Blueberry Chicken Salad & Roasted Apricots

I made these two dishes for dinner last night and both Matt and I loved them so much I thought I'd share! They'd be great for your 4th of July celebrations.


First, the Grilled Chicken Salad with Feta, Fresh Corn & Blueberries, courtesy of The Pioneer Woman. If you know me at all, you know how much I love her. This recipe definitely doesn't disappoint! It's very simple to make and would be perfect for a picnic on a hot summer day. I served it on big leaves of romaine lettuce, but you could also toast up some bread or just eat it right off the plate with a fork.


I followed the recipe pretty closely. I did marinate my chicken for a few hours in a combo of lemon juice, olive oil, dill, garlic & salt, however. It gave the chicken really great flavor.


This made enough for dinner for 2 plus lunch for 2 the next day. (I'm actually eating the leftover right now. Yum!)

www.thepioneerwoman.com

4 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts

Salt And Pepper, to taste

Olive Oil, For Drizzling

3 stalks Celery (inner Light Green Stalks), Finely Diced

2 ears Fresh Corn

1/4 whole Medium Red Onion, Finely Diced

3 Tablespoons Fresh Dill, Minced

4 Tablespoons Mayonnaise

4 Tablespoons Sour Cream

1/4 cup Half-and-half

3/4 cups Crumbled Feta

1 whole Lemon

1 teaspoon Sugar (more To Taste)

Salt And Pepper (additional) To Taste

1-1/2 cup Blueberries

Place chicken breasts into large plastic storage bag. Pound with a mallet or rolling pin to flatten to 1/4 inch uniform thickness. Season chicken with salt and pepper.

Heat grill and drizzle chicken with olive oil. Grill chicken on both sides until done, about 7 minutes per side. (Rotate halfway during grilling each side to ensure pretty grill marks.) Remove from pan. Allow to cool.

With a very sharp knife, shave kernels off each corn cob. Combine with the onion and celery. Set aside.

Mix together dill, mayonnaise, sour cream, feta, and half-and-half. Stir in sugar, squeeze in lemon juice, and add salt and pepper. Stir, then taste. Add more salt if necessary; do not undersalt!

Slice chicken on the bias to create flat, randomly shaped pieces. Throw into a bowl with celery, onion, and corn. Stir to combine. Pour half the dressing over the ingredients and toss gently. Add more as desired, but don't overcoat the salad; should be light!

At the end, toss in the blueberries to lightly coat them in the dressing. Serve, then sprinkle individual helpings with feta.

Find the original blog post, with a printable recipe here.

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Next up, a super simple but incredibly delicious dessert from Joy The Baker. Roasted Apricots with Honey Mascarpone. This is also a great warm weather treat. 

I ended up using agave instead of granulated sugar (only because I was actually out of granulated...who runs out of granulated sugar?!) and it worked out fine. I also used it instead of honey to sweeten the mascarpone because I already had it out and I'm lazy. I didn't use lemon balm, because I didn't have any. I'm sensing a theme here...

Anyway, these are awesome. You should make them.

www.joythebaker.com

4 apricots, halved and pits removed

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/2 cup marscarpone cheese

1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon chopped mint

1 teaspoon chopped lemon balm (optional)

Preheat broiler.  Place sugar in a shallow bowl.  Dip apricot halves in sugar and place in a oven safe dish.  Place dish under the broiler and bake for 3 to 4 minutes.  Keep an eye on the apricot, and carefully rotate the pan as necessary.  Sugar will melt, boil and begin to brown.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.

In a small bowl, mix honey into mascarpone cheese.  Place slightly cooled apricots on a plate.  Top with a dollop of mascarpone mixture, and a sprinkling of fresh mint and lemon balm.  Serve.

These apricots are best served just after they’re baked.

Original blog post & printable here.

The Lady & Sons Lasagna

I made this lasagna for my discipleship community a few weeks ago and everyone seemed to love it. It's far from healthy, but we'd been fasting the previous 24 hours so I didn't feel TOO guilty about the calories. It's from the always fabulous Paula Deen and I stuck pretty closely to the original recipe. I noted any edits or changes I made below. Make this for a special occasion and enjoy!

photo from foodnetwork.com 

Ingredients

• 2 cups canned, diced tomatoes
• 2 cups tomato sauce
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup onions, diced
• 1/2 cup green bell peppers, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• 1/4 cup chopped, fresh parsley leaves
• 11/2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning
• 11/2 teaspoons The Lady's House Seasoning (recipe follows)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons seasoning salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef

• 6 to 9 Long strips lasagna noodles (I used "no boil" noodles and they worked great!) 
• 12 ounces cottage cheese, mixed with 1 beaten egg and 1/2 cup Parmesan
• 1 cup Gruyere cheese, grated
• 1 cup Swiss cheese, grated
• 2 cups cheddar, grated
• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
• 1 cup mozzarella, grated

Directions

To make the sauce, in a stockpot, combine the tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, onions, peppers, garlic, parsley, seasoning mixtures, sugar and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 1 hour. 

Crumble the ground beef in a saucepan. Cook until no pink remains, then drain off the fat. Add the ground beef to the stockpot. Simmer for another 20 minutes. 

While the sauce simmers, cook the pasta according to the package directions. (I was able to skip this step because of the no boil noodles) 

If sauce is too thin, for your taste, you can thicken it up at this time by mixing 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and a 1/4 of a cup of cold water. Bring sauce back to a boil. Stir in cornstarch mixture, stirring constantly. 

Remove bay leaves.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

To assemble lasagna, place a thin layer of sauce in the bottom of a 9x13x2-inch pan. Layer 1/3 of each, noodles, cottage cheese mixture, Gruyere, Swiss and cheddar cheeses. Pinch off small pieces of cream cheese and dot over other cheeses. Add another layer of sauce. Repeat layering 2 to 3 times ending with sauce. This may be covered and refrigerated at this point. (I assembled the lasagna the night before, refrigerated it and baked it the next day. Turned out great!) 

Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and top with mozzarella and continue to bake for another 10 to 15 minutes. Note: If lasagna has been refrigerated, bake for 40 minutes total.

House Seasoning (I just estimated the ratios for a total of 1 1/2tsp. I guessed and it turned out fine) :)

1 cup salt

1/4 cup black pepper

1/4 cup garlic powder

Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Delicious Pimento Cheese

This Pimento Cheese is a delicious recipe from Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook and is a southern favorite. I had never tasted such amazing and naturally tasting pimento cheese spread in all my life. I ate pimento cheese on crackers all through high school, so when I saw this recipe I thought I might make it just for sentimental value, but then I realized how good pimento cheese could actually be. The last three times I have made this, I have enjoyed it on toasted bread and with other picnic items. I recently enjoyed it on a picnic at The Getty in Los Angles. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I have!

Pimento Cheese

Makes 2 cups: enough for 12 people for grazing

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
1 red bell pepper
3 cups of finally grated extra sharp cheddar cheese
2 ounces (about 1/4 cup) softened cream cheese, cut into pieces
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Turn on the broiler. I like to use my toaster oven for this. Place the pepper on its side on the toaster tray or dry skillet and slide it under the broiler until the skin blackens on the side facing up, about 3 minutes. With tongs, turn the pepper so that an unblackened side faces up, and repeat until the skin is blackened on all sides. The pepper will start to softened and lose its shape. Place the pepper in a small bowl, cover it, and let it steam for 5 minutes as it cools down.

2. Uncover the bowl. When the pepper is cool enough to handle, transfer it to a cutting board, reserving any liquid in the bowl. Remove the blackened skin with your fingers and discard. using a paring knife, cut open the pepper, remove and discard the stem and seeds, and chop the pepper into 1/4-inch dice. you should have about a 1/2 cup.

3. Place the grated cheddar in a medium bowl and add the cream cheese pieces, the mayonnaise,the diced red pepper and its liquid, and the red pepper flakes, distributing them evenly over the cheese. With a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, blend the ingredients together until the spread is thoroughly mixed, about 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

4. Transfer the pimento cheese to a plastic container or bowl, cover tightly, and store in the refrigerator. Pimento cheese keeps in the refrigerator for 1 week.

Fresh Tortellini with Mushrooms and Pancetta

in an attempt to make something quick and delicious, i stumbled upon this recipe over at cooking light's website. it was indeed quick and delicious. and even though i didn't purchase all the pre-cut/diced/minced stuff, the entire cooking process still took less than a half-hour.

fresh tortellini with mushrooms and pancetta (via cooking light)

ingredients:

1 (9-ounce) package fresh cheese tortellini

3 ounces pancetta, diced

1 cup prechopped onion (i used a red one, and chopped it myself)

1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic (i used 1 clove of fresh garlic)

1 (8-ounce) package presliced cremini mushrooms (again, i cut them myself)

2 cups bagged baby spinach

1 cup organic vegetable broth (a few reviews said the recipe was too liquidy, so i only used about 1/2 cup)

1/2 cup sun-dried tomato bits (i used more like a 1/4 cup since i'm not a huge fan of these guys)

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 cup (1 ounce) preshredded Parmesan cheese

directions:

cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain and keep warm.

heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; add pancetta. cook 5 minutes or until almost crisp, stirring occasionally; drain. add onion, garlic, and mushrooms; cook 4 minutes or until onion is tender, stirring frequently. add spinach, broth, tomato, and pepper. cook 2 minutes or until spinach wilts, stirring constantly. toss with pasta. divide evenly among 4 bowls. sprinkle evenly with cheese.

enjoy! i'm off to deal some drugs...

Sesame, Snow Pea & Noodle Salad

We got back to L.A. from a very filling Midwestern Christmas and have been trying some lighter recipes from Eating Well. We have yet to be disappointed, and this was one of my favorite lunches we've had thus far. It's light, it has fresh vegetables aplenty, and it's easy to make. For those of you who actually have a job (ha), I imagine it would be easy to make portions ahead of time to bring to work. Just mix in the dressing when you're ready to eat.

Things we did different: We used Thai chili paste instead of hot sauce (since that's what we had), and bought already toasted sesame seeds (because that's all we saw).

Sesame, Snow Pea & Noodle Salad {via Eating Well}
Makes 4 servings

4 cups (12 ounces) small snow peas, trimmed of stem ends and strings
1/2 pound (2 cups) daikon radish, cut into julienne
8 ounces soba noodles
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon miso, mixed with 1 tablespoon hot water
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro
Salt, to taste
Hot sauce, to taste
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted

Put a large pot of lightly salted water on to boil. Halve snow peas on the diagonal. Cook the peas in the boiling water until bright green, about 1 minute. Add daikon and immediately remove vegetables with a slotted spoon; refresh in cold water. Blot dry.

Return water to a boil and cook noodles until al dente, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain and refresh under cool water.

Whisk vinegar, miso mixture, oil, sugar and ginger in a large bowl until blended. Stir in cilantro. Season with salt and hot sauce. Add bell pepper, snow peas, daikon and noodles and toss to coat. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

Garlic Butter Roasted Mushrooms

Found this on Smitten Kitchen and made it for a Christmas potluck. It's a quick and glorious side dish that requires minimal effort, just a little chopping. The original recipe doesn't indicate how much it makes, but I'd say it's good for about six people. My one regret is not following Smitten Kitchen's directions and having a baguette to soak up the juices. I had to sip from a spoon instead. Not as good.

Smitten Kitchen's Garlic Butter Roasted Mushrooms (found here)

{hijacked, in turn, from gourmet.com}

1 pound mushrooms, such as cremini or white, halved lengthwise if large

2 TB capers, rinsed and chopped

3 large garlic cloves, minced

2 TB vegetable oil

3 TB unsalted butter, cut into pieces

2 TSP fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Preheat oven to 450F with rack in middle. Toss mushrooms with capers, garlic, oil, 1/8 tsp salt and several grinds of paper in a 1.5 - 2-quart shallow baking dish. Top with butter and roast, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are tender and golden and bubbly garlic sauce forms below, 15-20 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and parsley, season to taste. Serve immediately, with crusty bread on the side for swiping up the juices.

Never too many cooks in the kitchen

Hey, everybody. Some months ago, a few of us were joking about creating a church cookbook. Well, the best ideas come out of nonsense (bacon, for example), and many moons later, we are finally starting a Kairos West LA cooking blog. This is a collaborative effort at sharing our recipes (the successes, failures and mediocrities) and tips, so you may post and edit at your leisure. And when we all become so famous and get book deals and have to go on tour, you can say that you always knew the Internet would be a big deal...but not as big as the church.