Smoked Chicken Salad

My husband has a fascination with his smoker and loves to use it to cook different cuts of pork and beef for barbeque. Man is it good!! Last week I got him to put some chicken in there and it was beyond delicious. The smoker is a great way to add a lot of flavor to your food.

That night we ate some of the smoked chicken for dinner, and I saved the rest to make some chicken salad. Make it a day ahead if you can resist it that long -- it really does taste better that way. :O) Here's my recipe:


Smoked Chicken Salad

1 1/2 cups smoked chicken (cubed or shredded)
1/4 cup grapes, halved
1/4 cup celery, chopped
1/4 cup pecans, chopped
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. honey
salt and pepper to taste

Mix honey and mayonnaise together. Add remaining ingredients and toss to coat. Chill 3-4 hours before serving; overnight is best.

Shred Chicken with a Stand Mixer!

I found yet another reason to love my stand mixer -- shredding chicken!! Yes, it seems silly, but the process couldn't be easier. No more chicken-in-a-can for this house. :O)

All you have to do is:
1) Cook your boneless, skinless chicken breast, and
2) Put it in your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and let the mixer do its magic.

When I tried this last week I used the shredded chicken to make Chicken Sour Cream Enchiladas. The chicken was perfect and tasted much better than the canned kind. Mostly I only use canned chicken for these enchiladas and chicken salad. But with this simple way to shred chicken, now I can make it on demand or freeze it in small batches.

To cook the chicken, I boiled it in water with some chicken base for extra flavor (bouillon cubes, broth, or stock would do the same).

What is your favorite way to use shredded chicken?

Make Your Own Fresh Teriyaki Sauce

This Teriyaki Sauce is so easy and delicious, you won't want to buy it from a bottle ever again. Thanks to a recipe I found at Weelicious (a super blog for finding kid-friendly recipes), making it fresh will not only taste great, but also save you from some unfriendly preservatives and other ingredients sneaking their way into your food. Heck, it might even be cheaper than buying a bottle of pre-made sauce.

Confession -- on the night I made this I also tried new recipes for eggrolls, stir-fry rice, and egg drop soup, making it quite possibly not my brightest idea. The food was tasty -- it just took about two hours to get everything done. I sure had a hungry family by then!! The egg rolls were the major hold-up -- lots of chopping, filling, and wrapping to do. Next time I will make them ahead and freeze for when I am ready. Live and learn!!

This recipe calls for five simple ingredients. If you've never used fresh ginger before, here's a great chance to give it a try. You can find it in the produce area of the grocery store. Just use a vegetable peeler to remove the outer skin and use a fine grater or Microplane to make quick work of the grating part.

TERIYAKI SAUCE
1 (8 oz.) can Crushed Pineapple in Juice
1/2 cup Soy Sauce
3 Tbsp. Honey
1 Tsp. Fresh Ginger, peeled and grated
1 Small Clove Garlic, minced

1. Place all ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine. Can be used for a marinade at this stage.
2. To make sauce, combine 1/2 cup sauce mixture with 1 tsp. of cornstarch in a saucepan and cook over medium heat for 1 minute or until thickened.

This, of course, is perfect for chicken. To make a juicy Teriyaki Chicken, simply marinate 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts in 1 cup of the Teriyaki marinade for about an hour (overnight if you can). Then place chicken on a baking sheet and put in an oven set to broil, on the middle rack of your oven. Cook for 8-10 minutes on each side, or until chicken is done. Remove chicken from the oven and allow to cool for several minutes. Slice the chicken however you like, cover with sauce, and enjoy!! Remember to discard the leftover marinade (it has raw chicken ickies in it, so don't even think about using it to make anything else).

 Our two-hour dinner plate, LOL.

Enjoy your yummy new sauce -- and remember not to make too many new things at once!!

{The Best} Fried Chicken

Ya'll -- yes the Southern girl voice is coming out for this one -- forget all those "Best Way to Make Fried Chicken" cover photos and articles that are out right now. The BEST and EASIEST way to make fried chicken uses only a few basic items and is ah-mazing. I can (again) thank Heloise for this one from her 1962 book, Heloises's Housekeeping Hints.

Ready for the lowdown? Here's what you need:

• A big bowl
• Water
• Salt
• Chicken (fryer quarters, legs, thighs, whatever you want)
• Flour
• Crisco shortening, plain
• Cast-iron skillet with lid (or a non-stick skillet with lid)
• Tongs

1. First you will fill your big bowl with SALTED water, then place your chicken in here to soak for a while. (Heloise says you also can take the skin off the chicken and this method still will yield super crispy fried chicken.) Let it soak until frozen chicken is thawed, or until fresh chicken has the chill knocked off.
   
   
   
2. Next, pull your chicken out of the water and immediately coat well in plain flour. That's right -- no salt or other seasonings required. Don't shake the water off the chicken. It helps the flour form a seal around the chicken. Remember, we want to keep all those tasty juices INSIDE the chicken!!
   
   
   
3. Let the floured chicken rest for at least 30 minutes. 
4. While your chicken is resting, heat up some plain Crisco shortening in your skillet. About an inch's worth will do. 
5. After the shortening is melted and it's a good medium-high temperature, it's time to drop in the chicken. 
6. IMMEDIATELY put the lid on the skillet.
7. When the chicken is golden brown, turn it over once and cook the other side until golden brown.
8. Remove cooked chicken and sprinkle on some salt.
9. If you aren't immediately going to the table or have other batches to make, place the chicken in a covered Dutch oven, etc. to keep warm.

This all boils down to three easy steps:
1. Soak chicken in salted water.
2. Coat in plain flour.
3. Fry it up!!

I guess you could say there's one more step -- my favorite -- eating some juicy, crunchy, home-made fried chicken!!

Here are some other helpful hints and reminders to making great fried chicken:

• Make sure you use a medium-high heat to cook. Too high and it will cook the chicken on the outside but not the inside.
• Only turn the chicken over once (or twice is OK too, I have found). Turning it over and over before it really gets a chance to cook and make a crust will allow grease to seep in and you'll end up with greasy chicken.
• Here's a fun trick to getting a golden color when using plain shortening -- add a few drops of yellow food coloring after the shortening melts to get a golden color on the crust. According to Heloise, "It's a golden yellow and looks as if it had been fried in pure butter!"

Even though this method was described by Heloise 50 years ago, it still holds true today. Good fried chicken is good fried chicken, then and now. 

Heloise said she had a group of friends come over one day who helped her try all sorts of things to come up with the best way to make fried chicken. They tried all kinds of batter recipes -- buttermilk, egg dips, etc.; used a variety of oils, grease, and shortenings; and used all types of cooking vessels -- fryers, cast iron skillets, aluminum and stainless steel pans, etc.

In the end it was the simple way that was best -- salt water soak, plain flour and frying in cast iron. Seems as if "Keep It Simple" applies even to fried chicken. :O)

Frozen Whipped Cream Minis

Back to another handy tip from the Heloise's Housekeeping Hints (1962) book I scored at our church rummage sale a few months ago!! If you're like me and love fresh whipped cream instead of Cool Whip or aerosol whipped cream, here's a great way to store leftovers and have it on hand and ready to go any time.

How to make Frozen Whipped Cream Minis:
Simply take your whipped cream and drop in mounds on a wax paper lined cookie sheet and freeze until solid. Then put in a plastic freezer bag and store in the freezer until you need whipped cream. A cute little individual portion will be ready to go!! Allow it to sit for about 15 minutes to thaw -- or you can start eating it frozen right away like me. :O) I piped mine with a pretty decorating tip, but you also could pipe from the snipped corner of a plastic bag, or simply drop by spoonfuls onto the wax paper.

 

If you've never made fresh whipped topping, it's super easy and eliminates a lot of mystery ingredients versus buying the aforementioned creams.

How to make your own whipped cream:
Simply pour cold heavy cream into a bowl (I like to use a metal bowl, and chilled is better but not required) and go to town with your electric mixer. Mine happens to have a handy whisk attachment that makes the process faster, but regular beaters work just fine, too. After it's all whipped up, feel free to add a sweetener or flavoring. I only add a little powdered sugar to mine, but Heloise mentioned she uses sugar and vanilla in hers. I'm sure you also could experiment with other flavors depending on what it will be used for (think almond extract, chocolate flavoring, orange extract, etc.).

This batch was made from whipped cream leftovers after making smoothies, and the next night I used my little frozen portions on strawberries and angel food cake. They were perfect!! It really was nice to grab ready whipped cream out of the freezer and not have to make such a small amount for one dessert. Such a great way to save leftover whipped cream!!






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Purple Peanut Butter & Chocolate Cookies

I saw these cute pink cookies on Pinterest and decided to make some in my favorite color -- purple!! They are very easy: make a batch of your favorite peanut butter cookie recipe, roll dough balls in colored sugar, bake, and put a Hershey's Hug on top a few minutes after they come out of the oven. I just used plain food coloring drops on this batch, but I'm positive a gel coloring would have made a more vibrant color. Next time, next time. But I assure you they will taste great no matter what color they are. :O)

 My little helper rolling on purple sugar.

Pretty purple peanut butter & chocolate cookies :O)

Glass Block Jell-O {Rainbows}

Another neat treat we had at our rainbow-themed playdate was something I'd never seen before: Glass Block Jell-O. It was ridiculously easy to make and the vibrant colors made it a playful addition to the other snacks.


I came across the recipe at Our Best Bites and couldn't resist giving it a go. The result was pretty wiggly squares that tasted like Skittles. :O) The only thing you really need to make sure you have plenty of is time. Don't wait until the last minute to put this together since it requires two rounds of gelling.

 

All you need is Jell-O, unflavored gelatin and sweetened condensed milk. And because Jell-O comes in a variety of colors you can use whatever colors fit your theme. The recipe linked above makes a big 9x13 pan, but you could easily cut the recipe in half and use a 9x9 pan. 

 

Give it a try for a fun treat kids and adults alike will love!!

Rainbow Cupcakes

Our first time making Rainbow Cupcakes was a huge success. I couldn't have asked for them to turn out any better. Not only did they look beautiful, but I also had a terrific time making them with my wonderful little girl. I love making special memories like this with her.

We got started with the cupcakes a day ahead of our playdate. We used this recipe and inspiration for our cupcakes.

I like this recipe because it makes a thick batter, which is good for getting a better differentiation in the color stripes when baked. (ETA: I highly suggest using Greek yogurt vs plain yogurt. It is creamier (more like sour cream) and has a better flavor and consistency.)

First we mixed up the batter, then divided it into five bowls. Each bowl was 1 cup. Then we mixed in Wilton Icing Colors to get really vibrant, pretty colors for our rainbow.

Haleigh Ann helped mix the colors into the batter.

 

We used red, yellow, green, blue and purple for our rainbow colors.

Next she put cupcake liners in our cupcake pan (the 12-cup muffin pan stoneware piece from Pampered Chef -- it makes simply divine cupcakes!!). The color of cupcake liner doesn't matter since you'll peel it off before serving anyway. Tip: I stock up on them when they go on sale half-price or more after holidays.

Then I put a scoop of the bottom color into the liners (ours was purple). I have a handy dandy small scoop from Pampered Chef that holds about 2 teaspoons and was perfect for this. After placing the batter in there you'll want to have a small bowl of water for wetting your finger to spread the batter out evenly. Then repeat until you have all the layers done. Note: You'll want to make sure you have enough time set aside for this part of the project. It took me about an hour and a half to get them from start into the oven, but keep in mind that also included letting a 3-year-old help.

The last layer before spreading.

The top layer after spreading.

 Now it's time for the oven to work it's magic.

 Fresh out of the oven.

 Aren't they beautiful?

Now let them cool completely before you touch them again. After they are cool, you can remove them from the pan and peel off the cupcake liner. Since we made these a day ahead of time, we put them in a cupcake keeper for the night (the liners were still on at this point). The next morning I removed the liners and put them on a plate and made their "clouds" of Whipped Cream Frosting.

Sitting pretty on a plate, sans liners.

 

Just love the bright colors!!

Now it's time to make the topping for these beauties. I used the recipe below -- easy, fluffy and not too sweet. It was perfect. Then I used my medium scoop from Pampered Chef (2 tablespoons) and placed "clouds" of frosting on top.

Whipped Cream Frosting:

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• splash of vanilla

Directions:
Add whipping cream to a large bowl. Chill bowl and beaters in fridge for at least 10 minutes. Beat at medium speed until mixture starts to expand; increase speed to high and beat until thick. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla; continue to beat. Be careful not to beat it too long. Whipping cream is like meringue -- at the end it goes very quickly and can easily be beaten too much.

 The finished Rainbow Cupcakes. 

So pretty and tasty, too!!

 Here's one split in half. I think the colors are gorgeous. It's fun to see the stripes of color.

It's also a really neat lesson in how cupcakes bake in the oven. See how the bottom layer is thicker? The cupcake bakes from the bottom up and pushes the rest of the batter up and out. 

*That's the end of my Alton Brown lesson for the day, LOL.*

I think we'll definitely make these cupcakes again. Of course you can use whatever colors you like, and even make themed cupcakes for sporting events, birthdays, holidays and most importantly, just for fun.

Caterpillar Snack

This morning we made our first silly snack from the cookbook Memaw gave our little family at Christmas. They all look fun and really simple, but this may be the easiest one of all!! Baby Girl did everything by herself and had a great time. Then she ate it piece by piece, which was probably more fun since she loves to eat. :O)

Cutting the banana with her toddler knife.
Spreading peanut butter between the slices.
Caterpillar snack with a "happy face," as she said.
Ta-da -- finished caterpillar snack.
Or was it? Ooops, she pointed out that we forgot to give it ears.

OK, ears are on now and she's happy with her creation. Time to eat that caterpillar. Yum!!