Tag Archives: Food

Greatest Chicken Salad Ever

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Everyone should have a favorite go-to chicken salad recipe. If you don’t, use this one. It’s the greatest in the world. I thought I’d posted this ages ago, but when my sister went looking for it there was nary a chicken salad recipe to be found.  So here it is.  Depending on how I’m feeling, I sometimes add a dollop of Dijon to this recipe as well. When making it for a large crowd, I do the whole thing and add the almonds last. Then I separate half of the recipe out and don’t put nuts in it. You know, to be kind to the anti-nut or allergy oppressed people.  This stuff is great served on sandwiches, crackers, open-faced as a crostini or just piled on a big bed of spinach or lettuce. You can use it for appetizers at a party, a nice tea sandwich or for a light summer dinner! Enjoy! Continue reading →

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Crunchy Granola Bars

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Granola bars are practically required for camping. Usually I just purchase the standard crunchy kind in the green box. But, as I was making my grocery list and going thru cookbooks, I saw this recipe and realized I had everything to make these already in my cupboard. Homemade, I’d have control of the ingredients and they’d be a whole lot less expensive than buying a couple boxes. Double win! These are a great healthy snack packed with oats and nuts. Lightly sweetened with honey and brown sugar they are crunchy, filling and delicious. Continue reading →

Rocky Road Clusters

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These should have an aka after the title. Also known as “pieces of heaven”. When I read this recipe I started drooling after the first two ingredients. Chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk. Yeah. You really can’t go wrong when those two things are going to be combined. I’ve never been a fan of rocky road ice cream because the good stuff is surrounded by chocolate ice cream – which I despise. I’ve finally found a version of rocky road that I love. These are a fudgy base filled with marshmallow and pecans. You all know how I feel about nuts, but in this case, it just works. These candies are super quick to put together and make for perfect camping food in my opinion. Throw them all in some tuperware and off you go. I love food that travels well. And to top it off, they are gluten free! Yippee! Continue reading →

Island Vacation Cupcakes

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Our worship pastor at church is currently on vacation in Hawaii. How nice to be him. He’s posting gorgeous pictures of sandy beaches and brilliant blue skies. I spent my time today huddled in my freezing garage waiting for the few brave souls who could bear the wet dreary 55° day to come check out my stuff for sale. Why is it that every time my neighborhood garage sale happens, it’s remarkably crummy weather? Oh that’s right. I live in Seattle. And it’s May. As I was preparing for my morning tomorrow at church I decided this batch of island vacation cupcakes would be a perfect way to ease the jealousy of the rest of the church volunteers.  I’m sure I’m not the only one who is wishes I could be somewhere tropical, sipping a frosty beverage and listening to the lulling sounds of waves crashing on a pristine beach. And I don’t even really like sand. But I need a vacation. I’d be willing to deal with a beach to get one. Continue reading →

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

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There’s a girl I know. She bakes a lot of wonderful things. She says these are her favorite cookie. If, of all the delicious things she creates, these are her top pick, they must be awesome. I had to try them for myself. But just one. I’m selling the rest tomorrow at our garage sale. If they last that long. Because they are absolutely delicious. Peanut butter and oatmeal are a fantastic combo. Why didn’t I ever think to do a cookie combining them before? Thanks Shan! Continue reading →

Perfect Roast Chicken

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I love roasting chickens. I only recently discovered this easy (yes, easy) dinner. I used to think roasting a chicken meant slaving away all day, basting repeatedly. Not so. A few minutes of prep and then into the oven it goes. No work required for an hour and a half while it cooks. Just think of all things you could do in that amount of time! Read some books to the kids, do the dishes, fold some laundry, paint your nails, get some sun in the front yard while eating strawberries from a bowl. I highly recommend that last one. You should try it some time. It’s amazing. Then you come back inside high on vitamin D to the delicious smell of a roasted chicken. There is not a better way to spend an afternoon. Continue reading →

Double Chocolate Raspberry Truffles

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This is one of my favorite recipes. It requires practically no skill at all, the time commitment is very short and the payoff is HUGE. Your friends will think these chocolates belong in a fancy boutique somewhere. Where people handle things with white gloves and there’s soft music playing in the background. The smell alone makes me think I’m in an old-fashioned chocolatier. (inhale deeply) Oh, it’s so decadent. I’ve made hundreds & hundreds of these truffles in various flavors and they are all fabulous. I always put them in little mini-cupcake liners. Somehow, everything looks better when wrapped in a crimped paper shell. This newest variety I put together for my end of year MOPS tea tomorrow. I can’t wait to share them with my gals! Continue reading →

Easy French Bread

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My husband says I should call this Freedom Bread. But I just can’t do it. French bread is a classic. One of the foods I would want if I was ever on a deserted island (and cheese/butter please). I made this quickly and easily in my bread machine, but you can do this recipe even if you don’t own one.  Instructions for non-bread machine users are at the bottom of the post. I found a neat tip today for giving homemade bread a crispy crust. Throw a couple of ice cubes in the bottom of your oven at the start of the baking time. Then, for a crispier crust, put a couple more in there halfway thru. I did this with these loaves today and it worked like a charm! I love odd ideas that actually work. Continue reading →

White Chocolate Razz-Ma-Tazz Bars

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I was given a cookbook yesterday by a dear friend (thanks Bri!) and couldn’t wait to try it out. It’s Nestle Classic Recipes, and these bars just had to be made immediately. I love white chocolate. There aren’t nearly enough recipes out there that include it. This one paired it with two other amazing flavors. Raspberry and almond. Yuuuuuum! I was particularly interested in the “grease and sugar” instructions for the pan. I’ve never seen that before. Worked great. The sugar blended with the buttery crust and gave it a nice sweet crunch on the exterior of these bars. Continue reading →

Easy Cheesy Breakfast Bake

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This is a delicious filling breakfast dish that you can easily make for brunches, playdates, lazy Saturday mornings or whenever you have a hankerin for a special (but simple) breakfast. You can put the whole thing together the night before and just pop it in the oven at your leisure in the morning. I absolutely LOVE recipes you can make in advance. You won’t believe how easy it is to throw together. You’ll be out of the kitchen in about 10 minutes flat. Continue reading →