BLT Chicken Salad & Granola Bars

I have TWO recipes to share with you! I have pictures as well, but I'm tired right now so I'll use the www ones for now.
First up, Chicken BLT Salad from Cooking Light. We ate al fresco this evening and enjoyed this lovely meal. I had put off making it for a few weeks because I dreaded how time consuming it was going to be. A few odd circumstances collided this afternoon and I had a fire lit under my hiney to get it done. Surprisingly, even though my chicken was still 1/2 frozen this all was done in about 1 hour. Long sounding, yes, but about 30 min of that was the chicken cooking in the oven.

I made the dressing just so I could try it before I knocked it. Sure enough, I ended up using good ol ranch on mine salad. Senor and I both agreed the dressing just wasn't worth the hassle and the whole thing would be just as good with a honey mustard or ranch dressing.

My girls both ate it, too. CJ wanted LOTS of bleu cheese. Funny kid.

• 1 cup fat-free buttermilk, divided
• 1 large egg white, lightly beaten 
• 3/4 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
• 4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 3/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/3 cup canola mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
• 2 teaspoons white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 medium head iceberg lettuce, cored and cut into 6 wedges 
• 2 cups chopped plum tomato
• 2 ounces crumbled blue cheese (1/2 cup)
• 3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled 

Preparation

1. 1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. 2. Combine 1/2 cup buttermilk and egg white in a shallow dish. Place panko in a shallow dish. Dip chicken in egg white mixture; dredge in panko. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon pepper and 1/8 teaspoon salt.
3. 3. Heat an ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add oil; swirl to coat. Add chicken. Cook 4 minutes; turn over. Bake at 425° for 14 minutes or until done. Let chicken stand 10 minutes; slice crosswise.
4. 4. Combine 1/2 cup buttermilk, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, mayonnaise, dill, chives, and vinegar. Place garlic on a cutting board; sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon salt. Chop until a paste forms, scraping with the flat side of knife to mash. Add garlic to dressing.
5. 5. Place 1 lettuce wedge on each of 6 plates. Top each serving with chicken, 1/3 cup tomato, and 2 1/2 tablespoons dressing. Sprinkle with cheese and crumbled bacon.

My notes:
1. Skip all the dressing ingredients and instructions.
2. I did not have buttermilk (never do) so I used 2% milk (3/4c) mixed with 1/4c cider vinegar. Let it sit for about 5 min. worked just fine.
3. I would say, focus on your chicken first. When it's put in the oven, focus your attention on the bacon (cooking it) and prepping the rest of the salad.

We served ours with cucumber slices, baby carrots and some roasted sweet potato fries. 

NEXT RECIPE...
We (no, not we, I) have been trying to eliminate the processed foods we buy. We don't buy many but the few things we do buy make me cringe a little. For instance, granola bars. Now, I buy them (the ones without hfcs or other scary things) because they are quick, easy grab-and-go snacks to shove in my purse for the girls in case we are out running errands longer than I plan (which always happens) but I cringe thinking of the processed ickiness lurking in every bar. SO, I decided to make my own this month. I used Smitten Kitchen's recipe (sort of--you can link over to hers and compare). They are yummy!!  I will definitely be making alot more of these in the future! LB tried one this afternoon for lunch and LOVED it. Yay! and of course, I'll be tweaking it and trying some new twists...I'll keep you posted. I'm thinking carrot cake version...shredded carrot, dried pineapple, raisins, pecans. maybe toss in some cream cheese instead of pb....yummmmmm

My version of her recipe:

1 cups quick rolled oats (if gluten-free, be sure to use gluten-free oats)

2/3 c 5 grain cereal mix (like Bob's Redmill)
1/4 c granulated sugar

1/3 c brown sugar
1/3 cup oat flour (or 1/3 cup oats, processed till finely ground in a food processor or blender)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg
2 to 3 cups dried fruits and nuts (total of 10 to 15 ounces)*

     -I used 3/4 c chopped pecans, 1 c raisins, 1 c craisins, 1/2 c dark chocolate chunks
2 Tbsp peanut butter or another nut butter (she says optional but I say not really)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract ( sahe says optional, again I say required)
3 tablespoons melted butter

1/4-1/3 c applesauce (no sugar added kind)
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon water

** IF your mixture was like mine and a bit dry feeling you could add in a beaten egg to hold it together a bit more or even a few Tbsp milk

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8″ x 8″ x 2″ pan in one direction with parchment paper, allowing it to go up the opposing sides. Lightly grease the parchment paper and the exposed pan, or coat with a non-stick spray.

Stir together all the dry ingredients, including the fruit and nuts. In a separate bowl, whisk together the vanilla, melted butter or oil, liquid sweeteners and water. Toss the wet ingredients with the dry (and peanut butter, if you’re using it) until the mixture is evenly crumbly. Spread in the prepared pan, pressing them in firmly to ensure they are molded to the shape of the pan. (A piece of plastic wrap can help with this, as you press down on the back of it.)

Bake the bars for 30 to 40 minutes (Mine were done in 30), until they’re brown around the edges — don’t be afraid to get a little color on the tops too. They’ll still seem soft and almost underbaked when you press into the center of the pan but do not worry, they’ll set completely once completely cool.

Cool the bars in their pan completely on a cooling rack. (Alternately, after about 20 minutes you can use your parchment “sling” to lift and remove the bars, and place them in their paper on the rack to cool the rest of the way. This can speed the process up.)

Once cool, a serrated knife (or bench knife) to cut the bars into squares. [Updating to note, as many had crumbling issues:] If bars seem crumbly, chill the pan of them further in the fridge for 30 minutes which will fully set the “glue”, then cut them cold. To store, wrap the bars individually in plastic or stack them in an airtight container. In humid weather, it’s best to store bars in the refrigerator. They also freeze well.

Thai Basil Chicken Wraps

Ah! Warm weather is upon us, even if for but a few days!  I don't know about you, but we had the windows open and spent a large portion of the afternoon outside today. It is amazing to me how quickly I can feel myself becoming more energized and enthusiastic when the warm weather starts rolling in.  In honor of the occasion (well, maybe more by happenstance) we had a lovely, light dinner. This was supposed to be one of those "quick" meals. The recipe I loosely based the idea off of was "Super Fast 20-minute cooking" deals. They weren't lying. I panicked when I realized it was 5:15p and I still hadn't pulled a single ingredient out of the refrigerator nor had I thawed any meat. Eeeps!

Never fear, though. I looked up at 5:47p and dinner was done. DONE, I tell you. I could not believe it!  And the taste?  Delicious.

Thai Basil Turkey Wraps
loosely adapted from Cooking Light "Spicy Thai Basil Chicken"

4 tsp canola oil (or vegetable)
1/2 c. minced shallots (roughly 4 shallots)
1/2-1 c. thinly sliced red pepper (I used about 4 of the mini sweet peppers from the mixed bag)...now if you would like more crunch from your pepper make larger slices
4 tsp fresh, minced garlic
1 lb ground turkey, lean
1 Tbsp sweet rice vinegar
2 tsp dark brown sugar
2 tsp low sodium soy sauce
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8-1/4 tsp red pepper *depending on how hot you want it
1 cup fresh basil (NO you cannot use dried for this, sorry)
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
2-3 limes, cut into wedges

*rice (you can add garlic/onions to this)
*chopped lettuce such as Boston or Bibb or Butter leaf, or you can attempt to do wraps and leave it whole
* chopped avocado would be good in this I think

for a "dressing" I mixed 2 Tbsp soy sauce, 2 tsp rice vinegar, 2 tsp sesame seed oil
I think some fresh grated ginger might be nice, too

1. In a large skillet, over med heat add 2 tsp oil, cook turkey until crumbled and brown/done. Remove turkey and put in bowl to the side.
2. Add 2 more tsp to skillet, over med-hi heat add shallots. Stir and sautee for 2-4 min until desired level of doneness (I like mine light brown). Stir in sliced pepper and garlic. Sautee for 1 minute.
3. Add turkey back into skillet and stir all the ingredients in the skillet for a minute or 2.
4. Stir in vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce, black and red pepper. Stir well and mix all of the ingredients in the skillet well, until heated through.
5. Remove skillet from heat, allow to cool for a few minutes. Stir in basil and lime juice.

Serve over rice or in lettuce for wraps.
We made a salad of sorts, rice, lettuce, turkey, dressing.

I served ours with fresh mango and strawberries. I had envisioned serving it with mangoes/sticky rice but that's too much rice for one meal, plus I forgot to soak the rice overnight.
Try this recipe out. If you like spicier things look at the cooking light version. I promise it's quick, easy, healthy, and taste delicious!

Lemon Cornmeal Waffles with Rhubarb and Raspberry Compote

Heavenly. Delicious. Amazing.

I tore out this recipe from cooking light recently and set it aside with a mental note to try it out sometime. I purchased a bag of frozen rhubarb back in the fall on clearance certain I could find a good use for it. I found a good use for it alright!

Senor woke up Saturday and asked what we should have for breakfast. I mumbled something about this recipe and rhubarb in the freezer, meaning to try it, blah blah blah, going back to sleep. He, gentle soul that he is, went downstairs and whipped this up; compote and all! I came downstairs later and dived right in to a delicious plate of crisp, nice flavorful, bright waffles for breakfast. I slapped on a heaping spoonful of the compote, followed by a large helping of plain yogurt and drizzled it all with honey. Seriously some of the best breakfast we've had in a while. I think the slightly sweet, cornbread like waffles would definitely be delicious with with blackberry compote or even blueberry.  We made a double batch and froze the extras (my go-to saving method these days! Just put it in the freezer!).  Since my girls love a good waffle (they would seriously eat them for breakfast everyday, I think) we re-heated some in the toaster this morning and they were (to my delight and surprise) just as delicious and crisp as they were the other day!

Try them out. You won't regret it.

P.S. We have a regular waffle maker, not a Belgian waffle maker and we made 8 out of 1 batch of batter.

Lemon Cornmeal Waffles with Rhubarb and Raspberry Compote

• Compote:
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 (16-ounce) package frozen sliced rhubarb, thawed
• 1 (12-ounce) package frozen unsweetened raspberries, thawed and undrained
• Waffles:
• 3/4 cup medium stone-ground cornmeal 
• 1 cup boiling water 
• Cooking spray 
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 4.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons reduced-sodium baking powder 
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt
• 1/2 cup 2% reduced-fat milk 
• Topping:
• 3/4 cup plain fat-free Greek yogurt 
• 2 tablespoons mascarpone cheese
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind

Preparation

1. 1. To prepare compote, combine first 3 ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 25 minutes or until rhubarb is tender and mixture thickens, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, and keep warm.
2. 2. To prepare waffles, combine cornmeal and 1 cup boiling water in a large bowl. Let stand 20 minutes or until cooled to room temperature.
3. 3. Coat a waffle iron with cooking spray; preheat.
4. 4. Add eggs to cornmeal mixture; stir with a whisk to combine. Stir in butter, 2 teaspoons rind, and juice. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (through baking soda) in a bowl; stir to combine. Add flour mixture to cornmeal mixture. Combine low-fat yogurt and milk in a bowl; stir with a whisk until smooth. Add yogurt mixture to cornmeal mixture, stirring just until combined.
5. 5. Spoon about 1/4 cup batter per 4-inch waffle onto hot waffle iron, spreading batter to edges. Cook 3 to 5 minutes or until done; repeat procedure with remaining batter.
6. 6. To prepare topping, combine Greek yogurt and remaining ingredients in a small bowl; stir until smooth. Serve waffles with warm compote and yogurt topping.