Delicious, Innovative Chicken Salad

Recently we tried out this delicious little cafe in Nashua, NH. It is a cafe that prides itself on using locally grown vegetables, organic ingredients, and overall making things healthy. http://theseedlingcafe.com/

I love Chicken Salad, and this place had quite a few different varieties. I have been trying and trying to recreate the delicious wrap I had, but cannot get it just right. I recreated it again today for lunch, but I didn't have any apples in the refrigerator so it is minus that one delicious ingredient.

Chicken Salad


1 cooked Chicken Breast, either chopped or shredded
1/4-1/3 cup of Mayonnaise (I tried to make it healthier by adding a little greek yogurt, but it changed the taste too much for my liking)
Handful of chopped walnuts
1/3 cup of Craisins
1/2 chopped apple (I like Granny Smith)

At the cafe, they put this all into a delicious wrap, and grill it with some cheddar cheese. I believe they use a panini press to grill it, but we don't have one. I skipped the grilled part today, because it's too hard to not over toast the wrap.

This is delicious, and totally more sophisticated than the normal Chicken Salad!

Enjoy!

Easy Crock Pot Pot Roast with Roasted Potatoes!

I love my crock pot. It is the easiest way to prepare a meal when you are in a rush that night, and there are usually minimal dishes to clean! When we got married, Jesse told me he hated pot roast. WHAT?! Man how can you not love a good, juicy pot roast with some potatoes?

Well, again I won the challenge of changing his mind. I made the EASIEST pot roast, and it has become one of his favorite meals. I would not make the carrots optional. In fact, I would put as many carrots as you can in. They taste great, and it's the hubby's favorite part!

Easy Crock Pot, Pot Roast

Ingredients

• 1 onion, sliced
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 (2 1/2 pound) boneless beef chuck roast
• 1 pinch salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1 (1.2 ounce) package dry beef gravy mix
• 1 (1 ounce) package ranch dressing mix
• 1 (.7 ounce) package dry Italian-style salad dressing mix
• 1/2 cup water, or as needed
• 5 whole peeled carrots (optional)

Directions

1. Spray the inside of a slow cooker with cooking spray. Spread the onion slices out into the bottom of the cooker.
2. Spread the flour out onto a work surface. Sprinkle the chuck roast with salt and black pepper, and roll the roast in the flour to coat all sides. Using the edge of a small, sturdy plate, pound the flour into the meat. Place the floured roast into the cooker on top of the onions. Whisk together beef gravy mix, ranch dressing mix, and Italian dressing mix in a bowl, and whisk the mixes with water until smooth. Pour over the chuck roast. Distribute carrots around the meat.
3. Cover the cooker, set to Low, and cook until the roast is tender and the gravy has thickened, about 8 hours.

Now, my favorite thing to have with a good pot roast is either Mashed potatoes to soak up the sauce, or Roasted potatoes, because they are crunchy and delicious.

Roasted Potatoes


1 Potato for each person (plus one extra)
1 tbsp. of butter per potato
1/4 cup of olive oil.
1-2 cloves of garlic

We always use fresh garlic, because nothing quite recreates the taste in the same way. Preheat the oven to 400. While the oven is preheating, stick the butter and olive oil in the pan and stick the pan in the oven.

Peel the potatoes and chop up into bite size pieces. Smash and chop the garlic, and toss in the melted butter. Add the potatoes and mix them around so they are coated with butter.

Roast the potatoes for approx. 1 hour until golden brown. They will be crunchy on the outside and soft in the inside. They are DELICIOUS!

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

I am in love with the broccoli cheddar soup from Panera. It is the best thing on a cold day, especially in a bread bowl! TO DIE FOR!

I hate broccoli, so it's a complete miracle that I will eat it in soup. I discovered a recipe that claimed to be like Panera's, so after a little adjusting we LOVE it. Jesse always gets excited for this meal!

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 1 cup milk
• 2 cups chicken stock (I just use one can of chicken broth- low sodium of course) 
• 1/2 lb fresh broccoli, chopped (I estimated this to be a little over a cup, and I chop it very finely. The trees often end up looking like seeds...) 
• 1 cup carrot, shredded and chopped
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 10-12 oz. grated sharp cheddar cheese, you can use Colby jack as well or as a mixture of the two.
• Salt and pepper to taste

Sauté the onion and garlic in the butter over medium heat. Once the onions become translucent, I take the garlic and onions out. I'm sure you could leave them in there, but we like the soup to be a little creamier. Then add in the flour with the butter that is left in there, stirring constantly. Add in the half and half, milk, and chicken stock. Bring to almost a boil.

Add the broccoli and carrots in. Simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes.

Season the soup with the salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cardamom. Stir in the cheeses and let simmer for 10 minutes longer before serving. To be honest, I never measure the cheeses, I just add a few handfuls in and stir. It's DELICIOUS! I'll try to add pictures the next time we make it.

The BEST Gingerbread Cookies

I am totally in love with Christmas, and Christmas cookies and desserts. Recently I found a recipe on Smitten Kitchen Blog, and tried it out. We've made them about 4 or 5 times in the last month, and they are fantastic. I haven't tried rolling them out and using cookie cutters yet. We roll them into balls and get the fluffiest, yummiest Christmas cookies ever. They make our house smell delicious too.

Gingersnaps

Yield: About 2 dozen

2 1/4 cups (281 grams) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons (10 grams) baking soda
1/2 teaspoon (2 to 3 grams) table salt
3 teaspoons (6 grams) ground ginger
1 teaspoon (2 grams) cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon (1 gram) allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
2 sticks (8 ounces or 227 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (96 grams) light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/3 cup (79 ml) unsulphured molasses

Optional, for even more of a ginger kick: Add 1 to 2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger (with the wet ingredients) or 1 to 2 tablespoons finely minced candied ginger (with the dry ingredients).

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and spices. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars together until fluffy, about three minutes on medium. Add egg and molasses and beat until combined. Add dry ingredient and beat at low speed until just combined. Thoroughly scrape down bowl, ensuring ingredients are evenly mixed.

Transfer your cookie dough to plastic wrap — mine was quite soft and I felt like I was spreading frosting over plastic. I used a plate to support it. Chill in fridge for at least two hours, until firm.

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Roll dough into 1-inch balls and spread at least two inches apart on baking sheets that have either been greased or lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, which is a long range. In the 10 to 12 range, the cookies will be softer. In the 13 to 15 range, a bit snappier. In both cases, you’ll want to leave them on their baking sheets for long enough that they’re firm enough to be transferred to a cooling rack with a spatula, anywhere from 2 to 5 minutes. Cool cookies completely before packing up.

We bake them for about 10-12 minutes, and boy are they delicious. I like my cookies soft, and won't eat them if they are hard or have a snap to them. We grate fresh ginger each time, so we use about 2 or 2 1/2 tsp. Recently I got out the Magic Bullet to chop up the ginger, because I could not stand continuously grating it! 

You HAVE to try them! Let me know how they are if you roll them out. 

Yikes! Porcupines!

Oh boy, yet another new recipe that we are trying tonight. I took out some ground beef this morning, but wasn't quite sure what I was going to do with it. I googled some things, and found this recipe which received 4 stars. We'll see what we think after dinner tonight!

I made some changes to the recipe, because I wasn't quite sure if it was going to have any flavor.

Porcupines

Ingredients

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup uncooked white rice
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 cup water

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, rice, 1/2 cup of water and onion. Blend in salt, celery salt, garlic powder and pepper. Mix well. Shape into 1 1/2 inch balls.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the meatballs; drain fat.
3. In an 11x7 inch baking dish, combine the tomato sauce and 1 cup of water. Place the browned meatballs into the tomato sauce, turning to coat well.
4. Cover and bake in a preheated oven for 45 minutes. Uncover, and cook for an additional 15 minutes.

I left out the onion, only because we didn't have one and I didn't feel like going to the store. I added 2 tsp of chopped cumin, a sprinkle of garlic pepper, fresh garlic instead of garlic powder, and added an egg to the meat. I sprinkled in some breadcrumbs, because it just wasn't sticking together and that helped a lot. I didn't fry the meatballs, instead I popped them in the oven for about 25 minutes at 425. I think frying meatballs can dry them out, and I wanted to make sure these were really juicy.

Jesse is always game to try new recipes, so I'll have to update this after we try it out.