BBQ Chicken Salad with BBQ Ranch Drizzle

I often think of salad as a side dish and not an actual meal.  I think there's ways to dress up a fun salad and make it more substantial, but most of the time I just find myself feeling unsatisfied.  Which is ironic because if I eat the protein and the salad separately, then my body is fine.  But put the meat on top and boom...no longer enough.  Well finally I have made a salad that is enough to stand alone as a full meal.  In fact, I actually felt full about half way through the salad...don't worry though, I still powered through and finished every last bite!  So, enjoy this salad...eat it as a full meal...or even as a side.  Either way, it is delicious, satisfying, and oh so nutritious!

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 boneless, skinless thin-sliced chicken breasts
• 1/4 cup BBQ sauce
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 6 cups chopped romaine lettuce
• 1 Roma tomato, diced
• 3/4 cup canned corn kernels, drained
• 3/4 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup diced red onion
• 1 Avocado diced or sliced small
• 1/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup Mayo
• 1/4 cup Milk
• 1 tbsp Ranch Mix Seasoning
• 1 tsp Chili powder
• 1 tsp Paprika
• 1/2 tsp Garlic powder
• 1/4 cup tortilla strip

Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium high heat. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper, to taste. Add to skillet and cook, flipping once, until cooked through, about 3-4 minutes per side. Baste with BBQ sauce and then let cool before dicing into bite-size pieces.

To assemble the salad, place romaine lettuce in a large bowl; top with chicken, tomato, corn, beans, onion, avocado, and cheeses. Drizzle BBQ ranch dressing on top of the salad and gently toss to combine (you don't need too much because of the BBQ sauce all over the chicken).

Serve immediately, topped with tortilla strips.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Glaze

My kids love maple bars...like love them.  If they didn't like my hips so much I would love them too.  When we lived with my parents last year we were very spoiled and my kids got maple bars every Friday when my dad bought them for his seminary class.  Well now we don't have seminary donuts and my kids have been playing their sad, sad song for too long.  So when the opportunity to make cinnamon rolls presented itself, I figured I would have to incorporate maple somehow.  These pumpkin cinnamon rolls with maple glaze are seriously finger licking good!  Like toss the maple bars aside good.  Relatively easy to make too!  So give them a try...you won't be sorry!

Dough
2¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
¼ cup warm water
about 3 cups of flour, divided
⅔ cup pumpkin puree
½ cup milk
¼ cup butter, melted
¼ cup sugar
1¼ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon vanilla

Filling
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1½ teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
4 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small sections

Glaze
1½cup powdered sugar
1-2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon maple extract
1 tablespoon maple syrup

To prepare the dough: Dissolve yeast in warm water in a large bowl and let stand five minutes. Add ⅔ cup flour, pumpkin, milk, butter, sugar, salt, nutmeg, and vanilla to bowl and mix well. Transfer to a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook and knead on low 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Add flour 1 tablespoon at a time until dough forms a ball and is mostly no longer sticky. (May still be a bit tacky)

Coat a large bowl with cooking spray. Place dough in bowl and cover. Place bowl in a warm place and allow dough to rise 45 minutes or until doubled in size.

To prepare the filling: combine sugar, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice in a bowl. Cut in butter with two forks or a pastry cutter until mixture resembles course crumbs.
Punch dough down. Allow to rest 10 minutes. Roll dough into a rectangle, about 12x12 inches. Sprinkle with filling. Roll tightly, pinch ends to seal, and slice into 9 sections. Place sections flat side down in a well greased 8x8 inch square pan. Cover and allow to rise about 30 more minutes or until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 375. Bake rolls about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool slightly.
Prepare the icing by mixing together powdered sugar, milk, maple extract, and maple syrup. Drizzle over rolls and serve warm.

Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers

These little pockets of spicy cheesy bacony goodness are just the ticket for your next sporting event...or family gathering...or just anytime you need a little morsel of delicious.  They are relatively easy to throw together and are always sure to impress.

12 jalapenos cut in 1/2, cleaned out...the better you clean them out the less spicy they will be...if you want them to have a kick then leave in more of the ribbing/seeds.

8 oz cream cheese

12 slices of bacon cut in 1/2 length wise

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place 1 tbsp of cream cheese into each open faced jalapeno.  Wrap with bacon and put onto a lined sheet pan.  Bake for 30 minutes and flip over so underside can crisp up.  Cook for 15 more minutes or until bacon is crispy all the way around.  Serve warm!

Carne Asada SoCal Burrito

So in Okinawa we had our taco rice...a meal that makes people say "wait...what?"  So it was only natural that in San Diego we would have carne asada burritos...with french fries in the burrito.  Yes you heard that right...they put french fries right into the burrito.  While it is in fact an artery clogging meal...it is delicious and definitely worth it every once in a while. They also do carne asada fries, which are essentially nachos with french fries instead of chips.  Loaded up with all their nacho goodness.  Also artery clogging, also delicious!  So while this meal seems like a lot of steps...it is actually not much more work than your regular tacos.  I whipped it up in about 30 minutes, not counting marinating time...and most of the ingredients I already had in my pantry and fridge.  Because of the french fries...the kids were also amazed...they love anything with french fries!!

Marinade:
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup orange juice
1/3 cup lime juice
2 tbsp fresh minced garlic
1 tsp pepper
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp oregano
1/4 tsp ground cloves
4 lbs carne asada meat...or skirt steak sliced thin

Mix together all marinade ingredients except the meat.  Once all ingredients are mixed, add then add the meat.  Cover and refridgerate for minimum of 2 hours, and up to overnight.  Grill on high heat until meat is charred and cooked through.  Slice into strips and serve hot.  Serve with the below ingredients and layer like a delicious burrito!!

5 cups shoestring french fries, seasoned with seasoning salt and baked crispy
romaine lettuce, shredded
pico de gallo
black beans
crumbled Queso fresco
guacamole
12 flour tortillas
hot sauce

Creamy Mushrom Chicken with Bacon

This is one of those delicious meals that everyone (who loves mushrooms at least) will love.  I served it over mashed potatoes and the meal was so stinking good.  As intimidating as it sounds too, the meal took me 30 minutes from start to finish...no marinating, not a ton of chopping veggies, and comes together in a pinch.  I like to get the Costco mushrooms too which are way cheap, and will do this meal with plenty left over for a second mushroom extravaganza.  And homemade cream of mushroom soup...what's not to love!!

6 boneless skinless chicken thigh - you can use breast, but I promise you the depth of flavor you will get from the thigh is oh so worth it!!
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
3 tsp Italian seasonings
1 tsp garlic powder
12 oz sliced white mushrooms
3 Tbsp de-stemmed and chopped thyme
12 slices cooked and crumbled bacon
2 cups heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste

Trim your chicken of excess fat and season on both sides with salt, pepper, and Italian seasonings.  In a skillet (or BBQ if it's nice out) heat pan to medium high, add olive oil and cook chicken on both sides until chicken is no longer pink and juiced run clear.  Chicken should be nice and browned on both sides.  Remove chicken from pan and add in your mushrooms.  Cook mushrooms down until they are nicely browned, add in bacon, thyme, and heavy cream.  Reduce pan to a simmer and cook until the cream is nice and thick...think gravy.  Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste.  Add chicken back in pan and give everything a whirl.  Top with extra thyme and serve immediately.  Enjoy over quinoa, mashed potatoes, or even just along side some steamed veggies or a salad...Any way you do it...just enjoy!!

Payday Bars

This recipe is a long time family tradition. We make on our holiday goodie plates...it has been requested at family celebrations...and most importantly the recipe is a recipe the whole family can get in on. The kids love squishing the cake layer into the bottom of the pan, sprinkling the marshmallows onto the cooked cake layer...and then watching the marshmallows fluff up in the oven. I loved making this with my mom and I love making it with my kids. The recipe alone would be worth it just for the memories...but the bars are absolutely delicious. They aren't too rich so you can eat lots of them and not feel guilty...hahaha. Is that ever the case for dessert?! In any case, this recipe is delicious and definitely worth keeping!!

1 Yellow cake mix
1 Egg
3/4 cup butter

 3 cups mini marshmallows

2/3 cup light Karo syrup
1 pkg Reese's peanut butter chips
1/4 cup butter
2 tsp vanilla

 2 cups salted peanuts

Melt 3/4 cup butter in microwave, mix melted butter with egg and cake mix. Pat into the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Bake for 10 minutes at 325 degrees. When cake comes out of the oven, immediately sprinkle marshmallows over the top and then bake for another 5-7 minutes, or until the marshmallows are puffed up and toasty.

 While the marshmallows are toasting, mix together the remaining ingredients - with the exception of the peanuts. Melt in the microwave until completely melted and smooth.

When the cake comes out of the oven with the marshmallows nice and toasty, spread the melted mixture over the top and spread to evenly coat the entire cake. Sprinkle the peanuts over the top and lightly press into the mixture to make sure they stick. Cool completely and then cut into bars and serve!