Copycat: Chick-Fil-A Nuggets and Sauce

Ingredients:

For the Honey-Mustard sauce:

1/2 c. mayo

2 T. mustard (regular prepared yellow mustard)

1/2 t. garlic powder

1 T. vinegar

2 T. honey

Salt and pepper, to taste

For the nuggets:

8 chicken tenderloins or 6 chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces

2 1/2 c. flour

1/4 c. powdered sugar

4 t. salt

3 t. pepper

1 t. paprika

peanut oil or canola oil for frying

Recipe:

For the sauce:

1. In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients for the sauce, mix well, and set aside or pop in the fridge.

For the nuggets:

1. In a large dutch oven or stockpot, heat up the oil over medium-high heat to 375 degrees. (Note: If you don't have a thermometer for the oil, you can test the oil by dropping a small piece of chicken or batter into the oil and if it sinks and floats to the top with swift speed, the oil is just right. If it sinks and takes forever to come to the top, the oil is too cold. If it sizzles and immediately fries up, the oil is too hot.)

2. While the oil is heating, in a gallon Ziploc bag, combine flour, powdered sugar, salt, pepper, and paprika. Seal it and shake to combine well.

3. Throw the chicken bites into the Ziploc bag, close it, and shake until all are coated well.

4. Using a slotted spoon, fish out the nuggets and shake off excess flour and place on a clean plate.

5. Before you start frying, prepare a plate by lining sheets of paper towels to drain the nuggets after frying.

6. When ready, place about 10-12 nuggets in the oil and let cook for about 5 minutes (but it also depends on the size of your nuggets.)

7. Remove nuggets from oil with a spider strainer or slotted spoon and set on lined plate to drain. Continue until all nuggets have been cooked. *

8. Serve hot with dipping sauce, ketchup, ranch, or your favorite dip.

* Once they were fried, I let them drain for a minute or two and them threw them into the oven, about 200 degrees F, so they would stay warm while I cooked the rest of the nuggets.

Rating: 4.75 of 5

I debated whether I should rate these separately or together, but really, they would get about the same score anyways! I love honey-mustard dips, and this one was really good. It's not the best, but it really is soooo good. It's not super thick, you can taste the mustard and honey equally, and it goes perfectly with these chicken nuggets! The nuggets are really good too. That might have something to do with the fact that they are fried though.....but I'm sure there is a good way to bake them too. I'll have to figure that out, because, let's face it, frying is so messy, takes a long time, and isn't so pretty on my hips. I was surprised that the recipe called for powdered sugar, but it's a perfect amount. You can taste the sweetness, but it's not too much. Same with the paprika. One thing I love about these nuggets is that they are incredibly moist! The chicken cooks really well.

Source: Table for Two, Chick-Fuh-Lay Nuggets and Sauce

Barbecued Beef

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. ketchup

1/4 c. packed brown sugar

1/4 c. red wine vinegar

2 T. prepared Dijon-styled mustard

2 T. Worcestershire sauce

1 t. liquid smoke flavoring

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. ground black pepper

1/4 t. garlic powder

1 4-lb. boneless chuck roast, cut in half

Recipe:

1. In a slow cooker, combine ketchup, brown sugar, red wine vinegar, Dijon-style mustard, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, salt, pepper, and garlic powder; stir well.

2. Place chuck roast halves in slow cooker. Turn meat to coat with ketchup mixture. Cover and cook on High for 1 hour. Reduce heat to Low and cook 7-8 hours.

3. Remove roast, shred with two forks, and return to slow cooker. Stir meat to evenly coast with sauce. Continue cooking on Low for about 1 hour.

Rating: 4 of 5

I love crock pot recipes for several recipes. One reason that I love them is because I can cut the cook time in half by turning the heat from low to high. Cutting the time worked perfectly today. The meat in this recipe turns out nice and tender. Easy to shred. The flavoring was good, but it wasn't out of this world good. Oh, and just FYI, the meat doesn't taste like barbecued beef until after you've shredded it and put it back into the crock pot. I tasted it while shredding and thought the recipe was a total flop (as in tasted like plain roast beer instead of barbecued) so I made up a batch of mashed potatoes and served the meat on top. It wasn't bad. This would definitely be best in sandwich buns, but I think it would probably make for an interesting taco with a little bit of lime juice, cilantro, cheese, and tortilla strips. Actually, now that I think taco, it did taste similar to Cafe Rio's Pork Barbacoa. Except that's better than this.

Source: AllRecipes Dinner Tonight, pg. 22

Cuban Midnight Sandwich

Ingredients:

1/2 c. mayonnaise *

2 1/2 T. Italian dressing *

4 hoagie rolls, split lengthwise and toasted **

1/4 c. prepared mustard

1/2 lb. thinly sliced cooked deli turkey

1/2 lb. thinly sliced cooked deli ham

1/2 lb. thinly sliced Swiss cheese ***

1 c. dill pickle slices

1/4 c. olive oil

* Since I was only making 2 sandwiches, I obviously cut the mayo and Italian way down. Same thing with the mustard

** I just made my own sandwich bread instead of buying it.

***Swiss is great and all, but Provolone is the way to go. Love that stuff.

Recipe:

1. In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise and Italian dressing. Spread mixture on bottom half of toasted hoagie rolls.. Spread each roll with mustard.

2. On each roll, arrange layers of turkey, ham, and cheese. Top each with dill pickle slices. Add tops and brush tops and bottoms with olive oil.

3. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Place sandwiches in skillet. Cook sandwiches for 2 minutes, pressing down with a foil-covered plate or spatula. Flip and cook for 2 more minutes or until cheese is melted.

4. Remove from heat, place on plates, and cut in half diagonally.

Rating: 3.75 of 5

I loved the taste of the olive oil on the bread. The cheese didn't melt at all in the 4 minutes of cooking in the skillet, so next time I think I'll use our Panini maker. LaDon really liked the sandwiches which is great! I've never been a huge sandwich lover though, so for me to say it was pretty good is probably something. Right? Maybe not.

Source: AllRecipes Dinner Tonight, pg. 18

Creamy Caesar Salad

Ingredients:

2 oil-packed anchovy fillets

1/4 c. whole milk

1 garlic clove , crushed and peeled

2 T. champagne vinegar

1 t. Dijon mustard

1 c. mayonnaise

2 T. buttermilk

1/2 t. fresh lemon juice

Kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

Recipe:

1. Put the anchovies in a small bowl and pour the milk over them. Soak the anchovies for 30 minutes. (Soaking will give them a sweeter flavor.)

2. Drain the anchovies. Chop coarsely and transfer to a small food processor. Add the garlic, vinegar, and mustard and puree. Transfer to a bowl and fold in the mayonnaise and buttermilk. Season with the lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate in a covered container for up to 1 week.

Rating: 4 of 5

Of course, I love Caesar salad. It is one of my favorites and this recipe really nailed it! It's really good.

Source: Lauren Hastings, from Ad Hoc

Santa Rosa Valley Salad

Ingredients:

Salad:

1 box Uncle Ben's Wild/Long Grain Rice, cooked

juice of 1 Lemon

3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded or chopped

4 green onions, sliced

1 red bell pepper, chopped

3 oz snap or snow peas

1 avocado

1/2 cup pecans (opt)

lettuce for garnish

Dressing:

2 cloves garlic

1 T. dijon mustard

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. sugar

1/4 t. pepper

1/2 c. rice vinegar

1/3 c. olive oil

Recipe:

1. Mix the salad ingredients together and set aside.

2. Mix together the dressing ingredients.

3. Place lettuce leaves on a plate and pile salad mixture on top.

4. Pour the dressing on top of the salad or mix it in.

Rating: TBD

Once again, this was one I missed at salad night. It looked very delicious though!

Source: Sariah Tolley

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Ingredients:

Dressing:

3/4 c. strawberry jam

1 t. salt

1/3 c. sugar

1/2 t. dry mustard

3/4 c. canola oil

1/2 c. red wine vinegar

Salad:

Spinach

green onions, sliced

fried wontons (you can buy uncooked wontons at the store and then just fry them in canola oil)

chopped mushrooms (optional)

sliced strawberries

chopped nuts (I like to use macadamia nuts or almonds)

Recipe:

1. Mix the dressing ingredients together in a blender, food processor, or with a whisk.

2. Place spinach in a bowl. Layer the remaining ingredients.

3. If serving the whole salad with the dressing, put on just before serving.

Rating: TBD

We do a cooking group in our ward twice a month, and honestly, I can't remember the specifics about all the salads I had that night. They were all oh-so-good! I'll have to make this one and then rate it.

Source: Stephanie Hansen

Pear Salad

Ingredients:

2 T. pecans, chopped*

2 T. sugar

3 c. green leaf lettuce

3 pears, cored and chopped**

1/2 avocado, chopped

1/2 c. green onion, thinly sliced

* I really like the pecans, so I double them. Candied pecans...doesn't get much better.

**I definitely don't use 3 pears! Talk about a pear salad with a little bit of lettuce on the side! I usually only use 1-1.5 pears.

Dressing:

3 T. red wine vinegar

1 1/2 t. sugar

1 1/2 t. mustard

1/2 t. salt

1 clove garlic

pinch black pepper

Recipe:

1. Over medium heat, cook pecans with sugar. Stir until sugar melts and caramelizes. Pour pecans onto wax paper to cool and break in small pieces. Set aside. *

2. For the dressing, in a blender, or small bowl and whisk, mix together red wine vinegar, 1 1/2 t. sugar, mustard, 1/2 t. salt, and pinch of pepper. Set aside.

3. Layer the remaining ingredients in a salad bowl. Top with pecans and drizzle dressing on top of salad. (For better leftover results, pour dressing over individual servings of salad.)

* I usually double the caramelized pecans....they're my favorite part!

Rating: 4 of 5

A good batch of this is so addicting!! I love it! This is, what I consider to be (when things aren't in season), an expensive salad, so we don't make it a ton. But, we had it this week! When my mom was here this week, I had her make the dressing and I think she actually put in 3 T. of sugar (not 3 t.) and I think I like the extra sugar version better.

Source: I'm not really sure where this particular recipe comes from, but it's inspired by Emily Jones' delicious pear salad that we had at her place a few years back.

Apricot Glazed Pork Roast

Ingredients:

1 10.5-oz can Campbell's Condensed Chicken Broth*

1 18-oz jar apricot preserves

2 T. Dijon-style mustard

1 large onion, chopped (about 1 cup)

3.5-4 lb boneless pork loin

* Didn't buy condensed chicken broth? Not a problem, just improvise. 10.5-oz transfers to 1 1/4 c. So, I did 1 1/4 c. water plus 2 1/2 T. of chicken bouillon. I have no idea if that is even a little bit right, but whatever!

Recipe:

1. Stir the broth, preserves, mustard and onion in a 3.5-quart slow cooker. Cut the pork to fit. Add the pork to cooker and turn to coat with the broth mixture.

2. Cover and cook on LOW for 8-9 hours* or until the meat is fork-tender.

3. Remove the roast from the cooker to a cutting board and let it stand for 10 minutes. Thinly slice the roast and arrange on a serving platter. Pour the juices from the cooker into a gravy boat and serve with the roast.

*Or HIGH for 4-5 hours. This is what I almost always do with slow cooker recipes.

Rating: 4 of 5

I thought this was divine! LaDon's not such a huge fan of the "citrus-y" taste (although I don't think it tastes like that). For all those non-ham lovers, I think this would be a perfect meat dish for Easter Sunday. Ally also liked it, Daniel thought it was fun to play with.

Source: Campbell's Cooking Companion, pg. 180

Aimee's Quick Chicken

I didn't take a picture of this one, but LaDon's comment of "this looks crazy" should sum it up.

Ingredients:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

4 oz. prepared Dijon-style mustard

1/4 c. teriyaki sauce *

1/4 c. bacon bits

1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese

* I didn't have any teriyaki sauce on hand so I made a substitute teriyaki sauce of 1/4 c. soy sauce, 1/4 c. sugar, 1/4 t. ginger, and 1/4 t. garlic powder.

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Place chicken in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Spread mustard evenly over chicken and pour teriyaki sauce evenly over all. Sprinkle with bacon bits and cover with cheese.

3. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.

Rating: 2.75 of 5

So, this wasn't gross, but it wasn't good. It was just weird. It's just a really weird combination of tastes. And I like all of the ingredients it calls for. I won't make this again, and not because it didn't taste good...just because it was different. A little too different and not worth the effort of trying to adjust to the taste. It's funny to me that in the recipe book it got 4 of 5 stars.....weird.

Source: AllRecipes: Dinner Tonight, pg. 133.

Almond Dijon Baked Chicken

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast fillets

2 T. Dijon mustard

2 T. mayonnaise

½ c. almonds, chopped

cooking spray as needed

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 375. combine Dijon mustard and mayonnaise. Place chicken breasts in a baking dish lightly coated with cooking spray.

2. Coat chicken with mustard mixture, and top with chopped almonds. Bake, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes, or until no longer pink in the center.

Rating: 4 of 5

This was a nice tasty dish. LaDon loved it and declared that he doesn't know why we even go out to eat on dates because my cooking has gotten better than restaurant cooking. He's funny. Seriously though, the chicken was nice and tender, the flavor was full and zesty, and the almonds added the perfect crunch factor! If you like the Honey Mustard Grilled Chicken, you'll probably like this as well. Oh, and the best thing of all: I had absolutely every ingredient on hand and it's such an easy recipe that LaDon could make it.....with his eyes closed (if he wanted to cook)!

Source: Food on the Table

Deviled Eggs

Ingredients: (I did a half dozen)

12 large eggs

6 T. mayonnaise

2 t. mustard

1 pinch cayenne pepper

salt and black pepper *

paprika, for dusting

* I actually forgot to use salt and pepper and couldn't taste the difference.

Recipe:

1. Peel the hard boiled eggs, halve lengthwise and scoop the yolks into a medium bowl, reserving the egg whites.

2. Mash the yolks with the mayonnaise, mustard, and cayenne; season with salt and black pepper.

3. Spoon the mixture into the egg white halves and dust with paprika.

Rating: 3.75 of 5

I love that this recipe is so simple and that I had everything on hand. They tasted very similar to the deviled eggs my mom made growing up which means they're good. I didn't mash them very well, so they were a little chunky and Ally helped peel the eggs so there were some shell remnants in them, but overall, delicious.

Source: EveryDay with Rachael Ray, http://www.rachaelraymag.com/Recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipe-search/appetizer-starter-recipes/Deviled-Eggs-2

Pork Barbacoa ~ Cafe Rio Style

Ingredients:

4-5 lb. pork roast

21 oz. Dr. Pepper or Coke, do NOT use diet soda

1 c. brown sugar

3/4 c. white sugar

1 clove garlic, minced

7 oz. can chipotle chilies in adobo sauce (only use sauce unless wanted desire spice and blend 2-3 of the chilies)

6+ oz. salsa

1 t. dry mustard

1 t. cumin

1/4 t. cayenne pepper

Recipe:

1. Place roast in crock pot, cover halfway with water and cook on low for 12 hours.

2. After 12 hours, drain water from pork.

3. Mix remaining ingredients together in a separate bowl. Do so until sugar dissolves.

4. Add mixture to the roast and cook on low an additional 4 hours.

5. Take out roast and shred. Add back to sauce and cook for 2 more hours.

Rating: 4.5 of 5

I thought this tasted like the real deal. Definitely having more of this in the future.

Honey Mustard Grilled Chicken

Ingredients:

1/3 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon steak sauce
4 skinless, boneless chicken

Recipe:
1. Preheat the grill for medium heat.
2. In a shallow bowl, mix the mustard, honey, mayonnaise, and steak sauce. Set aside a small amount of the honey mustard sauce for basting, and dip the chicken into the remaining sauce to coat.
3. Lightly oil the grill grate. Grill chicken over indirect heat for 18 to 20 minutes, turning occasionally, or until juices run clear. Baste occasionally with the reserved sauce during the last 10 minutes. Watch carefully to prevent burning!

Rating: 5 of 5

We had this one for Christmas Eve dinner with the Ames and then again 4 days later with Krista. It tastes best on really thin pieces of chicken.

Source: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Honey-Mustard-Grilled-Chicken/Detail.aspx