Healthier Chicken Salad

 Heathier Chicken Salad

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 lb cooked chicken breast, cooled and chopped

1/2 cup grapes, quartered

1.5 oz toasted pecans, chopped

2 celery stalks, diced

1 cup nonfat greek yogurt

1tsp dijon mustard

2 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp parsley

Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, mix.

Enjoy alone or on a wrap, croissant, or salad.

Southern Potato Salad

Southern Potato Salad

Recipe source: Feastandfarm.com

INGREDIENTS
3 eggs
5 medium russet potatoes peeled and cut in to 1″ cubes
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 small yellow onion about 3/4 cup, diced in to 1/2″ pieces
2 ribs celery about 3/4 cup, diced in to 1/2″ pieces
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
6 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
1/2 cup mayonnaise



INSTRUCTIONS

In a small pot or sauce pan, add the eggs and cover with water. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer 5 minutes, then turn off the heat and let the eggs sit for 10 more. Drain and cover with cold water and allow to sit until ready to use.
While the eggs simmer, fill a large pot with cold water. Add 2 teaspoons salt, and the potatoes. Cover and bring to a simmer. Cook until just fork tender–12 to 15 minutes. Drain and allow to cool in the strainer for a few minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.
Add the onions, celery, mustard, relish, and mayonnaise and stir gently to combine.
Taste for seasoning and add the last 1/2 teaspoon of salt a little at a time. You may not need all of it.
Peel and rinse the eggs and chop into 1/2″ pieces. Gently stir in to the potato salad.
Cover and chill until ready to serve. It’s best made up to two days in advance, but if you can let it sit about 8 hours that’s fine.

Winter Pomegranate Salad with Maple Candied Walnuts

Winter Pomegranate Salad with Maple Candied Walnuts

Source: halfbakedharvest.com

Ingredients

• 2 cups raw walnuts
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch crushed red pepper
• flaky sea salt
• 6 cups mixed greens, I use baby kale and spinach
• 2 cups arugula
• 2 cups POM POMS Fresh Pomegranate Arils 
• 1 blood or cara cara orange, sliced (optional)
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries 
• 1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese

Balsamic Fig Dressing

• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon fig preserves
• kosher salt and black pepper 

Instructions

• 1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss the walnuts with the maple syrup, cinnamon, crushed red pepper, and salt. Bake for 15-20 minutes, stirring twice throughout cooking, until the walnuts are toasted. Remove from the oven and spread the walnuts in one layer. Sprinkle with flaky salt. 

  2. Add the greens to a large salad bowl. Add the POM POMS, oranges (if using), cranberries, goat cheese, and walnuts. Gently toss the salad. 

  3. To make the dressing. Combine all ingredients in a glass jar and shake to combine. Just before serving, drizzle the dressing over the salad and gently toss. Enjoy!

Chicken Salad

 Source: Aunt Denice

Ingredients

2 cups cooked chicken, chopped (I use rotisserie chicken from Costco)

1T lemon juice

1/2 cup mayonnaise 

1/4 t salt

1/4 t pepper

1/3 cup toasted almonds, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped 

1-2 cups purple grapes, sliced in half

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Serve on croissants or as is.

Coleslaw

MY FAVORITE COLESLAW RECIPE
TOTAL TIME: 1 HOUR 20 MINS (INCLUDES CHILLING TIME)
PREP TIME: 20 MINS
From: Melskitchencafe.com

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1 green onion, chopped
1/2 large carrot, chopped (or 3-4 baby carrots)
1/8 cup fresh parsley leaves
1/2 cabbage head
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning
1 tablespoon white vinegar 

DIRECTIONS:
Using a food processor, gently process the bell pepper, onion, carrot, and parsley, being careful not to over process. The mixture should be in small pieces but not mushy.
Cut 1/2 of the cabbage into chunks and place in the food processor and process lightly, again making sure the mixture doesn’t become mushy – it should be in small, fine pieces.
Slice the remaining cabbage into thin strands.
In a large bowl, toss together the cabbage and the processed vegetables.
In a separate small bowl, mix the mayonnaise, seasoning salt, black pepper, sugar, lemon-pepper and vinegar together and allow to stand for 5 minutes.
Combine the mayonnaise mixture with the vegetables, folding until the cabbage and vegetables are evenly coated. Chill for 1 hour. The coleslaw is best served within 1-3 hours as the leftovers tend to get watery and the flavors lessen after a long stay in the refrigerator.

Cafe Rio Chicken and Pork Salad

My sister has made this ans she says that the next one makes a ton. The recipe says it serves 20. I usually make the entire thing and then freeze the left over meat in smaller portion sizes in bags because they make great enchiladas, burritos, and bbq pork sandwiches. You can be creative.

Cafe Rio Chicken or Pork Salad

Chicken
5 lbs chicken breast, boneless & skinless
1 small bottle zesty italian dressing
1 T chili powder
1 T cumin
3 cloves garlic, minced

Mix all ingredients together in a large crock pot. Cook on high for 5-7 hours. Remove chicken and shred with a fork. Reserve a small amount of juice and pour over shredded chicken to keep moist. Keep warm. (I never throw away the juice I just add the chicken back into it once it has been shredded. The chicken seems to soak most of it up)

Pork
Pork Roast
1 bottle of honey bbq sauce
1 T honey
1 liter coke

Place all ingredients in a large crock pot and cook on low all night. In the morning take the roast out leaving the juice in the crock pot, shred the roast. Place shredded roast back in the crock pot with the juice and leave on low.

I found this version for the pork too...sounds like it would be good.

Pork
Night Before:
3 ½ to 4 lb. Pork Roast
2 Tbs Brown sugar
1 to 1 ½ tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
Mix together and rub on pork roast. Put in crock pot on low. Cook all night.

Next morning,
add:1 can coke
1 cup chicken stock
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped

Keep cooking all day in crock pot on Low.
About an hour before serving, shred roast and add:1 cup brown sugar

Lime Rice
In a sauce pan saute:
2 T butter
1 yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced

In a large pot, bring the following to a boil:
6 2/3 C water
8 tsp chicken bullion
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
2 tsp cumin
2 small cans diced green chiles
1 T lime juice
1/2 tsp salt

Add onion and garlic to boiling mixture. Add 3 cups long grain rice. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

Pico de Gallo
4 fresh tomatoes, chopped
1 white onion, chopped
1/4 bunch cilantro, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp lime juice
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Combine ingredients together in a medium bowl

Tomatillo Dressing
1 pkg Hidden Valley Buttermilk Ranch Dry Dressing Mix
1 C buttermilk
1 C mayonaise
1-2 tomatillos, peeled
1/2 - 1 clove garlic, minced
1/2-1/3 bunch cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp lime juice
1/2 - 1 small jalapeno, seeds removed

Blend ingredients together in a blender. Add additional mayonaise if dressing is too thin. Keep refrigerated.

Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette Dressing (thank you Jen!)
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
3 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 c. fresh chopped cilantro
2 Tbsp lime juice
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp vinegar
1 small jalepeno, seeded & diced
Combine in blender or food processor.

Serve in the following order:
Tortillas
Shredded Cheese
Chicken or Pork
Black or Pinto Beans
Lime Rice
Red and Green leaf lettuce, shredded
Pico de Gallo
Guacamole
Fresh cilantro
Parmasan Cheese
Fresh lime slice
Tomatillo dressing

I also made the fried tortilla strips because I like them on top. To make them I just cut them into strips with a pizza cutter and fried them in a little olive oil until they were light brown.