole carrots (skinned)

butter

pepper

lemon juice - just a little

basil

garlic powder

^ just use your judgement on amounts

sautee the carrots in the butter until they are as soft as you like, then add the other stuff. yum!

Jamaican Jerk Chicken and Home Fries variations..

20 minute Jamaican Jerk Chicken Awesomeness

2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp lite Italian dressing (or dry dressing packet and 2 tbsp olive oil)
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp cinnamon

Mix all this stuff together. Marinate the chicken for 1 hour to overnight. I've also done a 5 minute marinade and then made more sauce to spread on top of the cooked chicken.

To cook:
Works great in gorge Formans or on regular grills. I also recently broiled the chicken and it was FANTASTIC.

Home fries

Potato wedges (I cut Idaho potatoes in half longways and then in about 1/4 inch wedges)
Keep skins on

Toss the wedges in with olive oil, salt, pepper, rosemary, and garlic sauce. Don't get cheap on the seasonings.

Bake on a greased cookie sheet at 350 for about 15 minutes. Flip them once in the middle.

*This recipe is especially delicious if you substitute Idaho potatoes for sweet potatoes.

Spinach and Strawberry Salad

My neighbor Nancy gets the credit for this one! So simple and soooooooooo good!


Ingredients

- Baby spinach
- Strawberries washed and halved
- Toasted pecans or walnuts
- Goat cheese
- Briannas Blush Wine Vinaigrette

Directions

- Toss spinach, strawberries, nuts
- Crumble goat cheese over salad
- Drizzle desired amount of delicious dressing over salad
- Enjoy!!!

Key Lime Pie

Key Lime Pie

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice (3 to 4 regular limes or about 14 keylimes)
• 4 teaspoons grated lime zest
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 - 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 11 graham crackers
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

PREP WORK

It's easier to remove the lime zest from whole limes so I would start with that. Then I would cut the limes in half and squeeze out the juice being careful not to include any pits.

Process the graham crackers in a food processor or blender and then melt the butter and have it at the ready.

Process

1. Whisk the egg yolks and lime zest together in a bowl until tinted light green. This takes about 2 minutes

2. Beat in milk, then juice and set aside at room temperature till it thickens.

3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

4. Mix graham cracker crumbs and sugar in another bowl.

5. Add butter and stir with a fork until well blended.

6. Pour this mixture into a 9-inch pie pan and press over the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Try using the bottom of a measuring cup to make sure the graham cracker mixture forms a firm crust on the bottom of the pie pan.

7. Bake on the center rack for about 15 minutes until the crust is lightly brown, remove and let cool to room temperature.

8. Pour the lime filling into crust, spread evenly, and then bake for 15 minutes until the center sets, but still wiggles when shaken.

9. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature.

10. Refrigerate for at least three hours until well chilled.

Some of you might like to serve it with a whipped cream topping or a meringue topping, but I prefer keeping it simple. If the pie seems to be sticking to the pan when serving, try dipping the pan into a bowl of warm water to loosen it.

Stephanie's Garlic Cheese Bread Deliciousness

Seriously some of the best garlic bread I have ever had.
Thank you for introducing us to this, Stephanie!!! :)


Ingredients:

1/2 loaf French Bread, cut open
-1/3 cup mayonnaise (Just trust me on this. If you have picky kids or husbands just don't make it in front of them or tell them that it has mayo.)
-1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
-1/4-1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (depending on how much you like garlic)
-1/2 teaspoon dried parsley

Instructions:

-Broil bread for 1-2 minutes, then spread mixture evenly over bread
-Broil for another 2-3 minutes or until golden brown on edges.

Enjoy!





Instructions