Chicken Poppy Seed Pasta Salad

Chicken Poppy Seed Pasta Salad

8 oz pasta
2 cups shredded or diced cooked chicken
1 ½ cups halved red grapes
4 stalks celery, diced (about 1 cup)
½ yellow onion, diced (about 1 cup)
1 cup whole almonds

Poppy Seed Dressing
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup avocado or olive oil
¼ cup maple syrup
4 teaspoons poppy seeds
2 teaspoons sea salt

Mediterranean Pearl Couscous Salad

Mediterranean Pearl Couscous Salad

1 cup dry pearl couscous
1 lb cooked chicken breast, diced
1 can chickpeas (15.5 oz, rinsed and drained)
1/2 cup fresh herbs (dill and mint) finely chopped
4 Persian cucumbers diced
1 avocado pitted, peeled and diced
1 bell pepper, diced
½ cup pickled red onions
1 bunch green onions thinly sliced
½ cup feta cheese or goat cheese, crumbled

Homemade Yogurt Tzatziki Dressing

½ cup 0% plain Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon white vinegar
2 tablespoon lemon juice (juice of 1 lemon)
1 tsp lemon zest (zest of 1 lemon)
¼ cup olive oil
½ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
2 cloves garlic pressed
1 teaspoon honey
2 tablespoons dill, finely chopped

Before you begin: Cook couscous according to package instructions, rinse and set aside to cool. Cook chicken using desired method.

In a large bowl combine couscous, cubed chicken breast, fresh herbs, chickpeas, cucumbers, avocado, bell peppers, pickled onions, green onions, and feta cheese.

To make the homemade yogurt tzatziki dressing- in a mason jar, liquid measuring cup or bowl, whisk together the plain Greek yogurt, white vinegar, lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil, salt, black pepper, garlic, honey and dill.

Pour the dressing over the salad, toss to combine.

Magnolia Bakery Banana Pudding

I got this recipe from The Girl Who Ate Everything - she has raved about it for years and said that it's the first thing to go on Easter. She first had it in NYC and couldn't stop thinking about it. She bought the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook and this recipe was inside!

My youngest and I made this and it was delicious!! None of my children even like pudding and they all loved it!

Magnolia Bakery Banana Pudding

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 ½ cups ice cold water
1 (3.4 oz) box instant vanilla pudding mix
3 cups heavy cream
4 cups sliced barely ripe bananas, (see note)
1 (12 oz.) box Nilla Wafers

In a large bowl, beat together the sweetened condensed milk and 1 ½ cups ice cold water until well combined - about 1 minute. Add the pudding mix and beat well - about 2 minutes. Cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours or overnight. It is very important to allow the proper amount of time for the pudding mixture to set. It will be watery if you don't let it set up long enough.
In a large bowl, whip the 3 cups heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the whipped cream into the pudding mixture until no streaks of pudding remain.
Dessert can either be made in individual portions or in a trifle bowl with 4-5 quart capacity (a 9x13 baking dish also works).
To assemble dessert, arrange 1/3 of the Nilla wafers covering the bottom, overlapping if necessary. Next, layer 1/3 of the bananas, and 1/3 of the pudding mixture. Repeat twice more, garnishing with additional wafers or wafer crumbs on the top layer. Cover tightly and allow to chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours - or up to 8 hours, no longer - the bananas will start to brown.

Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup

I have searched high and low for a GOOD ZUPA'S COPYCAT Wisconsin Cauliflower soup recipe. I've tried a bunch. THIS ONE IS EVEN BETTER THAN THE ORIGINAL!!

I took ideas from a few different recipes and came up with this. My 14 year old (picky picky eater) claims this is better than the Zupa's soup. I agree!!

Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup (Zupa's copycat)

3 Tbsp butter
2 lbs cauliflower florets, roughly chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 c AP flour
16 oz chicken stock
1 pint heavy cream
1 1/2 c water
8 oz pepper jack cheese, shredded
16 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (keep some for garnish)
1 1/2 t Dijon mustard
2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper

In a large pot, melt butter over medium low heat. Add onions and cook about 5 minutes until translucent. Whisk in the flour and let cook for about 1 minute. Add the chicken stock, heavy cream and water. Add cauliflower and heat until boiling. Reduce heat and cook about 15 minutes - until the cauliflower is cooked through.

Transfer to a blender in batches to blend the soup to a luxurious texture.

Transfer back to cooking pot, add salt, pepper, Dijon and cheese a little at a time to let it incorporate into the soup. Cook for about 10 minutes to allow it all to come together. Serve warm!

Acai Bowls

I love an Acai Bowl - I really do! I googled to find a recipe so that I could make them at home and have the kids take them to work.

Acai Bowls
1 cup frozen fruit, your choice
3/4 cup liquid (orange juice, almond milk, coconut water)
1/2 cup greek yogurt
200 grams (2 packets) frozen acai puree, broken into pieces*
1/2 Tbsp honey

Toppings: granola, coconut, nuts, seeds, fresh fruit, etc.

Add the liquid and yogurt to your blender first. Add the frozen fruit and broken up acai. Blend until incorporated. Add additional liquid if needed.

Use a one cup measuring cup to transfer Acai blend to your tupperware. Drizzle honey over the top and freeze.

The morning you want to have it for lunch, take it out of the freezer and pack toppings to go.

*I have used Trader Joe's Acai puree (there are 4 packets in one bag) and I have also used Sambazon brand - found at any grocery store.

Beef and Sweet Potato Bowls

My daughters saw this one on Tik Tok and it's been eaten around the house several times. Last night I made it for dinner - so everyone tried it. It's an unusual combination of ingredients - but all of us thought it was good! Nice that you can customize it to your liking too - my youngest didn't want cottage cheese - which I get - but it was actually a nice counter balance to the sweet potato - like sour scream to a baked potato. 

Beef and Sweet Potato Bowls

1 lb ground beef

3 Tbsp Taco seasoning

Sweet potatoes (1/2 for each person)

Avocado (1/2 for each person)

Cottage cheese

Hot honey

*I added diced onions and diced bell peppers to ours bc they needed to be eaten.

You can cook the sweet potatoes however you want, but today we roasted them whole. 300 degrees for 1 hour and 25 minutes. They turned out perfect!!

Cook the ground beef, add taco seasoning and 3/4 cup water. 

Once the sweet potatoes are done, I peeled them and diced them. Added ground beef to my bowl, added avocado and cottage cheese. Salt and pepper all your ingredients except the ground beef. Drizzle with hot honey and eat!!

Sourdough Starter Help

As I've mentioned, my daughter and I took a class to learn how to make sourdough bread. It's been over a year now and my daughter has gone absolutely crazy for sourdough! She has perfected her recipe and I've changed the ratio's on my sourdough recipe to reflect those changes. 

I haven't made sourdough in several months - 4 or 5 - all the while my starter sat in my fridge. I have heard a million times that you can't kill your starter so I wasn't worried about it - until yesterday when I pulled it out of the fridge.

I poured it all out except for 50 grams. Then I fed it with 100 grams bread flour and 100 grams water. I let it sit overnight and when I woke up - there was absolutely NO PROGRESS!! Yikes!

I googled and researched and I came up with this: pour it all out except 50 grams. Then feed it with 50 grams bread flour and 50 grams warm water. A 1:1:1 ratio. It will take a few days of feeding with that ratio for it to come around again. It needs to be kept at a temperature between 70 - 78 degrees, so I put it in my oven with the oven light on. 

Feed every 12 hours. Keep using the 1:1:1 ratio. Keep on counter - DO NOT PUT BACK IN THE FRIDGE.

SIGNS OF LIFE:
Bubbles throughout (not just on top)
A mild tangy or yeasty smell
Any rise at all, even 25 - 50%

WHEN IT'S READY TO BAKE AGAIN:

Your starter is ready when it DOUBLES in 4 to 6 hours at room temp

Has a domed top that eventually just starts to flatten

smells pleasantly yeasty

WHEN TO WORRY:

Toss if you see: pink/orange streaks, fuzzy mold (green, black, white fuzz) 

Cheesy Potatoes

Years ago, we went to my mom's house for dinner and she served us Utah's famous Funeral Potatoes. My kids had never had them and THEY HATED THEM!

Recently, I wanted to make a special dinner for my son and asked what he wanted. He requested steak, cheesy potatoes and salad. I said "Funeral Potatoes?" he gave me a face and said "no, cheesy potatoes." He described them and again, I said "Funeral Potatoes." He specified - no canned soup, no cereal on the top - all the good stuff. We found the recipe of the EXACT potatoes he wanted and I made them!

WE ALL LOVED THEM! We have steak, some kind of potato and salad almost every Sunday (that's the way my husband and kids like it) so we are potato aficionados - LOL. Sweet Potato Casserole - Pommes Anna - Roasted Potatoes - Mashed Potatoes - Baked Potatoes - Scalloped Potatoes - you get the picture!!

I had to break the original recipe down from a 10 pound batch - and the easiest way to do it was in ounces - so bear with me...

Cheesy Potatoes

2 1/2 lbs shredded hashbrowns
12 oz onions, diced
3 oz butter
8 oz cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 c flour
8 oz sour cream
2-3 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 c milk
1/2 c heavy cream

Melt butter over medium heat in a large saute pan, add onions, salt and pepper and cook until translucent. Add flour and incorporate - cook for 2 minutes to get rid of the floury taste. Add milk and cream, whisk until smooth. Cook until it starts to thicken.

Remove from heat, add sour cream, mix well. 

In a large bowl, add mixture to potatoes and cheese - stir until incorporated.

Put everything in a 9 x 13 casserole dish. Cook at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Winter Salad

Winter Salad

1 head iceberg lettuce
2-3 asian pears (or apples), diced

Avocado, diced
Pomegranate seeds

Mandarin oranges
Crumbled goat cheese
Candied pecans

Brianna's Blush Vinaigrette Dressing

We've been living on this salad all winter! We have a Spring/Summer version of this as well - we all love it. It's so versatile too - just use what you have on hand! We didn't have avocado today but we had everything else! SO SO GOOD!!

I doubled this recipe and took it to my daughters soon to be in laws for Christmas dinner - it's that good!