Eat: Barbecue Chicken Chopped Salad

This week, Matt and I have been gearing up for the 4th of July with a variety of barbecue dishes. Among them, we've enjoyed turkey burgers, pork ribs, and a surprisingly big hit: Barbecue Chicken Chopped Salad. It has a decidedly southwestern theme and was inspired by one of my favorite restaurants, Crushed Red. They serve chopped salads which are delightful but often leave me wondering if I could whip up something just as tasty. The answer? Yes. Yes I can.

This was easy to throw together yet has a lovely presentation when plated. One could easily substitute ingredients or vary the proportions. It's a delicious summer-time meal that is filling but doesn't leave you feeling heavy or weighed down. I imagine it would be appealing to those who don't care for traditional barbecue fare and those who don't care for salads! Clearly, Matt and I both loved it; Matt mentioned the dinner a few times throughout the night--well after we had finished eating. A sure sign of success!

Barbecue Chicken Chopped Salad
Serves 2

In a large bowl, mix together:

• a few bunches of greens (spinach, lettuce, sprouts, etc.), chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 1/2 cup cooked corn
• 1/2 cup black beans
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1 small red onion, chopped

Toss everything together with your choice of barbecue sauce*. Start with a little bit, then add more to your liking. Remember, you can always add more but it's tough to get rid of too much. Divide the salad mix among two plates.

Using that same mixing bowl, toss 1-2 chicken breasts (cooked and cut into strips or bite-sized pieces) with some more barbecue sauce. Season with chili powder to taste. Divide the chicken evenly, sprinkling it over the plated salads.

Call your dining partner into the room and impress him/her. At least that's what I did.

*It's worth noting that the barbecue sauce you select goes a long way to shape the taste. You can also mix equal parts barbecue sauce with ranch dressing.

This homemade Balsamic Honey BBQ Sauce is an absolute favorite in our house!
In a medium saucepan, combine:

• 1 cup balsamic vinegar
• 3/4 cup ketchup
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 to 25 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally.

Hope you have wonderful 4th!

Eat: Muffins Galore!

 

Courtesy of Britannica ImageQuest

A few weeks ago, I shared a basic scone recipe that can be modified a number of ways depending on your mood and on-hand ingredients. Well, I've come to love that concept so much that I sought out something similar for muffins and quick breads. The possibilities are as limitless as your imagination–or your online searching skills. This recipe is much quicker than my scones, since you don't have to cut-in butter (I task I strongly dislike and often leaves me with sore wrists). When I'm feeling particularly lazy, I opt for the loaf version of this recipe instead of muffins. The differing instructions and baking times are included below.


Base Muffin Recipe (Betty Crocker Cookbook, 2005 edition)
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Bake Time: 18 minutes
Yield: 12 muffins or 1 (9”) loaf 

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, beaten
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup cooking oil
Extras (see below for ideas) 

1. Preheat oven to 375° F if making muffins OR 350° F if making a loaf. Grease your pan. 

2. In a medium bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In another bowl combine the egg, milk and oil. Add the egg mixture all at once to the flour mixture. Stir just until moistened and lumpy. Incorporate any extras (see list below). 

3. Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups or loaf pan, (muffin cups should be two-thirds full). 

4. For muffins, bake 18 to 20 minutes or until golden and a wooden toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean.

For a loaf, bake 50 minutes or until golden and a wooden toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. 

6. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove from pan and transfer to wire racks to cool a bit more.


Easy Muffin/Bread Variations

Apple Cinnamon: Stir in one chopped apple (with or without the skin depending on your preference) and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Substitute packed brown sugar for the granulated sugar.

Bacon: Add 2-4 strips of bacon, fried crisp and crumbled, to the batter.

Banana-Nut: Decrease the milk to 1/3 cup, stir in 2-3 mashed bananas (around 1 cup) and 1/3 cup chopped nuts with the milk. Substitute packed brown sugar for the sugar.

Blueberry: Gently stir 1 cup fresh or frozen berries and, if desired, 1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon zest into the batter.

Raisin Bran: Pour the milk on 1-1/2 cups whole bran cereal and let stand for 10 minutes. Add this to the egg and oil. Decrease the flour to 1-1/4 cups and add 1/2 cup raisins. Optional: add 1/4 cup of molasses.

Cheesy: Stir 1/2 cup shredded cheese. into the flour mixture. Great options include Cheddar, Monterey Jack, or Feta.

Double Chocolate: Stir in 2-3 T cocoa powder and 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips. You can also add a splash of vanilla or almond extract.

Cornbread: (Do not use whole wheat flour.) Decrease flour to 1 cup and stir in 1 cup cornmeal with the flour.

Cranberry: Combine 1 cup coarsely chopped cranberries (fresh or dried) and 2 tablespoons additional sugar. Gently stir this into the batter. You can also add 1 T finely grated orange peel.

Date Nut: Stir in 1/2 cup chopped pitted dates (or raisins) and 1/3 cup chopped nuts.

"Donuts": Stir in 1/2 cup ground nutmeg with the flour. Once baked, immediately dip the hot muffins in about 1/2 cup butter, melted, then in a mixture of 1/2 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.

Oatmeal: Decrease flour to 1 cup and stir in 1 cup quick-cooking oats, 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon with the flour.

Pecan: Use 1/4 cup sugar. Add 1/2 cup chopped pecans to the batter. After filling the cups, sprinkle with sugar, cinnamon and more chopped nuts. 

Poppy Seed: Increase sugar to 1/2 cup and add 1 tablespoon poppy seeds to the flour mixture.

Pumpkin: (Don’t use whole wheat flour.) Stir in 1/2 cup pumpkin puree and 1/2 cup raisins with the milk and 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice with the flour. Sprinkle the tops with sugar before baking if desired.

Spiced: Stir in 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger and a pinch of ground cloves and ground nutmeg with the flour.

Zucchini: Stir in 1 cup grated zucchini (squeezed dry to remove excess moisture) and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts with the milk.

Many of these ideas can be combined, like Spiced Pecan, Blueberry Poppyseed, or Chocolate Oatmeal. So far, I've only tried the Double Chocolate (with a handful of oats thrown in), but I'm planning to make a batch of Spiced Pecan this week!

Eat: Scones, Scones, Scones!

Our family recipe binder is bursting at the seams, so lately I've been focusing on simple "base" recipes that I can easily build on or diversify. This scone recipe is a great example. I would not recommend making this recipe as-is, that is to say without "dolling it up" a bit (unless you enjoy plain baked goods). No, these scones are meant for a dash of this and handful of that — whatever you fancy or have in your kitchen!

See below for a variety of "dolling up" ideas; just incorporate the additional ingredients as you prepare the base recipe.

Simple Scones yields 8-10 scones
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes

2 cups self-rising flour
     OR 2 cups all-purpose flour with 1 tsp baking powder and 1 tsp salt
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup sugar
6 Tablespoons butter
2/3 cup milk

Sift together the flour, sugar, and salt. Cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly. Gradually add the milk and mix into a soft dough. Place on a floured (or greased) baking sheet and roll into a flat circular shape. Cut the dough into wedges (like you are slicing a pizza) but do not try to separate the scones. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 400°F.


Variations

Bacon Cheddar: 1/2 tsp pepper, 1 cup grated cheddar, 8 slices of bacon (cooked, crumbled), 2-4 green onions (sliced), leave out the sugar!

Spinach & Feta: 4 ounces feta (crumbled), several handfuls of fresh spinach, salt & pepper to taste, leave out the sugar!

Mediterranean: 3/4 cup roasted red peppers (diced), handful of kalamata olives (sliced), 2 ounces feta (crumbled), salt & pepper to taste, leave out the sugar!

Lemon Blueberry: 1-2 tsp lemon juice, 1 cup blueberries

Cinnamon Sugar: Mix together 1/4 cup sugar, 2 tsp cinnamon, 2 tsp milk. Spread on scones prior to baking.

Honey Raspberry: 1/4 cup honey, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 cup raspberries

Pecan Streusal: Mix together 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup oats, 1 T all-purpose flour, 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 2 T melted butter, 1/4 cup chopped pecans. Sprinkle on top of scones prior to baking.

Pumpkin Pie: 1/2 cup pumpkin puree, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, a pinch of cloves, and a pinch of ginger. Also, substitute the white sugar with brown sugar.

If all else fails, throw a handful of chocolate chips into the dough!

Make: Homemade Cleaners (with free labels!)

Although I have been using my easy homemade laundry detergent for over a year, I only recently jumped on the homemade cleaner bandwagon. This goes along with my new year's resolution to make our house more environmentally-friendly and less chemical-ridden. My home is not quite as "green" as I would like, but we're moving the in the right direction.

I was so excited by this endeavor that I even made my very own spray bottle labels which you can download by CLICKING HERE.  (These are for personal use only!)

There are many, many variations of homemade cleaning solutions out there. I found it helpful to learn a bit about the different components before choosing my "recipes". Standard ingredients for most cleaning solutions include: 

Vinegar has been used for centuries as a cleaning product. It is highly acetic and kills mold, bacteria, and germs. A natural organic bi-product of fruits, vegetables and grains, vinegar is safe for the environment and your family. It also has a crazy long shelf life and the unpleasant smell dissipates after a few minutes.

Water is primarily for diluting vinegar and dissolving the items listed below.

Baking Soda is mildly abrasive and therefore useful for scrubbing (without scratching) while also removing odor; this makes it best suited for kitchen and bathroom cleaning.

Washing Soda is commonly confused with baking soda, though the two have totally different chemical makeup. In general, just remember that it is more abrasive than baking soda and it is generally recommended to wear gloves/mask while cleaning with washing soda.

Castile Soap has a base of vegetable oils like palm, coconut, hemp, jojoba, or olive. Most other soaps actually have a petroleum base. The name "Castile" comes from the Spanish city famous for its olive oil as well as this style of soap.

Essential oils like lavender or tea tree come in handy since the above ingredients do not exactly smell wonderful.

So there is your basic overview, but what exactly do you do with all of these ingredients?? I am currently using the following cleaning solutions. Note that both of these require giving the bottle a good shake before use.

All-Purpose Cleaner
1/8 cup white vinegar
1 tablespoon baking soda
2 cups hot water

Pre-Wash Fabric Spray (stain treatment)
½ c. ammonia
½ c. white vinegar
¼ c. baking soda
2 tbsp. liquid soap or laundry detergent
2 quarts water

If you would like more suggestions, I found an exhaustive list over at Young House Love. I definitely plan to use more of these recipes in the future!

Next week I will show your how to make your own reusable Swiffer cover!