Crispy Curry Chicken Salad Sandwiches

I made this up last night to stretch our leftover fried chicken, and it far exceeded my expectations. In fact my wh0le family loved it. It might even be worth buying fried chicken just to make it. This recipe makes 6 whole sandwiches.

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3 pieces fried chicken (breasts and/or thighs), meat removed and chopped; I included a little bit of the fried breading, which gave this the best flavor

1 apple, finely chopped

2 carrots, grated

mayonnaise and curry powder mixed together (sorry, i didn't measure either one; just add what looks and tastes right to you)

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Mix all of the ingredients together and refrigerate until ready to serve. Spread butter on one side of good dense bread (we recently discovered one we love from Trader Joe's called Whole Wheat Tuscan Pane) and grill in skillet until golden brown on both sides.

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To assemble sandwich: put bread on plate, buttered side down; cover with fresh spinach leaves and chicken salad; top with another piece of bread, buttered side up. Cut in half and enjoy. I think nuts and golden raisins would be good in this also.

Not the Typical Quesadilla

I got this recipe a few years ago from a little cookbook at a grocery store checkout lane. This is my modified version. I always eat more of these than I should; they also make good leftovers.

Ranch Quesadillas

2 cups chicken, cooked and shredded
2 cups (8 oz) Colby Jack cheese, shredded
1 cup Ranch dressing
1 medium tomato, diced and seeded
1/2 - 1 can (4 oz) diced green chiles, rinsed and drained (depends on how much you like)
8 flour tortillas, approximately
salsa (optional)
guacamole (optional)

Combine chicken, cheese, dressing, tomatoes, and chiles in a medium bowl. Place about 1/2 cup of the chicken mixture on each tortilla, then fold in half. Put quesadillas on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Cut in half or thirds. Serve with salsa and guacamole.

Peppermint Bark

Okay, so this is less of a recipe and more of a funny story. I was at Costco the other day and they had all their yummy Christmas food out. It was hard to keep from drooling on everything. They had some peppermint bark and I thought, "I have got to make some of that." It's Halloween though, so I wanted to make it look seasonal. I put some green food coloring in the white chocolate and called it Monster Mash-up. We had it last night for FHE. Maggie says, "This is so yummy, Mom. We should have it again." Aaron says, "Yeah, with a more seasonally appropriate name." I'm thinking, "Sure, peppermint bark." And then Hannah comes in with "Elf Disaster." I laughed so hard. I'm still laughing just thinking about it. Maybe we should pass it out as our neighbor gifts this year.

Here is what I did in case you need to make some Monster Mash-up or Elf Disaster--just for giggles. I melted 1 cup milk chocolate chips and spread them on a parchment lined cookie sheet and put it in the freezer to cool. Then I melted 1 cup white chocolate chips and added 1/2 tsp mint extract, green food coloring and 1/4 c (ish) crushed peppermint candy. I spread it on the milk chocolate and sprinkled more crushed peppermint candy over the top. I put it in the freezer again to cool and broke it up into pieces to serve. It was pretty good, but I think Emily's is better.

Chicken and Rice

One really fun thing about living with Kristen is dinner time. Often we have to come up with something to eat with what we have on hand (we keep meaning to plan menus, honest) that will fill up all of the boys as well as the usuals of being yummy and healthy. And since that wasn't enough of a challenge, we decided to go on a diet together so dinner also has to fit within that. Well the other day, we were looking through the cupboards and thinking and bouncing ideas and ended up with this really yummy chicken and rice dish:

Chicken thighs cut into slices (Kristen really likes thighs because they tend to be more moist than breasts)

red, orange and yellow bell peppers, sliced (green would probably work too but we didn't have any of those)

chopped onion

cumin (a decent amount)

garlic salt

green salsa

splash of water

cooked brown rice

Season the chicken with cumin and garlic salt and saute lightly with the peppers. Add the salsa (almost the whole bottle) and a splash of water. Cover and let it boil until the chicken is cooked. Serve over rice.

It was really good that night but was even better the next day because the flavors had time to mix and mingle. It would also be good with green chiles.

Fudge (need I say more?)

On a recent trip to California, I realized that I kept buying fudge at the sweet shops. Although I enjoyed the variety, I was always a little disappointed with the fudge itself. Then I thought, "I have a great fudge recipe. Why not make my own variations?" So I did. In August, no less. My family has a tradition of making fudge only at Christmas time. But it's not written in stone, so I broke the tradition! Mwahahahaha! (sugar induced maniacal laughter)

Abbott's Fudge
my great-grandma's recipe

2 1/4 cups sugar
6 oz (or 1/2 a can) evaporated milk
1/4 cup butter
1/2 pound Hershey chocolate bar
7 ounce jar marshmallow creme
1 cup chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla

1) In a large bowl, break up the chocolate bar into small pieces. Add the marshmallow creme. Set aside.

2) Combine sugar, milk and butter in a large pot. Bring to a rolling boil. Turn down the heat to medium and boil for 4 minutes, stirring constantly.

3) Immediately pour over the chocolate and marshmallow. Stir thoroughly.

4) Add chips and vanilla; mix until smooth.

5) Pour into a well greased pan (large pan = thinner fudge; smaller pan = thicker fudge). Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours before cutting. For easier cutting, dip a knife in hot water.

Variations
Toffee: During step 4, mix in 1 cup Heath bits. After it's poured in the pan, sprinkle a bunch on top.

Mint: Add 1 cup Andes mints bits in step 4, mixing until smooth. Sprinkle some on top, also.

Peanut Butter: Mix about 1 cup smooth peanut butter into step 4. Sprinkle mini Reese's pieces on top.

Rocky Road: Stir in 1 cup chopped walnuts in step 4. When it is mostly cool, gently stir in a couple handfuls of mini marshmallows and pour into the pan.

Snickers: Add 1 cup chopped peanuts during step 4. Pour half the fudge into the pan, followed by a thin layer of caramel (like the ice cream topping), and then carefully add the rest of the fudge. Sprinkle with diced peanuts and mini chocolate chips, then drizzle with caramel topping.

Summer Was Made for This

This salad is what summer tastes like for me: warm ripe tomatoes, fresh basil, cool cucumbers--yum! I got it out of a Weight Watchers cookbook and modified it a little.

Summer Tomato Salad

3 Tbsp. red-wine vinegar
4 tsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. spicy or Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp. pepper
2-4 tomatoes, diced
2-4 cucumbers, diced
1/2 onion, chopped
1/3 c. basil leaves, shredded

1. To prepare the dressing, in your serving bowl, whisk the vinegar, salt, mustard, and pepper together. Add the olive oil in a steady, slow stream while whisking constantly.

2. Add the tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, and basil to the dressing. Toss to coat. Refrigerate, covered, tossing once, until the flavors are blended, at least one hour. (If you can wait that long, and mine usually needs to be on the table way before that. Plus I like it room temp.)

Notes:
I added the cucumber, so feel free to leave it out, but I find that when I have lots of ripe tomatoes that need eating, I also have lots of cucumbers that need eating. Also, I don't usually measure the basil. Put in what you think will taste good.

My favorite fish tacos

We don't have these often, but man, when we do I snarff them! The whole combination is great to me, but the sauce is really what makes it. I didn't list any amounts; just expand or contract to the number of tacos you need. I'd figure on least 2 or 3 tacos per person (more if you have hungry boys who like fish).

Taco components:
Fish fillets (talpia, cod, whatever)
white corn tortillas
finely shredded cabbage
sliced green onions (opt)
diced fresh tomatoes (opt)

sauce:
mayonnaise
sour cream (or plain yogurt)
lime juice
cumin
Cayenne pepper
oregano
dill
salt

Lightly season the fish--I usually give it a light salting. Then grill it, or bake in the oven (I can't seem to handle grilling fish) until flakey and a little browned. Warm the tortillas either in the microwave or in a frying pan with a little oil, just to keep them flexible. Shred the cabbage and, if you want, mix it with green onions and diced tomatoes.

Make the sauce with equal parts mayonnaise and sour cream (or plain yogurt)--I would figure on 1/4 cup of each for 4 servings. Add lime juice until the mixture thins a little, and add the seasonings to your taste (go easy on the cumin--it can take over).

Set out all the components--fish, broken into bits; cabbage mixture; warmed tortillas; sauce. Everyone can put their tacos together with fish at the bottom, topped by the crunchy cabbage, topped with sauce. Enjoy! I'm drooling just thinking about it.