Apple Orchard Chicken Salad

My goal is back to bringing my lunches to work - so here we go :)  This was super good - I used light miracle whip instead...gotta be a little healthy :)  AND I added hard boiled eggs - making some egg salad (multi-lunching here)  Yum yum and takes like 5 seconds!

Kraft Magazine - makes 10 servings

Ingredients:
1/2 cup mayo
1/4 cup sour cream
salt and pepper
3 cups chopped cooked chicken (I used rotisserie chicken)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 green onions, sliced
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 apple, chopped

Mix first 3 ingredients in large bowl.  Add remaining ingredients; mix lightly.

Sweet and Sour Supper

The title says sweet and sour - and it is sweet sweet sweet!  I liked it - but it was TOO sweet, so I think I will cut the sauce in half.  I liked the mixture of hamburger, rice, mushrooms, and green peppers...but the sauce is "eh". 

I'm back to udpate...so the first night - Ross said he liked it.  But then when we both had it for leftovers the following day - we decided we wouldn't make it again.  It was just a weird combo - and the sauce was too sweet :(

Taste of Home Casseroles - 6 servings

Ingredients:
1lb ground beef
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons salt / pepper

3 cups cooked long grain rice

1 can (7oz) mushrooms stems and pieces, drained
1 medium green pepper, sliced

Sauce:
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
2 1/2 cups cold water

1/3 cup white vinegar

1/3 cup ketchup
salt and pepper

In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.  Stir in the chili powder, oregano, salt and pepper.

In a greased 3 quart baking dish, layer the rice, beef mixture, mushrooms, and green pepper; set aside.

in a large saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch; stir in the remaining sauce ingredients until smooth.  Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.

Pour over layered ingredients.  Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 30 minutes or until heated through.

Shrimp Nacho Bites

Cookbook club in the house!!  It was "Wine-o night" at cookbook, so we made some yummy wine apps to help cleanse our palates!!  This was SUPER good!!  As in - we ate them all....every last bit!  Super easy to make too!!  We had an absentee tonight - so we didn't have the supplier of tortilla chips - but I had some scoops on hand, and those worked great!!  I know it says "if desired" with the cilantro leaves - but let's just say "it's desired!"  It would have tasted even better with cilantro on top!!

Makes 24 appetizers – 40 calories per app

Ingredients:
24 large corn tortilla chips

½ cup black bean dip (from 9-oz can)

¼ cup chunky-style salsa

24 cooked peeled deveined medium shrimp (about ½ lb)

1 avocado, pitted, peeled and cut into 24 slices **Dobes was really good at cutting avocadoes - so I caught her in the act!!

½ cup shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese blend (2 oz)

24 fresh cilantro leaves, if desired

Directions:

Top each tortilla chip with about 1 teaspoon bean dip, ½ teaspoon salsa, 1 shrimp, 1 avocado slice and about 1 teaspoon cheese.  Place on cookie sheet.

Set oven control to broil.  Broil with tops about 5 inches from heat 2-3 minutes or just until cheese is melted.  Garnish with cilantro leaves.  Serve immediately.

WINE-O PLUG

Here are some of the wines we sampled - all were really good!!  I'm a "white" girl - however, I brought the Flock cause it's one of those only red wines I'll drink.  So if you "don't drink red" - give it a try!!  It's a little sweeter - I said it smelt and tasted a bit smoky - would go good with gouda cheese.

The Toasted Head was really good too - Perrine is the red drinker, so she brought that - but from my small sample standpoint - I liked it :)

And of course, I liked everything else - I'll drink any white wine :)

Five Friends - Chardonnay

Chateau Ste Michelle- Harvest select Riesling

Chateau Ste Michelle- Sauvignon Blanc

Flock - Pinot Noir

Toasted Head - Cabernet Sauvignon

Fresh Fruit Bruschetta with Orange-Honey Cream

Ok - so I like fruit....and I like bread....but I never put them together!!!  AHHH sooooo goooood!!!!!!!!  I totally ate this for bfast this am too - little fruit salad gone AWESOME :)  So I guess you can tell I really liked this....you have to try it - the cinnamon on the bread...good idea!!  haha  Can't really say much else except for - look how pretty it is?! 

OBB Cookbook

Ingredients:
1 baguette or similar-sized French bread loaf
4 Tablespoons butter, melted
2 Tablespoons  granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1-1/2 cup diced strawberries (about 10 medium strawberries)
1 cup finely diced mango (about 1 medium mango)
1cup finely diced kiwi (about 3 kiwi)
1/2 cup Breakstone’s Sour Cream
3 Tablespoons honey ("P - I think you can handle this"...OR maybe not)1 teaspoon orange zest (little plug for my microplane - crate n barrel - zests my life every time!)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Slice bread into 1/2 inch slices.  Place in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet.  Use a pastry brush to brush each piece with melted butter.  Combine cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle evenly over bread slices.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges are toasted.  Set aside to cool.

While bread is toasting, combine Breakstone’s Sour Cream, honey, and orange zest.  Stir to combine and place in the fridge.

Combine strawberries, mango, and kiwi and stir gently to combine. When bread is cooled, place about 1 tablespoon of fruit mixture on top of each toasted bread slice and drizzle with sweet sour cream mixture.  If needed, thin sour cream sauce with 1/2-1 teaspoon orange juice.  Garnish with mint leaves if desired.  Serve immediately.

Baked Brie with Pepper Jelly

Can't go wrong with cheese.....and just check out that AWESOME platter.  What is that - a little drink glass?!  ahhh I'm obsessed with this platter :)  (Von Maur - little pegs that come for each season too).  Anyways - food....haha.  This was SUPER good...I would have used a different cracker - maybe more like triscuit style, but I'm kinda picky when it comes to crackers.  Still amazing - and the pepper jelly is awesome!

 

OBB Cookbook

 

Ingredients:

8-oz. wheel of baby Brie

1/2 package puff pastry (found this in the frozen dessert aisle), thawed for about 40 minutes at room temperatures

About 2-4 tablespoons pepper jelly (try to find some without onions, garlic, or other spices; fruit juice is okay;  Dobes found great stuff in the jelly aisle - actually called pepper jelly)

1 egg white mixed with about 2 teaspoons cold water

 

Preheat oven to 400.

 

Gently unfold the puff pastry sheet, mending any broken spots. Cut the brie in half lengthwise and place one half, rind down, on the pastry. Spread with jelly and then place the other half of the brie, rind up, on the cheese. If necessary, trim the excess pastry and then fold it over the cheese, sealing the edges. If desired, decorate the brie with decorative shapes cut from the excess dough and brush it with the egg white/water mixture.

 

Place the bundle, seam-down, on a lightly greased baking dish. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. Serve with crackers, bread, and fresh fruit (like strawberries, apples, pears, and grapes) if desired.

 

This is perfect as an easy, elegant holiday appetizer - you could make little leaves for the "decorative shapes" portion for the fall....OR pumpkins....or holly.  :)

Fancy Grilled Cheese

Ross and I ate at Darby's before a Twins game awhile back, and I've been meaning to try their grilled cheese.  This is SOOOOO good!!  You can't go wrong with grilled cheese - but this is fancy like and even better!!!

Ingredients
Sourdough / multi grain bread
Red onion, sliced
Jalapeno, sliced
Tomato, sliced
Pepper jack cheese slices
Cheddar cheese slices
Sunflower seeds

Butter bread - put butter side down in pan on medium-low heat.  Put slice cheese - then top with red onion, jalapeno, tomato, sunflower seeds - then place another slice cheese.  Top with other bread piece.

Start flipping until cheese is melted through - amazing!!

Fruit Pizza

Went to the Way COOL Cooking School (in EP) last night with my coworkers - and that place is awesome!!  So much fun....and such a great concept!!  We were split into teams and made some super amazing food!  We impressed ourselves with how good we could all actually cook....even in Iron Chef Challenge situation!!  My group was tasked with dessert - so I thought I would copy my recipe on here.  We got creativity points....but you could make this into a flag for the 4th of July....or a smiley face or something too :)  Try it out - SUPER good!

 

Makes 12 large servings and 24 smaller servings - OBB Cookbook

Crust:
1 c. real butter (no substitutions!)
1 c. white sugar
1 egg (make sure to use a large or extra large egg)
1 tsp. almond extract
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. table salt
Zest of 1 orange

Creamy Topping:
1 8-oz. package cream cheese (light cream cheese is fine)
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. orange extract
1 c. whipping cream
1/2 c. powdered sugar

Pizza Topping:
1 pint strawberries, washed, hulled, sliced, and patted dry
1 pint blueberries, washed and patted dry
1/2 c. dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips

For the crust, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy–about 2 minutes. Add in egg and extract and mix to incorporate.

In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt.  A very important note: It’s important to correctly measure your flour or you will end up with a dry, crumbly dough. Never, ever use your measuring cup to scoop up the flour.  Use a regular sized spoon and spoon the flour into the cup and then level it off with a knife.

Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until completely combined. Add the orange zest and mix until combined.

Spray a round pizza pan with non-stick cooking spray and using your hands and a rolling pin, spread the dough out to the edges of the pan. If desired, you can add a decorative finish (like fluting) to the edges of the crust. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.

When ready to bake the crust, preheat your oven to 350. Bake the crust for 18-25 minutes or until golden brown around the edges and completely baked in the center. If you prefer a crisper crust, you can bake the crust for a longer amount of time. Allow to cool completely.

When the crust is almost cool, use an electric mixer to combine the cream cheese, orange extract, and brown sugar until light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, whip the cream and powdered sugar until medium peaks form. Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture and combine well.

Spread the cream cheese mixture over the cooled crust. Arrange the berries as desired over the creamy topping. Place the chocolate chips in a heavy-duty small Ziploc bag and heat in the microwave for 20 seconds at a time, mashing the bag around until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Cut a small corner off the bag and drizzle the chocolate over the berries. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Roasted Tomatoes with Basil & Green Bean Salad

The "winners" of the Iron Chef Challenge made up this lovely side....it actually was really good - so I asked the team to share the recipe with me.  Try it out - super good and really easy to make!!

 

 

Ingredients

Tomatoes (cut into wedges and seeds removed)

Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar

Black Pepper

Salt

Sugar

Fresh Basil Leaves (cut into lengthwise strips – I believe that’s called “julienned” J - I learned that last night!)

Place tomatoes on baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil & balsamic vinegar and sprinkle the other seasonings on tomatoes.

Bake at 450 for 25-30 minutes.

Top with fresh basil – serve warm or at room temperature!

**It might also be delicious to sprinkle some parmesan cheese over them before/with the basil!

GREEN BEAN SALAD

Ingredients

Green beans

Garlic

Olive Oil

hardboiled eggs

mustard

yukon potatoes

Peel potatoes and boil until soft.  Cook green beans with garlic in some olive oil.  Then hardboil some eggs and chop.  Through all together and stir some mustard to coat.  Super yummy!!

Stuffed Mushroom Caps

Went to the Way COOL Cooking School (in EP) last night with my coworkers - and that place is awesome!!  So much fun....and such a great concept!!  We were split into teams and made some super amazing food!  While we were picking out our menu - they gave us some yummy treats to eat.  I got the recipe from them - and can't wait to try them on my own now :)

Ingredients:
2 packs mushrooms
1 pack cream cheese
crumbled bacon
Basil
Olive oil
Garlic
Cayene pepper

Pull stems of mushrooms out – cut up into small pieces (usually only cut up 1 package).  In fry pan – use 1.5 TBL olive oil, 1.5 TBL garlic, and cut up mushroom pieces (then cool).  Mix cream cheese, 1/4 t cayenne pepper, crumbled bacon, basil, fried mushrooms all together.  Put those into tops of mushroom caps – then bake at 325 for 20 min or until golden on top.

Pan Con Tomate

Went to the Way COOL Cooking School (in EP) last night and my manager is from Argentina - so he made up this yummy appetizer for our team, which was a "home town favorite".  (hence, the name in Spanish).  Our team is in all day regional meetings - so let's just say - we smell of GARLIC.  If you don't like garlic, you probably want to stay away :)  sooooo gooooooddddd.

Ingredients:

French bread

Lots of garlic….

Roma tomatoes

Olive oil

Prosciutto

Slice the bread into small pieces – toast for a few minutes.  Rub garlic cloves, tomatoes, olive oil onto each piece of bread.  Then top with slice of prosciutto – and place in oven to warm.

Yum, yum, and garlic in my tum J

Eggplant Parmesan

Wanted to give eggplants another try....this was good - but not great.  AND of course, Ross said "it would taste better with some meat in there".  :)  It is pretty good for you though - no noodles...just lots of cheese (but calls for all low or fat free).  I don't know that I would make it again....I would go for the real thing!

8 servings - Gina's skinny recipes

Ingredients:
1 large eggplant (2 lbs)
1 tbsp olive oil
12 oz fat free ricotta
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp Pecorino Romano
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 medium egg
2 cups reduced fat mozzarella (I used Sargento)
3 cups tomato sauce
salt

Start by making the sauce if you don't have any already made. While the sauce simmers, slice the eggplant into 1/4 inch thick slices. Lightly salt the slices and put in a colander to release excess moisture for about 1/2 hour. Lay on paper towels to soak up any extra moisture.

Preheat oven to 450°. Brush eggplant lightly with olive oil on both sides and place on cookie sheets. Bake for 20-25 minutes, turning half way through until eggplant is golden brown.

In a medium bowl combine ricotta, egg, parsley and 1/4 cup of grated cheese.

In a 9x12 baking dish, put a little sauce on the bottom of the dish and put a layer of eggplant to cover the bottom of the dish. Top with 1/3 of the ricotta cheese mixture, mozzarella cheese and sauce. Add another layer of eggplant and repeat the ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese and sauce until everything is used up. Top with sauce and the mozzarella cheese and the remaining grated cheese.

Cover with foil and bake until cheese is melted and everything is bubbling, about 30 minutes at 400°. Remove foil and bake an additional 8-10 minutes. Take it out of the oven and let it sit about 10 minutes before cutting. Enjoy

Spicy Honey Chicken Salad

Been out of town all week, so needed an amazing meal that was super easy!  This salad was SUPER good - and Ross even liked it for leftovers (impressive)!  Super quick too - and easy to half it for 2 peeps!

 

This serves 4 large salads or 6 smaller sized ones - OBB Cookbook

Ingredients:
1-2 heads Romaine or Red Leaf Lettuce
2 ripe but firm mangoes, chilled
2-3 ripe but firm avocados
Thinly sliced red onions
Honey-Citrus Vinaigrette
Spicy Honey Chicken

While chicken is grilling, wash lettuce and divide among serving plates. Slice avocados, onions, and mangoes and place them on top of the lettuce. When chicken is finished, let it sit for 5 minutes before slicing to preserve the juices. Then slice it up and divide among the salads. Drench it all in the Honey-Citrus Vinaigrette and pretend you’re at a fancy restaurant!

Honey-Citrus Vinaigrette

Whipped up this lovely dressing to go with the Spicy Honey Chicken Salad .  My picture only represents 1/2 of the ingredients below - I didn't want to have to throw away dressing, and we only made enough salad for the 2 of us for one night :)

OBB Cookbook

Ingredients:
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 T grated onion
1/3 C fresh orange juice
3T fresh lime juice
2T honey
3/4 t cumin
1/2 t salt
1/4 t ground black pepper
1/2 C vegetable oil

Place all ingredients in a tightly sealed jar and shake your bootie (and the jar) vigorously. Store in the fridge, and shake before dressing salad.

Spicy Honey Chicken

We needed something we already had and easy tonight!  We've been out of town for a week - and didn't get home till late last night, so this was PERFECT!!  Chicken would be really good with rice - noodles - you name it.  We made the Spicy Honey Chicken Salad with it though :)  Sooooooo good!!!

OBB Cookbook

Ingredients:

8 boneless skinless chicken thighs, about 2lbs

2 t vegetable oil

Rub:

2 t granulated garlic
2 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/2 t coriander
1 t kosher salt
1 t cumin
1/2 t chipotle chili powder

Glaze:
1/2 C Honey
1T Cider Vinegar

 

Combine the rub spices in bowl and mix well.

Use kitchen shears (or a pair of clean scissors) to trim off any excess fat from the chicken pieces. Pat dry. Drizzle oil over chicken and rub in with your hands to lightly coat all the pieces. Then toss chicken with the spice rub to coat all sides well. Use your hands and get in there! Grill chicken for 3-5 minutes on each side, until cooked through.

While chicken is cooking, warm honey in the microwave so it’s not so thick. Add the vinegar and combine well. Reserve 2T honey glaze for later. Take the rest and brush on chicken (both sides) in the final moments of grilling.

If you don’t have a bbq, try it on an indoor grill pan or use your broiler. Just be sure to open a window in case you burn your glaze!

Take that extra couple tablespoons of glaze - and drizzle on top! 

Camping Pizzas

We love making our own pizzas when we camp :)  So easy and everyone can make what they want!!

Ingredients:

Pita sandwiches
Pizza sauce
Pepperoni
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Canned mushrooms
Onions, chopped
Tin Foil

Throw all your toppings in the pita - wrap up in tinfoil and throw in the coals of your fire.  Then eat away :)

Sun-Dried Tomato Burgers

Cookbook club in the house!!!  Such a fun group of ladies - and it was full of wedding and baby talk!!  Danielle is getting married in 9 days (yes, I made Danielle wear that hat...) - and Burkes is due with baby Burkes in 8 weeks!!  So exciting for both of them!!

Our menu tonight was awesome!!!  We had these burgers with German Potato Salad and Grilled Summer Fruit.  So so good!!  I wish we had more for leftovers cause I'm totally craving the meal again!!  We all agreed that you could make these burgers even MORE amazing with some cheese - so feel free to try that out when you make them!  The "dressing spread" had a kick for those that don't like spice - and for those that do like spice - add more jalapeno (or keep some seeds on there).  BUNS - totally worth buying onion hamburger buns....so good with this burger!!

Great Grilling and Casual Cookouts - makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

1lb lean ground beef

1 tablespoon finely chopped, drained, oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes

1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel

1/4 cup light mayo dressing

2 tablespoons snipped fresh basil

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped

4 onion hamburger buns

1 cup lightly packed arugula or spinach leaves

In a medium bowl combine beef, tomatoes, lemon peel, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper; mix lightly but thoroughly.  Shape into 4 1/2-inch-thick patties.  Grill patties on the rack of an uncovered grill directly over medium heat for 14-18 minutes or until no pink remains, turning once.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine mayo dressing, basil, and jalapeno pepper; mix well.  For the last 1-2 minutes of grilling, place buns, cut sides down, on grill rack to toast.  Top bottom halves of buns with burgers.  Top with mayo dressing mixture and spinach.  Add bun tops.  Then eat with a bunch of amazing people :)

German Potato Salad

I am not really a fan of the store bought potato salad - so I was excited to give this a try.  As we started to make it I thought it looked really weird.  I was a little hesitant and kinda made excuses in case it didn't taste good - BUT it was amazing!!  It's different than your typical potato salad, but it was so so good!!  There were "no kisses goodbye" at this cookbook club - but the mosquito's were going to leave us alone for some time (due to the garlic)

OBB - 8 servings

Ingredients:
1 lbs. small baby potatoes (red, Yukon gold, etc.)
3 oz bacon (about 1/2 of a standard package)
1/4 cup minced onion
2 cloves minced garlic
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon Creole mustard (or a mild coarse-grain mustard, not a strong one in the stout little glass jars)
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1/8 cup fresh dill or 1/2 tablespoon dry dill


Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. While the water is heating, quarter or slice the potatoes. When the water comes to a boil, add the potatoes and cook until you can pierce them with a fork but not to the point where they are mushy or falling apart. Drain the potatoes and run some cold water over them.


While the potatoes are cooking/cooling, cut 6 ounces of bacon into bite-sized pieces. Place the bacon in a cold skillet and then turn the heat up to medium and cook until the bacon is crispy. While the bacon is cooking, whisk together the vinegar, water, sugar, salt, pepper, and mustard. Set aside. Remove the bacon from the skillet with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate, reserving the drippings in the pan.


Add some minced onion and minced garlic and cook until fragrant and the onions are translucent. Add the vinegar/mustard mixture and turn the heat to high. Cook on high for about 3 minutes or until the dressing has reduced by about 1/3. Remove from heat and add the cooked potatoes. Gently toss the potatoes in the dressing and let it stand for about 5 minutes. Add the bacon and dill and gently toss again and then transfer to a serving dish. Garnish with fresh dill sprigs and serve immediately.

Grilled Summer Fruit

This was a perfect summer dessert!!!  It could for sure be a side dish too - it was so so good!!  Plus - you feel like you are eating healthy too cause there is fruit in there with your ice cream!!  This is a must try!!

Giada - 6 servings

Ingredients:
nonstick cooking spray
3 firm but ripe nectarines, halved and pitted
3 firm but ripe plums, halved and pitted
3 firm but ripe apricots, halved and pitted
6 skewers
3 tablespoons sugar
Vanilla ice cream

Trick to "halving" nectarines or plums....as Burkes said "this just rocked my world"....cut them in half - but then twist the two sides apart (instead of trying to rip them apart).  Worked great!!

Spray a grill rack with nonstick spray and prepare a charcoal or gas grill for medium-high heat, or preheat a ridged grill pan over medium-high heat.  Thread 1 piece of each fruit on each of 6 skewers so that the cut sides line up and lie flat.  Sprinkle the sugar over the cut sides of the fruit.  Let them stand until the sugar dissolves, about 10 minutes.

Place the fruit skewers on the grill cut side down.  Grill the fruit until it's heated through and caramelized, about 5 minutes.  Place 1 fruit skewer on each plate and serve with a scoop of ice cream.

Pimiento Cheese Spread / Sandwiches

In this cutie cookbook - it has like "bride and groom theme" meals - so I decided to make the picnic suggestion for tonight's dinner. We made this spread into sandwiches - and teamed it up with the Lemony-Tarragon Crap Dip with Salt and Vinegar Chips.  We really liked these sandwiches - they were so good!!  I brought it to work as a snack - and ate the spread with some chips....equally awesome!  Ross got creative and added tomato slices and ham onto his sandwich (remember it's not a meal unless it has meat....) - but that was really good too!!

Bride and Groom Cookbook - Makes about 3 cups

Ingredients:
8oz extra-sharp white cheddar cheese
8oz extra-sharp aged yellow cheddar cheese
1/2 cup mayo
1 jar (4oz) pimientos, drained and finely chopped
2 teaspoons finely grated yellow onion
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons hot picante sauce
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup chopped pitted green olives
small dinner rolls
tomato, cut into slices (optional)
Ham (optional)

Finely grate the cheese into a medium bowl.  Add the mayo, pimientos, onion, sugar, pepper, picante sauce, parsley, and olives and stir until well incorporated.

Spread mixture onto dinner roll - and top with ham / tomato slice.  OR eat with corn chips / celery as a snack.

Refrigerate, covered, for at least 2 hours to allow the flavors to develop.  The pimiento cheese spread will keep, tightly covered and refrigerated for up to 1 week.

Lemony-Tarragon Crap Dip with Salt and Vinegar Chips

So in this cutie cookbook - it has like "bride and groom theme" meals - so I decided to make the picnic suggestion for tonight's dinner.  We didn't get fresh crab meat - so we liked this, but neither of us where in love with it.  I thought it tasted too "fishy"....but the concept of fish and chips was good!  Would maybe try it again - and go big on the crab meat.  I bet that would be better!!

Bride and Groom Cookbook - Makes 2 cups (serves 8-10)

Ingredients:
1/4 cup (1oz) cream cheese at room temp
3 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
2 tablespoons mayo
1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, plus more as needed
2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon, or 3/4 dried
2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill, or 1/2 teaspoon dried
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
8oz fresh crab meat, picked over for shells, well drained
1/4 cup finely chopped cucumber
salt and pepper
salt and vinegar chips

Combine the cream cheese, red onion, mayo, lemon juice, tarragon, dill, and lemon zest in a small bowl.  Stir in the crab meat and cucumber.  Season with salt, pepper, and lemon juice to taste.  Refrigerate until chilled, at least 30 minutes.  Serve with chips

Spiced Chicken Mini-Burgers with Peanut Sauce

So was looking for a quick fix tonight cause I wanted to work out - grocery shop - and still eat before 7....so found this and decided to make it.  It was quick and easy to make - but the Sodahls weren't in love with it.  It was good - but it wasn't great.  Ross doesn't really like the "curry / ginger" taste - and I thought it was "eh" - so I'll still eat it for leftovers tomorrow, but probably wouldn't make unless in a pinch.

Serves 4 - kraft magazine

Ingredients:
1lb ground chicken
2 teaspoon red curry powder
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
salt
1/3 cup peanut butter
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
12 mini-pita rounds (or small dinner rolls)
cucumber

Preheat broiler.  Combine chicken, curry powder, ginger, salt - mixing well.  Form into 12 balls and flatten to 1/3 inch thick patties.  Broil 3-4 minutes per side, or until cooked through and lightly browned.

Combine peanut butter, honey, lime juice, soy sauce, and 2 tablespoons water in a glass bowl; microwave on high for 30 seconds, then whisk until smooth.  Split the pita rounds.  Place chicken patties inside and top with a dollop of peanut sauce and 2 cucumber slices.