Kickin Chicken

A few years ago, William Sonoma was having one of their tasting events. They were showing different ways you could use potlatch, a fish spice. I tasted their spicy chicken salad and fell in love! Their recipe was way more involved than I cared for so I scraped it and made my own version. It is full of flavor and hearty veggies.




Kickin Chicken

2 cups of chopped grilled chicken
1 tablespoon potlatch spice
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chipped carrots
1/4 cup of mayo
fresh croissants
sliced tomatoes


Mix the chicken and potlatch spice together. Cook the chicken on low for several minutes to let the spice set in. Remove from heat and let cool. Add celery and carrots. Add 1/4 cup of mayo to lightly coat the chicken mixture. Stuff croissants and serve with fresh tomatoes.

Oh to the Sandwich

So I generally dislike sandwiches. I would just rather eat something more tasty. However, with this unbearably hot weather I have been craving sandwiches that don't seem to exist in my previous food knowledge. What I mean is I want a to eat a mouth watering meal between two pieces of bread that requires very minimal prep or better yet does not require me to cook at all. But to this point my knowledge based on childhood experiences covers the following choices...turkey or ham...I need more than that if I am going to survive summer. Therefore after a long absents from cooking I am returning with a mission to find delicious sandwich recipes. My goal is to add five new recipes to my cookbook. Feel free to share your thoughts...let the mission begin!

Peking

Are you looking for a good chinese resturant? Well I know where the very best chinese resturant is! It's called Peking in Lebanon, TN. Over the years, I have literally eaten at hundreds of chiense resturants. Truthfully, none of them can even begin to compare to Peking's flavorful dishes. Let me paint you a picture! Upon arriving, begin your tasty adventure with the crab wontons also known as rangoons. Theses delicious appetizers are wontons filled with crab, cream cheese, and scallions then deep fried to perfection. Next, try a classic cup of egg drop soup made with a slow brewed chicken broth and strings of egg. For the main course you really can't go wrong. If you are looking for a rice dish, go for the Almond Chicken. It combines chicken and chucks of fresh veggies with a flavorful sauce finished with a nice nutty crunch. If you perfer noodles, the Lo Main has an amazing but simple flavor. Your choice of meat tossed with crisp veggies and noodles. But my very favorite part is their egg rolls. Freshly made by hand with chopped cabbage, carrots, and pork then fried. It makes a perfect pairing with any dish or by itself! I am hungry just writing about it!

Raspberry Lemonade Cupcakes

A while back, a friend of mine gave me "100 Best Cupcake Recipes." There was a fun summery recipe for pink lemonade cupcakes that I thought would be perfect for VBS this week. When I went to the store to pick up the items I needed I found that they were out of a several things. As you can imagine being a new mom I don't have time to make multiple stops. So my cupcake wheels started turning and by the time I left I had already reworked the recipe to make raspberry lemonade cupcakes. They turned out better than I could have imagined. The cupcakes are fluffy with a tasty tangy flavor. The icing has just a splash of lemon which leaves a nice after taste. The only obstacle in this recipe is that I made them so moist that once the cupcakes cooled they acted like a sponge and some of them pulled away from the wrappers. So I made a few adjustments to stiffen up the batter. So here it is a refreshing summer treat great for parties by the pool!

Raspberry Lemonade Cupcakes

1 box of white cake mix (no pudding)
1 cup of water
3 eggs
1/2 cup of raspberry lemonade concentrate, thawed
2 tablespoons of canola oil
1 small container of yoplait lemon burst yogurt
6 to 8 drops of red food coloring

Preheat oven to 350. Stir cake mix, water, eggs, oil, raspberry lemonade concentrate, lemon yogurt, and oil together. Add food coloring to desired shade of pink. Fill muffin tins 2/3 of the way full. Place in oven to bake for 20 minutes.

Raspberry Lemonade Icing

1/4 cup of raspberry lemonade concentrate
4 cups of powdered sugar
1/3 cup of butter, softened
fresh raspberries
2 to 3 firm lemons

Beat powdered sugar, raspberry lemonade concentrate, and butter. If necessary continue to add lemonade concentrate 1 tablespoon at a time until frosting reaches desired consistency. Frost cupcakes. Then zest lemons or cut into 1/8 slices. Add a raspberry and sprinkle lemon zest to the top.

Rosemary Balsamic Pork Chops

In recent weeks, I have been looking for healthy flavorful meals to fix my family. Pork is usually not the first meat I gravitate toward in the supermarket. However, I have found that being chickened out and bored of beef will make you try new things. In this new venture, I am finding quite a few yummy recipes for pork "the other white meat." This savory recipe certainly entertains my taste buds. The rosemary gives it a fresh flavor. While the sweetness of the honey mustard mixed with the bitterness of balsamic vinegar create a deletable sauce!


Rosemary Balsamic Pork Chops

4 lean cut pork chops
4 tablespoons of garlic
2 tablespoons of olive oil
salt & pepper
rosemary
1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons of water
1 tablespoon of honey Dijon mustard


Season pork chops with salt and pepper. Press the rosemary into each side of the pork chops. Pour olive oil in sauce pan. Add garlic. Heat for 1 to 2 minutes. Cook pork at medium heat about 5 minutes on each side or until cook thoroughly. Remove pork chops from pan leaving the garlic behind. Mix balsamic vinegar, water and mustard in small dish. Add the mixture to the garlic. Cook an additional 2 minutes until thickened.

Nutter Butter Banana Pudding

One of Ted's favorite desserts is Banana Pudding. One day I was flipping through Southern Home Living when I came across this delicious new twist on banana pudding. So I decided to try it out. In Ted's words, "Fabulous...it's now tied with your strawberry cake as my favorite dessert." Being a new mom, I took a few short cuts. But if you are looking to be a true Betty you can find the original recipe in Southern Home Living's Recipe Box.

Nutter Butter Pudding

1 package of Nutter Butters
1 package of vanilla pudding
1 package of banana pudding
Milk
fresh bananas
cool whip

Break Nutter Butters into pieces. Then mix up the pudding according to the package. Slice bananas. Layer Nutter Butters, pudding, bananas, and cool whip in triffle. Eat and Enjoy a sweet twist on one of America's favorite desserts!

Roasted Garlic Pork Chops

A few years ago, Ted got a new grill for his birthday. As I was shopping for a few accessories, I discovered Weber's Grill Creations. At the time, I picked up their Gourment Burger seasoning. We loved it... so much so that we end up going through several bottles each summer. Well a few weeks ago as I was picking up a new container I saw that they had several new blends. So I decided to pick one up to try with other meats. At the same time, I was also shopping for a new recipe for pork chops. Somehow those two ideas became one tasty new dinner idea!

Roasted Garlic Pork Chops

4 lean cut pork chops
Weber's Roasted Garlic & Herb Seasoning
2 eggs
bread crumbs

Season the pork chops with the roasted garlic and herb mix. Crack eggs in a shallow dish. Add salt and pepper to taste. Dip each chop in egg then coat in bread crumbs. Place in well greases baking dish. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes or until well done.