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January 5th, 2012

chicken salad with avocado dressing

My newest issue of Everyday FOOD is The Light Issue, which I suppose is kinda appropriate for the first of the year.  After all, aren’t every 3 out of 4 people resolving to lose weight (again) this year?

All that aside, I decided to make this recipe for dinner last night and for the first time in over a year my husband uttered the words a wife never hopes to hear:

I didn’t really like that.

*Gasp!* The hubs didn’t like it! But to give him credit, he did eat all of what I served him, so he’s strides ahead of toddlers who just scream and throw a fit when they don’t like dinner.

I’m thankful my hubs isn’t a toddler.

Without further ado:

chicken salad with avocado dressing

Total Time: 25 minutes

Yield: 6

Ingredients

  • 3-1/4 cups shredded cooked chicken (from 2 to 3 boneless chicken breasts)
  • 2 celery stalks, finely sliced
  • 1 large shallot, finely sliced
  • 1 medium avocado, diced small
  • 3/4 cup avocado dressing (see below)
  • coarse salt & pepper, to taste
  • 8 slices sourdough bread (I used 5 grain Italian)

Cooking Directions

  1. In a medium bowl, combine chicken, celery, shallot, avocado, and dressing. Season with salt and pepper and toss to combine.
  2. Serve on toasted bread.

avocado dressing

Yield: 2 1/3 cups

Serving Size: 1/4 cup

Calories per serving: 71

Fat per serving: 6g

Ingredients

  • 2 avocados
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 scallion (white & light green parts only)
  • 1/4 cup packed fresh parsley leaves
  • 1/4 cup packed fresh mint leaves
  • 3 Tbs fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup water
  • coarse salt & pepper, to taste

Cooking Directions

  1. In a food processor, or blender, combine all ingredients and blend on pulse until smooth.
  2. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

So maybe hubs finally didn’t like something I made. So perhaps I may have slightly felt like I failed him. So maybe I was a little frustrated that there are so many ingredients he doesn’t like…

At least he tried it!

And, on top of that, I liked it! A lot!

In fact, I’m eating the leftovers today for lunch and I can’t wait. (Confession: I might or might not have seriously considered eating this for breakfast today.)

So I thanked hubs for eating it and for being honest. Then I handed him my recipe book and said, “Here, pick out something you will like and I’ll make it.”*

And he did. (In fact he chose several, but finally decided on one for immediate consumption.)

Tonight’s menu?

Egg Florentine Breakfast Sandwiches

: )

*I did limit him to choosing a not-too-labor-intensive meal since I’m usually working and cooking dinner at the same time.

Categoryrecipe | Comment9 Comments »

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December 29th, 2011

Happy New Year 2012!

Well this Christmas has been fast and furious! We had a death in the family (expected, but too sudden for anyone to prepare), family from overseas staying with us for Christmas (hubs had to work Christmas day), we closed on our first home (wow!!!), and now we are ready for some R&R! The new year will be here soon and then hubs and I will begin winding down our time in Florida and preparing to go back home to Texas!

Speaking of the new year… It’s that time again for resolutions! Every year I make resolutions (or goals) and I typically  choose realistic ones that I can achieve or ambiguous ones that are harder to measure so I don’t feel like a failure.

Can you tell I have a competitive spirit?

But you know, making year-long goals in January is too complicated. Either I achieve them fast and then have no more goals or else the year goes on and I forget about them or I don’t achieve any at all! So I will try something new this year: I’m making bi-annual goals that I have until June to complete. Then, in June I will make a list of goals for the next 6 months!

Here are my top 3 goals:

1. Build our emergency fund up to where it should be.

2. Learn basic French.

3. Stretch daily for 10 minutes.

What about you? Do you make resolutions? Do you make goals?

What are your resolutions???

Categorylife experiences | Comment5 Comments »

December 23rd, 2011

crispy peanut butter butterscotch treats

These treats are an all-time favorite for the hubs and the recipe is from my sweet mother-in-law. I’ve never been a huge fan of butterscotch, but even I sneak a bite or two of these crispy butterscotch treats! They are super simple to make, and they only take about 10 minutes plus cooling time. Sometimes I even add extra peanut butter because…well, you know…we love peanut butter in this house!

crispy peanut butter butterscotch treats

Cook Time: 7 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Yield: 12 squares

Ingredients

  • 1 package (12 oz) butterscotch chips
  • 1 cup smooth peanut butter
  • 6 cups crispy rice cereal (I used Rice Krispies)

Cooking Directions

  1. Melt butterscotch chips with peanut butter in a heavy sauce pan over low heat; stir until well blended. Remove from heat.
  2. Add crispy rice cereal; stir until well coated with butterscotch mixture.
  3. Press into a buttered 9x9 inch pan. Let stand in a cool place until firm.
  4. Cut into squares and serve.

What I love about basic desserts/treats like these (besides the instant gratification) is that the number of variations on the recipe are endless. For example, if you don’t like butterscotch, you could easily swap out the butterscotch chips for white chocolate chips. Or even chocolate chips! Or, you could go really overboard with the peanut butter (which by the way I’m convinced is not possible in this home) and use peanut butter chips.

See? Possibilities. Endless.

How would you make these? Just like they are? Or would you change it up a bit?

Categorypeanut butter, recipe, sweet | Comment5 Comments »

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December 19th, 2011

easy bacon spinach frittata

I’m not a morning person. It’s not that I’m moody or grumpy when I wake up, quite the contrary!

It’s just that usually by the time I wake up it’s closer to noon than it is to morning!

Some weekends I do wake up early enough to make breakfast, and on those days I’ll make waffles, pancakes, dutch baby’s and anything of the carb variety. Recently I decided to change up my carb fest for a more hearty breakfast and since I had some grocery items on hand (bacon and spinach) that don’t normally live in our fridge, I decided to whip up a frittata. It was splendid!

bacon spinach frittata

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Yield: 6 slices (or more)

Ingredients

  • 8 eggs
  • 1/2 cup lactose-free, fat-free skim milk
  • 1/2 lb fresh spinach, rinsed, dried and torn into roughly 1-inch pieces
  • 7 slices bacon
  • 1/2 large onion, peeled and diced
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • salt to taste

Cooking Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
  2. Cook the bacon in a cast iron skillet (or a frying pan that is over-safe) over medium-low heat. Remove bacon from pan when done and set on a plate with paper towels to drain. Roughly chop bacon once cooled and set aside.
  3. Add the onion to the same pan and cook on medium low heat for 3 minutes, or until the onions are softened and slightly translucent.
  4. Remove the pan from the heat, add the spinach and stir until the leaves are wilted.
  5. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs until frothy. Add the milk and stir just until combined. Add a dash of salt, if desired.
  6. Add the egg mixture and the bacon to the skillet. Stir until well mixed and then return the pan to the heat and cook on medium for about 5 minutes so the eggs begin to set.
  7. Sprinkle the cheese across the top, and then carefully place the skillet to the oven and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until edges are brown and eggs are cooked through.
  8. Cut into wedges and serve immediately.

Want to know the best part of this recipe?

I had the leftovers for lunch the next day and they were just as delicious as the morning before!

Categorybreakfast, food, recipe | Comment3 Comments »

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