Southwestern Chicken Salad

The Pampered Chef
www.pamperedchef.com

Salad:

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 small yellow or red onion
1 fresh garlic clove
1 head iceberg, romaine or green leaf lettuce
3 Roma tomatoes
1 cucumber
1 green bell pepper
1 14 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
8 oz Cheddar cheese, shredded
1 ba tortilla chips
Pampered Chef Peppercorn and Garlic Rub
Pampered Chef Chipotle Rub
Pampered Chef Southwestern Seasoning Mix

Dressing:

1 1/2 cups Ranch Salad Dressing (a 16-oz bottle)
1 fresh jalapeno pepper
1 lime, cut in half
4 teaspoons Taco Seasoning Mix

Dressing:

Measure the salad dressing with Easy Adjustable Measuring Cup.

Cut jalapeno at each end and lengthwise. Remove seeds and membrane using Core 'n More.

Chop extremely finely with Food Chopper. Add to Ranch dressing.

Cut lime in half. Juice half the lime using citrus press.

Add taco seasoning mix and lime juice to ranch.

Whisk well with Stainless Steel Whisk.

Chicken:

Spritz Deep Covered Baker with olive oil using Kitchen Spritzer.

Cut onion into large chunks. Spread evenly over bottom of Baker.

Lay chicken on top of onions.

Press 1 clove garlic on top of onions and chicken using Garlic Press.

Press 1/2 lime over chicken using Citrus Press.

First, sprinkle Pampered Chef Crushed Peppercorn and Garlic Rub on top of chicken., followed by a light dusting of Pampered Chef Chipotle Rub, and finish with a heavy sprinkle of Pampered Chef Southwestern Seasoning Mix.

Cover and microwave on HIGH for 12 minutes or until chicken is done.

Chop well using Salad Choppers.

Salad:

Cut lettuce using Salad Choppers.

Rinse lettuce well in basket of Salad and Berry Spinner. Spin excess water out in Spinner.

Place on Large Bamboo Platter.

Use the crinkle cut blade on Ultimate Mandoline with the cucumber. Add all slice cucumber to lettuce.

Slice tomatoes using V-Blade of Ultimate Mandoline or the Color-Coated Tomato Knife and place tomatoes on top of cucumbers.

Cut bell pepper using Chef's Color Coated Knife or 5" Utility Forged Knife. Dice and put on top of tomatoes.

Open beans with Smooth Edge Can Opener. Drain and rinse using Can Strainer. Add to salad.

Lightly crush tortillas in your hands and cover salad very heavily with tortilla chips. (You are making a barrier between the cold, crisp salad and the warm chicken and cheese).

Cover tortillas evenly with chicken. "Drain" it with your Small Mix n Scraper by pushing each spoonful on the side of the Baker.

Cover chicken heavily with reserved cheese. Serve with dressing on the side.

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

2 big skinless bone-in chicken breasts or 4 big boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 cup celery, chopped
1 cup sliced carrots
1/2 cup each frozen corn, frozen green beans and frozen peas
11 cups water
1 1/2-2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 can (10 3/4 oz) cream of chicken, undiluted
1 cup fettuccini noodles broken into 1 1/2-inch pieces or egg noodles
2/3 cup fat-free milk
2 tablespoons Light sour cream
1 1/4 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
Fresh black pepper

In a big pot, add the water, chicken, garlic and chicken bouillon. Cook on medium heat, covered for about 40 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pot and cool down. Then, cut into cubes.

Add the vegetables, onion and cream of chicken to the soup. Cook covered for 10 minutes. Stir in the noodles and cook covered until tender. Add the milk where you have dissolved the cornstarch and cook for 2 minutes to thicken a little bit. Remove the pot from the stove and the sour cream, parsley and black pepper to taste.


Makes 6-8 servings

My Mom's Muffins

www.thepioneerwoman.com

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup regular oats
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 whole egg
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 cup applesauce
1 ripe banana, mashed
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Extra buttermilk as needed for thinning

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Thoroughly greased a 12-count muffin pan.

In a large bowl, combine flours, flaxseed meal, oats, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, walnuts and raisins. Stir together until combined.

In a separated bowl, mix together the buttermilk, banana, applesauce, egg and molasses.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, stirring until just barely comes together. Batter should be wet and sticky, if needed, splash in a couple extra tablespoons buttermilk.

Scoop 1/4 cup helpings into the muffin cups and bake for 16-18 minutes, or until golden brown.

Serve with softened butter if desired.

Serves 12

Note: I got 20 muffins instead of 12. I did not put 1/4 cup batter per muffins, I used a spoon to distribute the batter.
I did not need extra buttermilk.

Heidi's Italian Chicken

8 boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 medium onion, sliced
1/2 cup Italian salad dressing
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

Mix all the ingredients but parsley. Marinade overnight.

Bake covered at 350 F for 45 minutes. Uncover and broil until lightly golden brown.

Remove the excess of fat from the surface and sprinkle with the dried parsley.

Makes 4-8 servings

Mango Bread

I love mangoes. After all, I was born in a tropical country. I have always been curious about making mango bread so I searched for recipes on Pinterest. I read a couple that looked really good in the pictures and came up with my own version.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup bread flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 large eggs, beaten
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 3/4 cups chopped mango
1/2 cup chopped pecans or macadamias
1/3 cup shredded coconut

In a medium bowl, mix the dry ingredients.

In a big bowl, combine the oil, eggs, sugars, spices and lemon peel.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones mixing carefully. The batter will be thick. Stir in the pecans, coconut and mango and combine well.

Grease and flour a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with butter. Pour the batter in the pan. Place the loaf pan on a metal baking sheet.

Preheat the oven at 350 F. Bake the bread for 45 minutes. Then, cover the bread with aluminum foil that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray forming like a tent. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes more. The bread is ready when a skewer that has been inserted in the center of the bread, comes out clean.

Let it rest in a rack for 7 minutes. Loosen the edges with a table knife. Unmold the bread in a cooling rack.

Makes 8 slices

Note: The bread tastes better overnight. When the bread cools down completely, wrap with plastic film. Store.

Honey and Thyme Marinade

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup Canola oil
1/2 cup honey
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 tablespoon dried thyme
Salt to taste

Combine the marinade ingredients in a small glass bowl and heat uo in the microwave just to melt the honey. Mix well.

Place the chicken in a ziploc bag; add the marinade, seal the bag and rub it well. Refrigerate overnight.

Remove the bag from the refrigerator 30 minutes before grilling. Discard the marinade. Grill the chicken breasts on medium temperature until the juices do not run pink anymore and the internal temperature is 160-170. It will depend on the thickness of the chicken breasts.


Makes 6 servings