Picnic Potato Salad

This is my FAVORITE recipe. The potatoes are soft and bite sized, the celery is cut to give a little crunch but not a mouthful in itself. There are NO raw onions because I can't stand that bitter after taste. Make sure to allow enough time for all the ingredients to cool.

I sometimes cook the eggs and potatoes the night before, then mix the rest the next day.

--- 2 - 2.5 lbs red skinned potatoes (wash/scrub and remove any bad spots, then cut into bite size pieces)

--- 2 - 3 hard boiled eggs

--- 1 stick of celery, washed and finely chopped

--- 1 - 2 cups of Best Foods brand mayonaise (depending on preference. I use about 1.5C)

--- 2 - 3 Tbls. dijon mustard

--- 1/2 - 3/4 C precooked and crumbled "Bac'n" pieces. These are usually in the produce/salad area or with salad dressings. You can, of course, cook your own bacon, let it cool then crumble it.

--- onion powder (maybe 1/4-1/2 tsp) and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

After the potatoes are washed and bad ends, if any are cut away, 1/4 the potatoes or cut into bite sized pieces. Add to a very large pot of boiling water and cook for 12-18 minutes or until the potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork. Or to your desired doneness. Not toooo soft, or else when you mix the other ingredients, they will turn into smashed potatoes.

Drain the water away and let the potatoes cool in the fridge at least an hour or overnight.

Peel and dice hard boiled eggs.

I like to make the "sauce" in a separate bowl: add all the remainder ingredients (mayo, dijon, pepper, celery, bac'n, onion powder) and mix until incorporated. Mix it into the potatoes, gently, until well coated. Adjust mayonnaise and seasonings as needed.

Keep chilled until ready to serve.

Crunchy Honey Mustard Chicken Fingers

I came across this recipe and I really liked that it was easy, kid friendly, and taste good as well.

1 lb - Chicken Tenders
1/4 C - honey, warmed
1/4 C - Dijon Mustard
1 C - Corn Flakes, crushed (I used more because I think it gives it more of a crunch)

Preheat oven to 425. Lightly grease a cookie sheet (For quicker clean up use tin foil)

In a small bowl, mix mustard and honey together. In another bowl, place the crushed corn flakes.

In assembly line fashion, dip the chicken tender in the mustard mixture, then roll in the corn flakes and place on the cookie sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes, or when cooked through.

Serves 4

Chex Muddy Buddies

Ingredients:

9 c Rice Chex cereal
1 c Enjoy Life chocolate chips
1/2 c sunflower seed butter
1/4 spectrum shortening
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 c powdered sugar

1. Into large bowl, measure cereal; set aside.

2. In 1 quart microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips, sunflower seed butter and shortening uncovered on High 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring evenly until coated. Pour into 2 gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag.

3. Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

The point of this recipe is to show how easy it is to make things allergy friendly. This recipe is gluten, dairy and nut free. Of course you can substitute any of these ingredients out for a less allergen friendly food. As for using a 2 gallon bag, what a laugh! I don't know anyone with one. What I did and I suggest you do is shake the Muddy Buddies in a gallon ziploc in two batches with 3/4 c powdered sugar each. This is a great lunch box treat, especially if one of your child's classmates has a nut allergy. Enjoy!

Posted by Lia Freeman

Enchilada Suiza Chicken and Rice

Ingredients:

6 pieces chicken
4 cups white rice
2 4oz cans diced green chilies
1 8oz package cream cheese, lite, nonfat or regular (or soy cream cheese)
2 boxes chicken broth
1 onion diced
3 green onions diced
3 cloves minced garlic
salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375

2. Measure rice into largest pan you have, I use a roast pan.

3. Dump in cans of green chilies, onion, green onion, garlic, salt and pepper.

4. Pour chicken broth into a blender until it is half full. Dump in all of cream cheese. Blend until smooth. Pour into roast pan with remainder of chicken broth. Stir everything together.

5. Place chicken on top and push them down into the rice. If you'd rather use the equivalent of chopped chicken be sure to stir afterward. Cover with aluminum foil as tightly as you can.

6. Bake for 1.5-2 hrs. Resist the urge to check for at least 1.5 hrs.

This recipe feeds an army and is awesome to freeze or for leftovers. If you'd like to use a 9X13 you can halve it. The idea for the recipe came to me because I love chicken and rice and I love enchiladas suizas. They're delicious chicken enchiladas with a creamy green chile sauce that is to die for. I was very pleased with this combination and I hope you enjoy it. BTW it's gluten and can be dairy free!

Posted by Lia Freeman

Orange Ginger Chicken

I got this from the Cooking Light recipe book and I love it!

Ingredients:

8 skinless chicken thighs (we use 4 breasts and it works out fine)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1 navel orange
3 Tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
chopped green onions

Directions:
1. Sprinkle chicken with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until browned.
2. While chicken cooks, grate 1 teaspoon orange rind and squeeze 1/4 cup orange juice. Add orange rind, juice, honey and ginger to chicken, scraping to loosen browned bits. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, 7 minutes or until chicken is done and orange mixture is syrupy. Sprinkle with green onions. Yields 4 servings.

I like to cook up broccoli, red and yellow peppers and mix them in at the end with the sauce to bring some vegetables into the meal. I also serve it over brown rice. Yummy!

Enjoy,
Emily Bowman

Quick and yummy oven roasted Panzanella

Panzanella is an Italian salad consisting of huge dried bread croutons and veggies. The idea is to toast your day old bread, (or a baguette you just bought) and use it as a base to feature season ripe produce. What I did was use ho-hum Roma tomatoes which I seasoned liberally with salt, pepper olive oil, and a thinly sliced shallot and roasted them along side one inch diced up pieces of a whole wheat french loaf that was also liberally seasoned. The result, FANASTICO!! It makes a super hearty side dish, and would obviously take the place of needing a bread with your meal. ENJOY!

Pre-heat your oven to a whopping 425, the idea is to toast your bread and caramelize the tomatoes and shallots.
1 loaf of french bread, I prefer whole wheat for this.
1 large shallot
6-8 Roma tomatoes, or other tomatoes as you prefer, even cherry
2 & 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons of garlic powder
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup of finely chopped fresh parsley

Dice your tomatoes into fairly large pieces, approx 1 inch pieces, they should be roughly the same size as the bread cubes. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Next, thinly slice the shallot into rounds and toss with the oiled and seasoned tomatoes. Set aside in a bowl while the bread is being prepared.

Cube up the loaf into 1 inch pieces and place into a large bowl and toss with the remaining 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the garlic powder and the salt and pepper to taste and lightly toss all the ingredients in the bowl together to evenly distribute the the seasonings. At this point you can taste one of the bread cubes and decide if you need to add more salt and pepper.

Place the bread cubes onto a large sheet tray first then add the tomatoes, shallot mixture onto the sheet tray. Pop the tray into the oven and in about 5 minutes check the progress. You are looking for a toasted effect on the bread (color means flavor, yum) and for the tomatoes and shallots to be just caramelized. This will all happen quickly in a matter of no more than 15 minutes if the oven was pre-heated.

Pull out the tray and dump the salad into a large bowl and toss with the chopped parsley and last, enjoy!

Herb-Garlic Beef Roast

This is from Better Homes and Gardens magazine, March 2008. It is super easy and super fast and WAY tasty (if you like garlic.)

17-oz. pkg refrigerated cooked beef roast au jus (can be found in the refrigerated meat section, WM has it for just under $5)
1 lb. small red potatoes
3 medium carrots
1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
freshly ground black pepper
3 Tbsp chopped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley (I use dried)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp finely shredded lemon peel

1. In large skillet cook beef roast, covered, over medium heat for 10 minutes. Uncover and simmer for 5 minutes more, until juices are slightly reduced. Meanwhile, quarter potatoes. Peel and diagonally slice carrots into 3/4-inch pieces. Place vegetables in a microwave-safe dish. Drizzle with EVOO and sprinkle with pepper; toss to coat. Tightly cover with lid or plate. Microwave on high for 10 minutes or until tender.
2. For herb-garlic mixture, in a small bowl combine parsley, garlic and lemon peel. To serve, stir vegetables into skillet with beef and juices. Divide among serving dishes. Sprinkle with herb-garlic mixture.

Serves 4.

~Kimberly Pueblo