Chicken Salad

Chicken salad reminds me of summer time and it reminds me of girl parties.  Two things I love!  Chicken salad is one of the easiest most versatile recipes.  You basically can't screw it up.  I'll give you the gist of what I put in mine - but go nuts - add and take away what suits your taste buds.

 

Cooked chicken breast - cubed or shredded (You can use canned, rotisserie, I like to

throw my chicken in a crock pot the night before with a few herbs and then shred it the next day.)

Once I shred the chicken I add enough mayo/ miracle whip to make it moist (less is more - you can add more but can't take it away)

I add chopped pecans and red grape halves, as well as chopped celery - these are all pretty standard ingredients, but I also like to add a few spoon fulls of crushed pineapple, that one is not so standard.  i think it adds to the moisture, gives it a little bit of sweetness and is slightly unexpected.

Add spices to taste - salt, pepper, rosemary, etc.

 

This will keep in the fridge for a few days - serve it on sliced rolls or just on bread.

Ravioli Cabonara

This is a tasty, kid friendly weeknight meal.

 

2 Tbsp. Italian Dressing

1 lb. boneless chicken chunks

3/4 c. chicken broth

1 package refrigerated or frozen (thaw) cheese filled ravioli

1/2 c. half and half or cream

4 slices bacon, crispy cooked and crumbled (precooked works too)

Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Chopped Parsley

 

 

In a rimmed large skillet cook chicken with the italian dressing, until brown.  Add broth and ravioli to skillet, heat to boiling - then reduce heat.  Cook uncovered until ravioli are tender and most of the broth is gone.  Stir in half and half (or cream) reduce heat to low.  Add bacon and parmesan cheese, simmer to get sauce to desired consistency.  Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Sticky Buns

These are SUPER easy and amazing! These were a lazy saturday morning Pinterest find.

 

2 cans refrigerated biscuits

3 Tbsp. melted butter

1/2 c. pancake syrup

1/3 c. packed brown sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 c. chopped pecans

 

Spray a fluted pan with non-stick spray. Combine butter and syrup in a small bowl and set aside.  in another bowl combine sugar, nuts and cinnamon.  Spoon half of the syrup mixture in the bottom of the pan, then sprinkle half the nut mixture on top of that.  Next add the biscuits, I generally have 3 or 4 biscuits left over - instead of squishing them in I just cut them in fourths and put them in a small bread pan and layer it like the fluted pan.  You want the biscuits to overlap and form a ring.  Top the biscuits with the remaining nut mixture and syrup mixture.  I like to lift some of the rings up as I'm doing this to get the nuts down in between the biscuits.  Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes.  Cool in the pan for 1-2 minutes and then invert onto a serving platter.

 

These are pretty enough for a holiday breakfast - the cherries make me think of

Christmas or any old Saturday will do. 

Raspberry Fluff

Crust:

3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

1 tbsp. sugar

3 tbsp. butter

Filling:

2/3 cup sugar

zest of 1 lemon

1 (8 oz.) pkg cream cheese, softened

juice of half lemon

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 (8 oz.) tub frozen whipped topping, thawed

1 cup fresh raspberries, slightly mashed

These are light and fluffy and a easy dessert to whip up for company.  The variations are limitless - change out the berries, make it lemon, or how about chocolate with oreo crust?

YUM!

Cinnamon Roll Bread Pudding

10-12 stale cinnamon rolls (I scrape off some of the frosting)

6 eggs

2 cups milk

1 cup cream

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1-2 Tbsp. real maple syrup

1 cup fresh blueberries*, washed

Quarter the cinnamon rolls and place in a 9x13 dish overnight.  In a large bowl whisk the eggs and then the sugar.  Mix in the cream, milk, vanilla and maple.  Add the blueberries to the pieces of cinnamon roll in the pan - I lift up pieces of the rolls so there are blueberries evenly distributed.  Pour the milk mixture over the cinnamon rolls.  This needs to sit for at least 20 minutes, but it does great in the fridge overnight.  I just throw some foil on it and then bake it in the morning.  Bake at 325 for 50-55 minutes. 

This is amazing warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

*Pears or raspberries can be used in place of the blueberries or feel free to omit.

Royal Icing

4 Tbsp. meringue powder
1/2 scant cup water
1/2-1 tsp. corn syrup
few drops of clear extract (I use almond)
1 lb. sifted powdered sugar.

With your paddle attachment mix the meringue powder and water, then add in the powdered sugar.  Once those are incorporated add the extract and corn syrup.  Mix on med-high for about 5 minutes or until stiff peaks form.

The icing can now be thinned 1 tsp at a time until desired consistency is reached.

Peanut Butter Pinterest Cookies

These cookies are very close cousins to these.  So if you are a fan I definately suggest give these a go. like that these are bite size and stay really soft - the down side to those two things is that you seem to eat more of them because a bite is just never enough and they were a little difficult to form... I ended up having to smash them together a little, but that didn't effect the taste one bit.
1 cup sugar
1 cup corn syrup
1 jar (18 oz ounce) creamy peanut butter
6 cups corn flakes
3 oz chocolate of your choice (I used chocolate chips)

Combine sugar and corn syrup in a medium saucepan. Place over medium-high heat and stir until the mixture comes to a full boil. Remove from heat and stir in the whole jar of peanut butter. Mix well.

Add corn flakes to a large bowl. Pour peanut butter mixture over corn flakes and mix well, taking care to coat all of the corn flakes.

With a tablespoon or cookie scoop, scoop out and form into 1-2 inch balls, depending on your preference, and place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment or wax paper.

Put the chocolate in a small bowl and melt in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Stir until smooth.

Drizzle the melted chocolate over the cookies.