Waldorf Chicken Salad

I LOVE the Waldorf Chicken Salad at California Pizza Kitchen, don't you? Well, I had it a couple weeks back and wanted another one the next day. Only problem, Scott's not a huge fan of CPK so he didn't want to go there every chance we got. Soooooo, he suggested I just buy the stuff and make it myself. I thought there was no way it'd compare, but it DOES & I think this tastes pretty close to the original! I've eaten it for lunch every day this week & my sister and her husband were here this week and they even had it with me a couple of days as well! The only thing I omitted was the Gorgonzola cheese on top. So if you like it, add it to this recipe.

waldorf chicken salad:

spring mix lettuce
Granny Smith apple
red seedless grapes
candied walnuts
grilled chicken breast
balsamic vinaigrette dressing

*You decide how much of each ingredient you want in your salad, so play with it, you can always add more.

(I bought the big Spring Lettuce Mix from Costco for about $4, the grilled chicken breasts strips in a 2 pack at Costco for $10, the only place I was able to find to candied walnuts was at Walmart in their baking aisle for about $2.50 & I bought the balsamic vinaigrette dressing at Sprouts)

1. In a large bowl, combine as much lettuce that you want into the bowl, cut 1/4-1/2 of your Granny Smith apple into chunks & sprinkle in bowl put the rest of the apple into a ziploc for next time, cut as many of the chicken strips as you want into chunks & sprinkle in bowl, cut red grapes in half & add to bowl, sprinkle walnuts in to bowl, pour dressing over top (a little goes a long way) & then using a spatula stir your salad in the large bowl until the dressing coats all of your lettuce and ingredients. (If you like Gorgonzola cheese you can sprinkle that on top as well).
2. Transfer your salad to another bowl and enjoy!
And if you're feeling like making the "official" CPK balsamic dressing, Steph donated the recipe for us to try! I'm salivating already.....

official CPK dressing:

1/2 C. balsamic vinegar
2 TB. dijon mustard
1 TB. minced garlic
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt

*Whisk, then slowly add 1& 1/4 cup + 2 TB. olive oil.

Shredded Roast Sandwiches

We've made these a million times. Still a family favorite! Sometimes we put the meat on hamburger buns tonight we put it on french rolls & melted swiss cheese on them. Scott loves to put thousand island salad dressing on them & the kids and I like ketchup on them. Always good. Give em a try, you won't be disappointed!

shredded roast sandwiches:

3 lb. (approx) beef chuck pot roast
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. salt
3 bay leaves
1 onion sliced
1/3 C. vinegar

1. Combine all ingredients in crock pot, then add roast. Cover, cook on low 8-10 hours or high 6-8 hours flipping over half way through.

2. Remove chunks of roast & shred in a bowl (removing fat as you can), add juices & onions to bowl, stir. Put meat on buns, melt cheese on top add whatever else you'd like.

Crock Pot Black Bean Salsa Chicken

New recipe test. Another super easy recipe. My only change would be adding a little bit of chili powder or cajun seasoning or maybe a 1/2-1 package of taco seasoning mix to spice it up a bit. I'll dabble in a solution to the lack of "kick" this had. It does have 2 cups of salsa in it, but I think the addition of cream cheese mellows it out. Anywho, everyone ate it & thought it was good, just thought it could use a little spice. So if you make an alteration to the recipe you find a success, let me know!

crock pot black bean salsa chicken:

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can corn drained
1 can black beans drained
2 C. salsa
8 oz cream cheese
tortilla chips
shredded cheese

1. Place chicken in crock pot. Cover with drained corn, drained beans & salsa.
2. Cook for a few hours until chicken is done.
3. Place cream cheese in crock pot & cook additional 30 mins.
4. Remove chicken and shred in separate bowl, add back into crock pot, stir.
5. Serve over tortilla chips or rice. Top with cheese, sour cream, guacamole, olives or salsa.

Honey Lemon Chicken

It's Guest Chef time again & lo & behold it's my adorable little pregnant sister Kallie again! This looks really delish & I know I'll be trying it soon! Leave a comment on the blog when you're ready to delight us with one of your recipes! Your old, boring recipe is NEW & EXCITING to the rest of us so don't be shy & share your easy or difficult dessert, cookie, appetizer, main dish or soup recipe with us!

My family loves this chicken and it's healthy too! Even the 2 year old ate it with out ANY whining.

honey lemon chicken:

5 chicken breast halves

1/3 C. Honey
1/4 C. Lemon Juice
2 tsp. dried Rosemary leaves, crushed
1/4 tsp. Crushed Red Pepper

Combine honey, lemon juice, rosemary and crushed red pepper. Pour over chicken and baked uncovered at 350 for 45 minutes or until thoroughly cooked.

My tips:

• I like to turn my chicken over half way through the cooking time.
• I only use 1/2 tsp. of rosemary, because I'm not a huge fan of it.
• The last 5 minutes of cooking I drizzle a little extra honey on top of the chicken to give it a little crust.

I love to have leftovers because this chicken and sauce is amazing in a salad. I like to add just a drop of ranch for the creamy texture and use the honey sauce for the rest of the dressing.

your guest chef,
Kallie

Good Ol' Chocolate Chip Cookies

This chocolate chip cookie recipe is one from my Great Grandma Hancock. It's the one we used growing up & I still make when we need a good 'go to' cookie recipe or I'm craving some delicious cookie dough.....seriously. I gave Scott some cookie options tonight & these are the ones he wanted. Enjoy!

chocolate chip cookies:

1 1/2 C. sugar
1 1/2 C. brown sugar
1 1/2 C. butter flavored shortening
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3 1/2-4 C. flour
1/2-1 bag chocolate chips

1. Mix sugars, shortening & eggs well.
2. Add remaining ingredients & blend well.
3. Spoon onto cookie sheets & Bake 350 degrees for 8-10 mins or until light brown on top.

Crock Pot Chocolate Cake

Today is Valentine's Day. One more sweet surprise for the ones I love the most! I tried this new recipe for a cake made in a crock pot! I was so confused & intrigued by this, it had to be tried! A couple of my kiddos liked the whip cream more than the actual cake but the other two asked for more cake! Makes your house smell like warm chocolate!

crock pot chocolate cake:

1 box chocolate cake mix

1 C. sour cream

1 C. chocolate chips

1 C. water

4 eggs

3/4 C. vegetable oil

1 small box instant chocolate pudding

1. Spray crock pot with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Mix all ingredients in separate bowl with hand mixer. Pour into crock pot.

3. Cover & cook on low 6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours.

*My crock pot cooks really hot, I had it on high for only 2 hours and it was done, even burned a little bit around the outer crust, which was fine we just scooped out the cake in the middle. Just watch it depending on how hot your crock pot is.

4. Cake is done when you touch the top & it springs back a bit.

5. Top with cool whip & serve!

Red Velvet Cupcakes With Cream Cheese Frosting

I found a recipe on line that I was excited to try for Red Velvet Cupcakes made from scratch & I was all ready to make them until I could not find 2 bottles of red food coloring to save my life! The recipe called for 2oz. of red food coloring (that's a lot) & told stories of "be prepared to have your hands, kitchen towel, etc. be stained with the dye". But I was still willing to try. When I was unsuccessful at located that much red food coloring, I was somewhat relieved my hands would not be red for a week. I found another recipe that is as simple as can be & it got rave reviews from 12 of my closest friends at our GNO last night (hopefully they weren't just telling me that because they're my friends)! They're topped with a delicious cream cheese frosting so how could they not be? I really wanted to slather my body with cream cheese frosting & let it seep into my pores while I frosted these cupcakes, I resisted......but it smelled that good!

red velvet cupcakes:

1 Red Velvet boxed cake mix (told you it was easy)

1 small box of instant chocolate pudding

3 eggs

1/3 C. oil

1 1/4 C. water

1. Mix cake mix as instructed on box.

2. Dump dry instant pudding mix into batter & mix again.

3. Fill cupcake liners about 1/2 full with batter. Bake 350 degrees 20 mins.

4. Cool completely.

cream cheese frosting:

2-8oz pkgs. cream cheese, softened

1/2 C. unsalted butter (one stick), softened

1 tsp. vanilla

2 1/2 C. powdered sugar

pinch of salt

1. Mix cream cheese & butter until smooth. Blend on slow as you add vanilla, salt & powdered sugar. Once blended, turn mixer on high & blend until nice & fluffy. Use immediately or refrigerate. If refrigerated, frosting will need to be brought to room temp (& then blended to smooth again) before using.
I sprinkled some of the cupcakes with white chocolate shavings after I frosted them.
Also made some with Valentine sprinkles for a cute give away! Personally, I'd prefer extra frosting with the white chocolate shavings, but couldn't deny the kids their sprinkles! Enjoy!