Barbecue Chicken Cobb Salad

A perfectly light summer dinner salad that’s delicious with the Buttery Croissant Roll recipe. Adapted from the cookbook Our Best Bites

Barbecue Chicken Cob Salad

6 cups romaine lettuce  or spring mix
6 cups spinach
1 large chicken breast grilled with your favorite BBQ sauce and diced
4-6 pieces cooked bacon chopped
2 Roma tomatoes diced
1 large avocado diced
3 soft boiled eggs diced
4 scallions sliced
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Ranch dressing (homemade or Wingstop Ranch is delicious!)

Fill a large chilled salad bowl with the lettuce and spinach mixed together. Top with cooled grilled chicken, bacon, Roma tomatoes, avocado, hard-boiled eggs, green onions, and shredded cheddar cheese. Let everyone view your beautiful presentation before topping with the dressing and tossing the whole salad together.

Strawberry Sauce

This recipe is so versatile to use for ice cream sundaes (Blue Bell Dutch Chocolate ice cream with chopped bananas and topped with this sauce), drizzling over waffles or cheesecake, or blended with milk and vanilla ice cream for strawberry milkshakes.

Strawberry Sauce 

1 pint chopped strawberries (or frozen)
1/4 cup sugar or agave or honey
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon juice (optional)
2-4 drops pure liquid stevia (optional)

1. Combine berries, sugar or agave, and lemon juice in a medium sauce pan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook for five minutes, stirring constantly and breaking up strawberries with a wooden spoon or potato mashing tool. If you choose to sweeten with honey, add it after the strawberries have been simmered and slightly cooled.

2. Remove from heat and cool before blending. Add the vanilla.  Taste the sauce for sweetness, and add the Stevia if you want a little extra sweetness without the extra calories.  Pulse until you reach your desired consistency, and refrigerate unused sauce for up to a week or freeze for up to three months.

Buttermilk Caramel Syrup

Picture this sauce being drizzled over a hot waffle - yes please! This is the kind of recipe I save for a big Sunday morning breakfast, or Christmas day, or for bringing to a home group breakfast potluck. It’s indulgent and it’s worth it!

Buttermilk Caramel Syrup 

3/4 cup buttermilk or 3/4 cup milk with 3/4 tsp lemon juice
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup blue agave
1/2 cup kerrygold butter
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1. In a large pot or saucepan combine buttermilk, sugar, blue agave, and butter. Bring to a boil stirring constantly. Simmer for about 5 minutes until the sugar is dissolved and the syrup has thickened.

2. Take off the heat and whisk in the baking soda. It will bubble up quite a lot and then settle back down.

3. When the sauce is called a little bit add the vanilla and taste the sauce to see if it’s sweet enough for you. Add more agave if you wish.  It can be stored in the fridge for about a week.

Breakfast Burritos with Lime Chipotle Dip

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Salsa Fresca

Calling all salsa lovers! Did you know that the canned tomatoes and store bought salsas have leached harmful chemicals and hormones from the lining of the cans? The acidic nature of tomatoes and oranges make them some of the canned products you’ll want to avoid. Roasting your own tomatoes is so fast and easy, and it tastes so much better! The flavors here are so bright and fresh! I also like some of the tomatoes to go in raw for taste and vitamin content.  You can roast all of your tomatoes though. It’s up to you. I also want to note that I LOVE cilantro so this recipe is perfect for me. You can alway leave it out if cilantro is not your thing. Add an extra jalapeño if you like it spicy. Thank you Julie for the recipe and being one of the first women friends to make me feel loved after I was married. It gave me the confidence I needed to reach outside of my comfort zone to make new friends everywhere life took me down the road.

Salsa Fresca

8 Roma tomatoes or 6 medium tomatoes
1 large clove garlic chopped
1 bunch green onions roughly chopped
1 bunch cilantro, chopping the leafy section and discarding the stems
Juice from 1/2 a lemon (1 Tbsp)
Juice from 1/2  a lime (1Tbsp)
1 jalapeño seeded and diced
1/2 bag of frozen petite white corn (optional)
1 avacado diced
Sea salt to taste

Roast 1/2 of your tomatoes in the oven at 400° for 5 to 10 minutes, or grill them on medium heat for about 4 minutes on one side and grill marks are showing, then flip them over to grill the other side for another 4 minutes. The skin of the tomatoes should look slightly wilted, and they should be soft. When they have cooled, core the stem area of all the tomatoes and put them in a blender or food processor with the garlic, onions, lemon juice, lime juice, jalapeño, salt, and half of the cilantro leaves. Pulse until everything is blended but still a little chunky. Add the rest of the cilantro and pulse a couple more times to desired consistency. I like a few of the cilantro leaves to be in larger pieces. Pour the salsa into a bowl. Taste test to see if you have enough salt and lemon juice. When you’ve got it tasting like you want it, stirring the corn and avocado. Serve or store in an airtight container.

Chicken Coconut Curry

This was my first attempt at making Indian food, and now I’m hooked! When I eat this my whole body feels so warm, like everything is just circulating like it should. Roasting all of the whole seeds and blending them yourself is the magic of this recipe. The flavors are just so incredible together! It’s worth the time it takes, and you can also double your chicken coconut curry recipe because the curry powder makes enough for two recipes. We eat half of it and then freeze the other half into individual portions for lunches on the go. #lifehack

Chicken Coconut Curry

3 Tbsp Ghee or olive oil
2 medium onions chopped
1 inch piece of ginger minced
4 cloves garlic finely chopped
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 Tbsp curry powder recipe follows
1 cinnamon stick
1-3 dried red chilies
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
Two 15 oz cans unsweetened coconut milk
2 cups chicken stalk
4 tomatoes seeded and chopped
6 boneless skinless chicken breast sliced into 1 inch strips
1/4 cup cilantro leaves plus more for garnish
1 lemon juiced
1 cup raw cashews

Curry Powder (Garam masala)

2 Tbsps coriander seeds
1 Tbsp cumin seeds
1 Tbsp cardamom seeds
1 Tbsp whole black peppercorns
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp whole cloves
2 dried chilies broken in pieces, seeds discarded
2 Tbsps turmeric

For the Curry Powder

Heat the coriander, cumin, cardamom, pepper, fennel, mustard, and cloves to a small dry skillet on low until fragrant (2 minutes). In a clean coffee grinder or herb mill grind the toasted herbs until powdered. Add the turmeric powder and pulse again to combine. Use immediately or store in an air tight jar for up to a month. Be sure the curry powder is completely cooled before storing.

For the Chicken Curry Sauce 

Heat the ghee or olive oil in a heavy bottomed pot and add the onions, ginger, and garlic are very soft, for about 15 minutes. Add the tomato paste, curry, cinnamon, and chilies. Sir everything well and add the salt and pepper. Pour in the coconut milk and chicken stock and bring to a simmer, about 20 minutes. Add the chicken and lemon juice. When the chicken is cooked through add the cashews and serve over rice with cilantro sprinkled on top.

Lemon Lime Zucchini Fettuccine

Lemon Lime Zucchini Fettuccine

2 large chicken breasts 

1 Tbsp lemon juice 

1 Tbsp lime juice

1/4 cup + 3 Tbsp olive oil divided 

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar 

1 Tbsp salt

2 medium zucchini 

Salt and pepper 

5-6 cloves garlic minced

8 oz fettuccine (Italy imported)

Fresh basil 2/3 cup

Fresh oregano 1/4 cup

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese 

Put chicken in a plastic bag and pound out the meat with the flat side of a meat tenderizer tool or a rolling pin. The thinner chicken breast will soak up more of the marinade flavor. Put the chicken in a bowl combined with the lemon and lime juice, 2 Tbsps of the olive oil, and the red wine vinegar. Set aside for 15-30 minutes.