Chicken salad variations

To use up the cucumber salad, my husband and I opted to make chicken salad. We had some skinless, boneless chicken in the freezer that he cooked.

We mixed the cucumber salad with the chicken once we chopped it. Then we added spices: Italian seasoning, garlic pepper. I also added golden raisins.

I split the chicken into two bowls, one heavy on the cucumber and the other heavy on the meat. The meaty bowl got mayo while the other got serious amounts of buffalo sauce. I added soft goat cheese crumbles to both.

Served on apple fritter bread with heaps of fresh spinach.

Beverage was a strawberry yogurt smoothie. (Serves three.)

- two cups strawberries

- one container strawberry rhubarb noosa yogurt

- one carnation instant breakfast packet in French vanilla

- about four ounces very vanilla soy milk

Archer Farms Peel-apart Fruit

It's no secret that I have an uncontrollable addiction to sugary candies. Gummy bears. Licorice. Gum drops. Fruit slices. JELLY BEANS.

I don't buy these things because I will eat them until I get a belly ache.

I was buying the Market Pantry golden raisin sours, which were high in sugar but not as bad as candy, and because they were infused with fruit juice they had a ridiculous amount of vitamin C. I haven't seen them in a month or so. Those and the Pétit Écolier cookies have disappeared from my Target universe.

Now as far as processed dried fruit items go, I like the Archer Farms fruit bars. They have a nice amount of fiber and vitamin C, are made with fruit instead of high fructose corn syrup. But just the bars, not the leathers.

They have a new product, pull-apart fruits that remind me of my favorite candy, Twizzler Pull and Peels. They are rather small, don't have nearly the vitamin content of the bars but they taste remarkably candy-like which makes them a healthy replacement for candy in my universe. The fruit bars have a grittier texture, so these are actually more pleasant on the tongue.

They are organic. They have no fat, 4% RDA potassium, 1 g fiber, 12g sugar, 2% iron, 10 % vitamin C.

No cooking

Due to the recent heat wave, cooking has been kept to a minimum. Salad. Leftovers. Cheese platter.

This morning, I served Morningstar breakfast patties and watermelon as a precursor to breakfast, so child opted out of cream of wheat.

So, I got funky.

LAVENDER CREAM OF WHEAT

- 1 cup vanilla coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon honey
- about 1 teaspoon lavender
- 2 handfuls golden raisins
Heat. Add 4 tablespoons cream of wheat

Daddy's Oatmeal

My husband made delectable oatmeal this morning. He used:

- old fashioned oats
- vanilla soy milk
- cinnamon
- brown sugar
- finely chopped dried pears
- golden raisins
- finely chopped banana

Broiled shrimp and salad with homemade croutons

We were given a bag of shrimp which I broiled, five minutes each side, and sprinkled with it's a dilly seasoning.

I had a chunk of homemade rye bread beyond its prime but not reduced to breadcrumbs or compost yet... So I had daughter slice it, oil it lightly and sprinkle it with herbs and heated at about six minutes at 475, flipped them, five minutes more and then turned them one more time.

Took a packaged salad I got at Target ($2.49)and added lettuce from my garden, sorrel, golden raisins, raisins and mandarin oranges. Topped with Newman's Own Raspberry Walnut dressing.

Chicken "pork with apples" in the crock pot

So, I offered to pop in on a friend who just had surgery and bring dinner. Spur of the moment. And she has this brood of four children that eat like starving piranhas. It's a sign of my friends' superb parenting skills that they haven't eaten each other.

I wanted to make the candy chicken from Sunday because my husband bought enormous amounts of chicken thighs and it's the only think I have enough of to feed this family. I love them, but they scare me with the rate they can obliterate a normal family's groceries.

But, as I collected the ingredients, I discovered that my daughter and husband drank the open can of 7-up/lemon lime soda I needed for this concoction. So, I had to improvise.

Into the crock pot went:
- about one cup 100% apple juice
- about two teaspoons honey mustard
- about 2 cups brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon country herbs (blend of sea salt, Rosemary, parsley, oregano, basil, mint, sage, thyme
- two tablespoons minced garlic, the kind in oil
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce (low sodium)
- one chopped golden delicious apple
- 20 chicken thighs
- one small box peach-infusions golden raisins from Target
- 1 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon pepper

Oh-- and I found this which sounds worthy of a try:
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/02/tofu-in-peanut-sauce-crockpot-recipe.html

Christmas Chicken Salad

Today is my little Christmas mixer with one of my editing clients. He told me he'd prepare hot mulled cider that we could mix with rum, cheese and crackers. When he interviewed me, he served me real tea. With loose leaves and a tea pot. That's when I knew I could work with this guy.

So, he said I could bring something but no hinted as to what.

What would complement but not upstage cheese and crackers, preferably with some fruit/veg matter?

I decided on chicken salad.

Today's Christmas Chicken Salad
- one can white meat chicken, chopped (12.5 ounces)
- half a large cucumber, diced
- one box 'sour' peach infused golden raisins
- 1/4 cup blueberries and raspberries, frozen, and thawed (reserve about two to three tablespoons berry juice for dressing)

For the dressing:
- less than 1/4 cup light mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons lemon-dill mustard (Archer Farms)
-1/2 teaspoon organic four-color pepper
-1/2 teaspoon country herb blend
- juice reserved from berries

Mix dressing. In a bowl, mix salad ingredients. Apply dressing. Stir and chill long enough to allow flavors to blend.

Sticky buns

I wanted to make sticky buns today, so I started them before class and worked the dough after...I need to work this afternoon, so I plan to leave them in the oven and set the oven timer to have them cooking when we get home... These photos are from the last time I made them, which is probably a year ago. Yes, I'm serving these for dinner. Maybe with scrambled eggs. The base recipe is from the Betty Crocker cookbook.

Caramel Sticky Rolls
3 1/2 to 4 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 packages yeast
1 cup very warm milk
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 egg

1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup dark corn syrup
3/4 cup pecan halves

2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Phase 1: Mix two cups of the flour, 1/3 cup sugar, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Add warm milk, 1/3 cup butter and egg. Mix for one minute, scraping bowl frequently. Stir in enough flour to make the dough easy to handle.

Phase 2: Knead on floured surface for five minutes. Place in greased bowl and let rise about 1.5 hours or until doubled in bulk.

Phase 3: Heat one cup brown sugar, and 1/2 cup butter to boiling, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add corn syrup. Pour into bottom of 13x9x2 pan. Sprinkle with pecan halves.

Phase 4: Punch down dough. Flatten into rectangle about 10" by 15" . Spread with two tablespoons margarine. Mix remaining ingredients and sprinkle evenly over dough. Roll from the 15" side and pinch to seal. Shape as desired. Cut into 15 one-inch slices and arrange in pan slightly apart. Let rise 30 minutes in a warm place until doubled.

Final phase: Preheat oven to 350. Bake 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately invert onto heatproof serving platter. Let stand one minute until sauce drains.

How I changed it: I swapped out the chopped pecans for loads of raisins and golden raisins. I also used almond milk instead of milk, and applesauce instead of egg. And I got way more than the original yield, so I left the end of the roll a "loaf" and figured I'd cook it on it's own. And I omitted the corn syrup (just used water).