The recipe for this second Fall Picnic sandwich is written differently than how I actually made it.

I’m giving you the recipe for the sandwich at its best. I changed it for the picnic by using chipotle mayonnaise and a cilantro dressing instead of plain mayonnaise and balsamic vinaigrette because I was already using balsamic vinegar on the first sandwich.

It is far better with the balsamic than it was with the cilantro.

For extra flair and fun, I wrapped and tied the center of the sandwiches with parchment and twine.

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I often wander through farmer’s markets and produce departments with the best intentions. Squash for a gratin, cucumbers for a dip, apples for a pie, spinach, and mushrooms for a salad.  Unfortunately, once I get home and pack it all away in the produce drawers – gratins, dips, pies, and salads don’t always get made.

Such was the case with my most recent packages of mushrooms and spinach. The meal that the salad was planned for didn’t happen when we were invited out to dinner with friends, and for some inexplicable reason, I didn’t feel like a spinach salad the next night. OK, honestly, I was too tired to make an entrée and a salad.

Instead, I combined the ingredients and just made one dish. The result wasn’t especially inspiring, but it did get dinner on the table … with minimal thought, time, and effort. Sometimes, one can’t ask for more than that!

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We’re on a chicken kick at my house. Boneless skinless chicken breast is what I make for dinner when I’m uninspired. Not that that’s a bad thing.

After all, one can’t be creative and “in the mood” to make a “wow” dinner every night!

Even so, this quick and easy pasta dinner put smiles on the family’s faces.

The best part …. even though the cupboards are quite bare … I had everything on hand and didn’t have to make a trip to the grocery store.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

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Here, as promised, is the second salad I served on “Dinner and Cards” night this past Friday.

Another super quick and easy main course salad that is perfect for summer. It is especially easy and summer-friendly if you start with a purchased rotisserie chicken.

I was too lazy (or maybe it was just too hot to make another stop while shopping) to get a rotisserie chicken – since they don’t sell them at Trader Joe’s, which was the only stop I made.

So, I started from scratch and roasted a little organic free-range hen instead.

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These mouth-watering BBQ chicken thighs were inspired by a recipe from the Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond.

When it comes to making bbq chicken quarters or just anything bbq related, there are many ways to make a recipe your own. For me, all I did was switch out peach preserves that she used to kick up some purchased BBQ sauce with red pepper jelly to really spice it up. The result – fantabulous!

These are what I was baking while the haboob rolled into and over Scottsdale and did a number on my 4th of July decorations the night before the party.

I neglected to let you know how all that turned out … it was fine. I spent the latter part of the night trying to track down all the blow-up stars that had been hanging from the front pillars. They were blown all around our cul-de-sac. I found about 2/3 of them that, the dark, and the rest the next morning. I was able to hang up and repair all the damage from the storm. So all’s well that ends well!

Now on to my bbq chicken.

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On May 29, 2011, I posted a recipe for Jalapeño Poppers.

Poppers are jalapeño peppers, cleaned out, filled with cheese, wrapped in bacon, and baked. And in this case, brushed with apricot preserves. The spicy morsels make for one delicious and addictive appetizer.

A little more than three years later, I have another delicious and addictive recipe for you … not little poppers, but instead, great big firecrackers!

I’m calling them firecrackers because they have an extra flavor explosion – chicken and BBQ sauce. The firecrackers can be sliced and served as appetizers or cut in half, on a diagonal, and served as the main course.

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Today’s post marks number 1,500. Fifteen hundred times that I’ve made an entry here!

It would seem appropriate to celebrate such a feat with a cake, cupcakes, or some sort of dessert. But no, instead we shall celebrate with a slow cooker chicken recipe. Not as exciting, but easier and healthier too.

You can use either frozen or raw chicken breasts for this recipe. I used frozen, as you’ll be able to see in the photos to follow.

Slow Cooker Honey-Soy Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon Sriracha
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
2 green onions, sliced on the diagonal

Cooked quinoa or brown rice
Lettuce leaves

Place the chicken in a slow cooker and season with salt and pepper.

In a medium bowl, combine the soy sauce, honey, vinegar, tomato paste, garlic, Sriracha, sesame oil, and onion powder.

Pour over chicken and cook on LOW for 3 hours if using raw chicken and for 4 hours if using frozen chicken.

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On Saturday night we had our Spain Reunion Dinner.

Peggy & Jim and Lorraine & John plus Dave & I spent a relaxing evening drinking sangria, nibbling on tapas, and dining on my paella.

I’ll share recipes with you all week. I shall begin with the star of the evening – the paella!

Begin this recipe the day before to marinate the chicken overnight. Up to 4 hours before serving, brown the chicken and cook the onion, garlic, and tomato base in the same pan. You can finish the dish when your guests arrive by bringing the base back up to heat and taking turns stirring as you enjoy your tapas and sip sangria.

A couple of disclaimers before I get to the recipe. I forgot to add the peas. I had a bag of fresh peas in the fridge and just forgot, much to the dismay of my husband, who loves peas. Sorry!

And the final photo was taken at the dinner table which was outside, in the dark, and I should have used a flash. Oh well, it will have to do.

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Yesterday’s classic minestrone soup was quite the hit, so how about another recipe with ingredients that anyone can find in any grocery store?

This easy chicken salad has only 5 ingredients and none of those five is mayonnaise, sour cream, or yogurt… no dairy and no mayo!

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A quick note before we get to today’s recipe: If you read yesterday’s post about the amazing cauliflower, you’ll recall that I said my friend, Ronnie had the dish at the Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans. Ronnie sent me a fabulous photo of the hotel lobby all decked out for Christmas. It’s a must-see, so I’ve added it to the bottom of that post, for all to enjoy. Check it out!

So… I heard about an amazing snack that is served at a bar in Brooklyn. The bar is called Pork Slope and the appetizer  – Is chicken & Waffle Sliders. How perfect would that have been for the Super Bowl?!?

Via

Dang it. Oh well, you know what I did? I served it as our Official Olympics Opening Ceremony Snack. Yeah, take that lopsided 2014 Super Bowl! You were not worthy of these Olympic sliders!

I found a recipe online, changed it just a tad… and …. it was a major hit with my two guys.

A quick word about the frozen waffles. The recipe I found called for Aunt Jemima’s frozen square waffles. I could not find Aunt Jemima waffles at my grocery store, nor could I find square waffles. Belgium waffles – that was all they had in any and all brands. The closest thing to a square that I was able to find were octagonal waffles.

What you want to use for each slider is four squares of a waffle for the top “bun” and another four square piece for the bottom “bun.”  Here is what I did.

Take a waffle.

Cut 3 “four square” pieces from each waffle.

A package of 6 frozen octagonal waffles yielded 9 sliders. Here’s the math:

6 waffles = 18 “buns” = 9 sliders

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