Bacon, Corn and Tomato Chicken Salad

Normally, I am not a chicken salad fan. First of all, it usually includes celery, and celery is an abomination. Second, it’s usually quite heavy on the mayonnaise, and I am only a fan of mayonnaise in very, very limited quantities. Third… I just don’t like it, okay?? Okay.

A few days ago, Crist emailed me a chicken salad recipe that actually looked APPETIZING, wonder of wonders! (First things first: there is no celery, and almost no mayo. SCORE!) Of course, I made a half dozen changes to the original recipe, but it turned out fantastically – to the point that I basically had to physically remove the bowl from my husband’s hands, lest he eat the entire thing in one sitting. I feel confident that this will make frequent appearances in our house – it’s perfect for lunch, a light dinner, or as an appetizer for a party!

Bacon, Corn and Tomato Chicken Salad
makes about 6 sandwiches

1lb boneless skinless chicken breast
6 slices bacon
8 oz corn, drained well
1 T finely chopped chives
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 T whole grain mustard
1 cup 2% plain greek yogurt
2 T mayo*
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
Crackers, bread, english muffins – whatever you want to eat the chicken salad with!

*Crist, don’t hit me… but I think next time I would try leaving the mayo out. I’m just not sure it needs it!

1.) Start by cooking your chicken. I typically season it with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and then bake it in a covered dish at 350° for about 25-30 minutes. When it’s cooked through, shred it finely (use your stand mixer to shred it, don’t be scared).

2.) While your chicken bakes, fry up your bacon until crisp. Drain it on some paper towels, and then crumble it.

3.) Add all the ingredients, aside from the tomatoes, to a large mixing bowl, and mix with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until everything is well combined.

That’s it! You can spread it on some toasted bread and make a sandwich, spoon it on to some crackers, or just eat it by the spoonful, whatever floats your boat. We chose to eat it on some pita crackers – topping each one with a tomato half! I didn’t want the tomatoes to make the salad watery, or muddy looking, so that’s why I chose to just pile them on top of the chicken salad as we ate.

I think this particular chicken salad has SO MUCH more flavor and texture than a typical chicken salad – and using greek yogurt in place of the mayo keeps it pretty light and healthy, too!

I can’t wait to make this with some fresh summer corn,
Tina

Cheesy Beef Cups

Well, I’m sure you’re here today because you’re in need of a delicious appetizer to make for this evening’s National Championship basketball game… and lucky for you, I am ON IT. I strongly believe that it’s impossible to cheer your team on to victory on an empty stomach – so make sure you have some delicious snacks on hand as you cheer for the Wolverines tonight!

Hands down, my friends and family request this dish more than any other dish I make. These little meat muffins are just SO delicious, they are irresistible! My aunt was the original creator/maker of these – though, I remember her making them in full size muffin tins, so a couple of them was actually dinner, instead of an appetizer. I got the recipe from her probably 15 years ago – used it a couple times, lost it, and then just kept making them from memory (so surely the recipe has morphed, over the years). Once you’ve made them, they will become a staple for any gathering you attend, I guarantee it.

Cheesy Beef Cups
makes 24 mini cups

1lb ground beef (I use 90/10)
1 T yellow mustard
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup sweet barbecue sauce (I use Sweet Baby Ray’s)
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 can refrigerated biscuits (make sure it’s a variety that says “flaky layers”, or similar)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1.) Preheat your oven to 350°. In a large skillet, cook and crumble your ground beef, seasoning it with the salt and pepper. Once the beef is cooked through, add the mustard, brown sugar, and barbecue sauce, and stir to thoroughly combine.

2.) Give your beef a taste test – it should be noticeably sweet, but not overly so. If needed, add another tablespoon or two of brown sugar. Additionally, the mixture should be a little saucy (but not wet) – if it seems too dry, add a bit more barbecue sauce. When the beef mixture is done, remove it from the heat, and set it to the side.

3.) Spray a mini muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Remove your biscuits from the can (if you have to have someone else open the stupid pressurized can, just know that I’m not judging you – I HATE those things). Take each biscuit, and separate it into three layers (this is why it’s important to buy the biscuits that say “flaky layers” – otherwise separating them into layers is impossible). Press one biscuit layer into each of the mini muffin cups.

4.) Add a spoonful of meat to each biscuit cup, and top with shredded cheddar.

5.) Bake for about 12-15 minutes, until the biscuits are golden brown, and the cheese is nicely melted.

These things are seriously addictive. The slight edge of sweetness in the meat mixture sounds kind of weird, but it’s the best part of the whole dish (especially paired with the sharpness of the cheddar cheese)! These are quick to make, and a nice change of pace from the usual spread of dips on the appetizer table! You can make these up to a day ahead, too – just completely assemble them, but DON’T bake them. Cover the muffin tin tightly with plastic wrap, and store in the fridge until you’re ready to bake them!

GO BLUE!!!
Tina

Sundried Tomato and Goat Cheese Burgers with Roasted Garlic Mayo

(Congrats to our giveaway winner, Ashley! And thanks to everyone who entered, and who follows the blog… we appreciate it so much! Ashley, don’t forget to email me this morning and let me know what prize you’d like!)

I’ve been thinking about this particular burger recipe for a while now. You see, I have this habit of dreaming up ideas for recipes I want to write and test at odd times (when I’m trying to fall asleep, when I’m sitting in traffic, when I’m switching out loads of laundry… I think about food a lot, okay??)… so, I keep an ongoing note on my phone, where I write out brief descriptions of my ideas, so I won’t forget them! When I am feeling uninspired, and need to do some meal planning, I open the note and pick one of the ideas to work on that week… and then I get to cooking!

Some random afternoon a while back, I decided that I needed to make a burger with sundried tomatoes and goat cheese, and last week, I did just that. And it was very, very good.

Sundried Tomato and Goat Cheese Burgers with Roasted Garlic Mayo
serves 4

For the mayo:
1 head garlic, roasted
1 clove garlic, raw
1/2 c mayo
zest of half a lemon
juice of half a lemon
pinch each of salt and pepper

For the burgers:
1 lb ground beef (I use 90/10)
1 small shallot, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 t dijon mustard
2 t worcestershire sauce
1/2 c sundried tomatoes, chopped fine, divided (dry, not packed in oil)
1/2 t kosher salt
1/4 t black pepper
4 oz plain goat cheese, at room temp
4 buns of choice

1.) To make the mayo, start by roasting your whole head of garlic. Cut the top 1/3 of the bulb off, and place in the center of a square of foil; drizzle with 2 teaspoons of olive oil, and tightly pinch the foil closed. Place in a small ovenproof dish, and roast at 400° for about 40 minutes.

2.) When the garlic is roasted and cooled, squeeze the cloves from their skins. Add the roasted garlic, and all the other mayo ingredients, to a blender, and blend until smooth and creamy.

3.) To make the burgers, place your ground beef into a large mixing bowl. Add the shallot, garlic, dijon, worcestershire, salt, pepper, and half the sundried tomatoes, and mix with your hands until everything is well combined. Be careful not to overmix! Shape into 4 equally sized patties.

4.) Heat a griddle or skillet over medium heat, and lightly spray with oil. When the pan is hot, add your burger, and cook for about 5 minutes on the first side.

5.) While the burgers cook on the first side, add your softened goat cheese, the second 1/4 cup of chopped sundried tomatoes, and a couple grinds of black pepper to a small bowl; use a rubber spatula to combine everything well. Shape the goat cheese mixture into 4 equal sized disks.

6.) Once you flip your burgers, let them cook for 2-3 minutes, and then place a goat cheese disk on top of each one. Loosely tent some foil over the top of the pan, and cook for another 2-3 minutes. (The goat cheese never really melts, it just softens… so don’t be shocked when you remove the foil tent to find that the goat cheese is still perfectly disk-shaped.)

7.) While your burgers finish cooking, spread both sides of your hamburger buns with the roasted garlic mayo. When the burgers are ready, load them on to the buns, and enjoy!

I really, really loved the combination of the tangy goat cheese, and the chewy, sweet sundried tomatoes in this burger. It was such a different, refreshing flavor combination, and it somehow kept the burgers feeling light, which doesn’t happen often with a burger! Definitely a combination I’ll be using often in the future.

The hamburger topping possibilites are endless,
Tina

Ginger Blood Orange Vodka Soda

During Crist’s recent visit, I introduced her to my current favorite cocktail (full disclosure: we typically enjoy many, many fancy cocktails during our visits to one another). In my old age, I’ve discovered that beer and wine have a tendency to make me kind of sick, if consumed in any quantity greater than 1 or 2, so my formerly non-liquor-drinking self has been on a mission to find other cocktails that don’t make me feel ill, and taste delicious. As you might expect, I approach cocktail making in the same way I approach cooking – what interesting flavor combinations can I make? No boring vodka and sodas for me!

Here is my most recent concoction – inspired by a six-pack of blood orange San Pellegrino that I felt compelled to bring home with me at the grocery store a few weeks ago.

Ginger Blood Orange Vodka Soda
makes one cocktail

lots of ice
2 parts vodka of choice
1 part ginger simple syrup*
2 parts blood orange soda (I like San Pellegrino, but you can also find large bottles of blood orange soda at places like Trader Joe’s)
2-inch piece of lemon rind (just the yellow part, not the white) (optional)

*To make the ginger simple syrup: combine 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water in a small sauce pan. Grate a 2-inch piece of ginger into the pan, and place over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a bubble, stirring until all the sugar is dissolved (watch the mixture carefully; it WILL boil over, and your stove top with be a sticky, disgusting mess. I speak from experience). Once all the sugar is dissolved, let the mixture cool slightly, and then pour through a fine mesh strainer into a heat proof bowl or other container. Cover tightly, and refrigerate. Lasts 1 week in the fridge.

Fill a cocktail glass almost all the way with ice (don’t skimp on the ice, for real). Pour 2 parts vodka into the glass, then 1 part ginger syrup (chilled), and finally 2 parts blood orange soda. Give the whole thing a quick stir, and tuck your lemon twist in between some of the ice cubes (you don’t have to use the lemon twist – I just used a vegetable peeler to peel a nice, big section of rind off the fruit – but I think it gives the drink a nice freshness). Enjoy!

Being organized is hard,
Tina