Chipotle-Mango BBQ Chicken Salad

Salad sans dressing

Ingredients:

Chipotle-Mango BBQ Sauce:

1 mango, peeled and chopped

1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, plus 2 t. adobo sauce

1/2 c. ketchup

1/2 c. apple juice

1/4 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled

juice from 1/2 lemon

2 T. unseasoned rice vinegar

2 T. brown sugar

1 T. canola oil

2 t. paprika *

2 t. salt

1 t. black pepper

*I only had 1 t. paprika, so I substituted the rest with just a 1/2 t. cayenne pepper.

Dressing:

2 T. prepared Chipotle-Mango BBQ sauce

2 T. plain Greek yogurt

1-2 t. lime juice, give or take a little

salt and pepper

Salad:

2 chicken breasts

2 ears sweet corn, shucked

1 vine-ripe tomato, cut into wedges

1/4 c. chopped cilantro

1 bag Dole Romaine Salad mix *

*I used just a head of Romaine

Recipe:

Chipotle-Mango BBQ Sauce:

1. Combine all ingredients for BBQ sauce into a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring often. Let cool then transfer to a food processor or blender, and process until smooth.

Dressing:

1. Whisk together all ingredients in a small bowl. Taste, then add more lime juice, salt and pepper if necessary.

Salad:

1. Marinate chicken breasts in some of the prepared Chipotle-Mango BBQ sauce for at least 15 minutes, or up to 3 hours.

2. Grill over medium-high heat for 5-6 minutes per side until no longer pink in the middle. Allow to rest for 5 minutes off the grill before slicing.

3. Grill corn alongside the chicken, rotating every few minutes until charred on all sides. Let cool for a few minutes, then cut kernels off the cob.

4. Divide lettuce between two plates, then top with grilled corn, tomatoes, cilantro, and grilled chicken. Drizzle with prepared dressing.

Rating: 4 of 5

I really liked this salad. My only complaint is the heat of the dressing, but that is easily remedied by taking out the chipotle pepper before blending. I thought the chicken marinade was perfect and just the right flavor to go with the salad and cilantro. For the corn, I brushed it with olive oil and then grilled it. Loved the flavor in the salad. Super easy salad to make although it does require a little bit of prep time. I'd definitely make this again.

Source: Iowa Girl Eats, Chipotle-Mango BBQ Chicken Salad

Homemade Taco Seasoning

Ingredients:

1 T. chili powder

1/4 t. garlic powder

1/4 t. onion powder

pinch of cayenne pepper

1.4 t. dried oregano

1/2 t. paprika

1 1/2 t. ground cumin

1 t. table salt

1/2 t. black pepper

Recipe:

1. Mix all spices together until well combined. Use immediately or store in an airtight container in your spice cabinet and use as needed.

Rating: 4 of 5

This isn't exactly the taste that I like for tacos, but it's close enough and good enough that I've been convinced that making taco seasoning is easier than buying it.

Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe, Homemade Taco Seasoning

Homemade Buffalo Wing Sauce

Ingredients: Yields: 1/2 cup

1/4 c. rice wine vinegar *

2 t. chili powder

1 t. smoked paprika

1/2 t. sweet paprika **

2 t. garlic powder

1/2 t. onion powder

1/2 t. cayenne powder***

1/4 t. salt

1/2 t. sugar

2 t. canola oil

* I used just rice vinegar

** I had paprika on hand, don't know what kind it was, so I used what I had for both

***Um....I just noticed now that this said "powder" not "pepper." I didn't know there was such a thing as cayenne powder.

Recipe:

1. Cook all ingredients over medium-high heat until just starting to bubble.

2. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

3. Store in an air tight bottle. Keep refrigerated.

Rating: 3.75 of 5
This stuff has some real kick...but maybe that's because I made more than it called for. Either way, it definitely tastes like buffalo sauce. Super easy to throw together too.

Source: Domestic Fits, Homemade Buffalo Wing Sauce

Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala

Ingredients:

5 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1 inch pieces

1/2 large yellow onion, finely diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 T. freshly, finely grated ginger *

1 jalapeno, stemmed, sliced in half and seeds removed

1 29-oz can tomato puree

1 1/2 c. plain yogurt **

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

2 T. lemon juice

2 T. Garam Masala

1 T. cumin

1/2 T. paprika

2 t. salt, or to taste

3/4 t. cinnamon

3/4 t. freshly ground black pepper

1-3 t. cayenne pepper***

2 bay leaves

1 c. heavy cream****

1/2 T cornstarch

prepared long grain white rice or Basmati rice

chopped cilantro, for serving

*I just used my ground ginger

** I had vanilla flavored on hand

*** This depends on how much kick you want in your food. I went for 2ish t.

**** Um....COMPLETELY forgot to put the cream in! Just now realizing this two days after making.

Recipe:

1. In a large mixing bowl combine chopped onions, minced garlic, grated ginger, sliced jalapeno, tomato puree, plain yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, Garam Masala, cumin, paprika, salt, cinnamon, pepper, and cayenne pepper. Stir until combined.

2. Pour half of sauce mixture into a large slow cooker then add in diced chicken. Cover chicken with the remaining sauce.

3. Add in 2 bay leaves. Cover slow cooker with lid and cook on low heat for 8 hours OR high heat for 4.

4. In a mixing bowl, whisk together heavy cream and cornstarch. Pour mixture into slow cooker and gently stir.

5. Allow mixture to cook 20 minutes while you prepare the rice. Remove bay leaves and sliced jalapeno and serve warm over rice and sprinkle with chopped cilantro.

Rating: 4 of 5

Based on taste. If it were on just ease, then it would be a 5. I mean, seriously, how does it get better than a crock pot?? Okay, so considering I completely spaced the cream, I thought this dish was super delicious. I've gotta think that the cream might tone down the amount of "kick" this dish has. It taste just like authentic Tikka Masala (well, at least the one time I've had it. There are a lot of Indians in our neck of the woods). Just from past eating experiences, everything Indian always tastes better with pita bread, which I didn't have time to make, so this dish would have been even better! If you're new to Indian food, then this is a good starter dish. Also, I loved how it made our apartment smell! So many good spices in this one. Um....delicious.

Source: Cooking Classy, Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala

Oven Baked Chicken

Ingredients:

4 split chicken breasts *

5 T. milk

1 c. unseasoned bread crumbs**

1/2 t. onion powder

1/2 t. garlic salt

1/2 t. paprika

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. pepper

2 T. butter ***

*To speed up the process of thawing out my frozen chicken, I've been boiling it in water with chicken bouillon for a few minutes. I think it just enhances the chicken flavor and makes everything that much better.

**I only had Italian Style bread crumbs on hand.

*** Completely forgot about the butter until after the chicken had started cooking, so I just sprayed the tops with some cooking spray.

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with foil.*

2. Add milk to a shallow bowl. In a large bowl combine bread crumbs, onion powder, garlic salt, paprika, salt and pepper.

3. Dip chicken in milk and roll in bread crumbs. Place chicken on cookie sheet.

4. Place pats of butter on chicken and bake for 1 1/2 hours until juiced run clear and internal temperature reaches 170 degrees. **

*Skipped the foil and sprayed a dish.

** A few changes here. I forgot the butter as mentioned above. Worked out fine. In fact, it gave the chicken a very crunchy coating which was so tasty. Secondly, I thaw my chicken out by quickly boiling it, but I kind of forgot and almost cooked the breasts through completely. So, instead of cooking the chicken in the oven for 1 1/2 hours, they were only in there for 25 minutes. Much faster and still so tasty!

Rating: 4 of 5

So, even though I used Italian style crumbs, I thought the coating was so good! Plus, I loved the crunch of it all. I don't really know what else to say about it other than I liked it. Oh, how about, I could taste the paprika and it was the perfect amount.

Source: Mother Thyme, Oven Baked Chicken

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

Easy Barbecued Ribs

Ingredients:

1 1/2 T. sweet paprika

1 T. light brown sugar, lightly packed

1/8 t. cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

2 lbs pork baby back ribs, leave the membranes on the ribs to help hold them together *

1 c. barbecue sauce **

vegetable oil spray

*I used 3 lbs

** I used Hickory and Brown Sugar

Recipe:

1. In a small bowl, mix together paprika, brown sugar, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Rub this mixture all over both sides of your ribs well.

2. Arrange ribs in the slow cooker by standing them up against the wall of the stoneware pot, thicker side down and meaty side against the pot.

3. Pour barbecue sauce over the ribs, cover and cook for 6-8 hours on low.

4. Once the initial slow cooking is done, very carefully (as they as tender) remove the ribs to a baking pan which you have lined with foil and put a rack on, bone side up. Set to the side.

5. Skim any fat that has rise to the top and strain all of the remaining juices from the slow cooker through a mesh strainer into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer and reduce by about a third, approximately 15 minutes.

6. Put your oven's broiler on to heat up and make sure that there is an oven rack about 10 inches below the broiler element. When the broiler is preheated, brush the ribs with sauce and broil for 3-4 minutes.

7. Take them out and very carefully flip them over, brush with sauce and broil again, meat side up, for approximately 9 minutes, taking them out once or twice to baste with more sauce.

8. Serve any remaining sauce on the side with the ribs.

Rating: 4.25 of 5

...and that's without all of the basting. I'm recovering from the flu, so I really didn't have the energy at the end of the day to finish this dish off. But, with that being said, LaDon really liked the ribs. I ate them, but couldn't take a thing. The meat was really tender which I liked about this recipe. I hate getting shreds of meat stuck in my teeth. So, if you're looking for a really easy rib recipe, then just putting them in the crockpot works out pretty well!

Source: MMM...is for Mommy!, Easy Barbecued Ribs

Baked Fried Chicken

(the strips turned out so ugly that I COULDN'T take a picture. No joke.)

Ingredients:

chicken breast tenderloin strips *

1/2 t. salt

1 T. Season All

3/4 t. pepper

1 c. flour

2 t. paprika

*I didn't have any on hand, so I just sliced up about 3 chicken breasts

Recipe:

1. Place thawed chicken breast tenderloin strips in a bowl of milk. Let soak for 20-30 minutes.

2. Mix in a gallon size Ziploc or a large bowl the following: slat, Season All, pepper, flour, paprika.

3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut 1/2 stick of butter into a few pieces and place in a 9x13 pan. Melt butter in pre-heated oven.

4. Spread melted butter around the bottom of the pan. Lightly spray the pan, if needed, to make sure that there are no dry spots.

5. Shake excess milk off of chicken and completely coat each piece with the seasoning mix. You can either shake the chicken in the bag, until coated, or dip each piece in the bowl until coated.

6. Place each piece of chicken in the pan.

7. Cook for 20 minutes. Turn each piece of chicken and continue cooking for 20 more minutes, or until cooked through.

Rating: 1.75 of 5

I really think this recipe has potential if cooked correctly! I, however, completely botched it! I didn't hit the "defrost" button on the microwave so that was the first set up for failure, and then I cut out all the butter because I thought just the Pam spray would be good enough. Well, in this cooking game, two strikes and you're out! If the chicken isn't defrosted and partially cooked instead than you end up with over cooked chicken in the end. If you don't use the butter, then you end up with floury chicken strips. So, while tonight's meal tasted like leather shoes, I do think this recipe would have been better if I had done it correctly. Hopefully, the next time I make this, it will be better and I'll have a different story to tell under the rating section.

Source: TheWonderTwins, Baked Fried Chicken

Southwestern Cobb Salad

Ingredients:

Vinaigrette:

3 T. white wine vinegar

1 t. honey

3/4 t. ground cumin

1/2 t. smoked paprika *

1/2 t. garlic powder

1/4 t. ground red pepper

2 T. canola oil

Salad:

3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

cooking spray

8 oz. skinless, boneless turkey or chicken breast, cut into 1/2 inch pieces **

1/4 t. salt

8 c. torn romaine lettuce ***

1/2 c. pico de gallo

1/2 c. diced avocado

1/2 c. (2 oz) crumbled queso fresco, feta, or shredded pepperjack ****

1/4 c. chopped green onions

1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained

*Never knew smoked paprika was an option. So, I used what I had and that was ground paprika.

** Got my chicken breast from a rotisserie. Hooray for Costco's $5 chickens!

*** I'm a lettuce snob. I pretty much use green leaf over any other kind of lettuce.

****I went with a mix of shredded pepperjack, mozzarella, and cheddar cheeses.

Recipe:

1. To prepare vinaigrette, combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk to combine, or place in a jar and shake. Set aside.

2. To prepare salad, heat a skillet to medium-high heat. Spray with cooking spray. Sprinkle turkey or chicken with salt and add to pan. Saute until done, about 4 minutes.*

3. Arrange 2 c. lettuce on each of 4 plates and divide ingredients among them. If you want to be specific, each serving should have about: 2 t. bacon, 5 T. chicken, 2 T. pico de gallo, 2 T. avocado, 2 T. cheese, 1 T. green onions, and 1/3 c. beans.

4. Drizzle vinaigrette evenly over salads.

*I'm not sure if the 4 minutes is for raw or cooked chicken. My chicken was already cooked. Rather than coating the pan with cooking spray, I cooked my bacon first, removed the bacon, drained the fat out, and then threw in the chicken. Not that that lowered the calories in any way...

Rating: 4.5 of 5

This salad surprised me! I wasn't expecting much since I knew the onion in the pico de gallo was really strong and the pepper hot, but the vinaigrette and every thing else on the salad blended perfectly! LaDon doesn't like vinaigrette very often, so the fact that he really liked this salad including the dressing is saying a lot. Good veggies. Lots of flavor. And very delicious.

Source: OurBestBites.com, Southwestern Cobb Salad

Steak Rub

Ingredients:

4 1/2 t. kosher salt

2 T. black pepper

2 T. paprika

1 T. onion powder

1 T. garlic powder

1 T. dried oregano

2 t. cumin

Recipe:

1. In a bowl, combine all ingredients and stir until well blended.

2. Rub the seasoning blend on steak and grill.

Rating: 3 of 5

I liked this seasoning better than the Outback Steakhouse Seasoning, but LaDon likes the other seasoning better. In all honesty, they are really similar. I halved the recipe (except for the salt, I forgot) and I think if I hadn't forgotten to cut the salt in half it would have tasted so similar that you wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

Source: Food.com, http://www.food.com/recipe/steak-rub-39184

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

Outback Steakhouse's Steak Seasoning

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons Salt
1 teaspoon Paprika
1/2 teaspoon Freshly-ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon Onion powder *
1/4 teaspoon Garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon Cayenne pepper **
1 dash Coriander
1 dash Turmeric ***

* I didn't have onion powder so I just took dried chopped onion and ground it to a powder.

** I didn't have cayenne pepper so I used chili powder instead and halfed it.

*** I didn't have turmeric, so I didn't substitute it at all.

Recipe:
1. Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl.
2. To prepare steaks with this seasoning: Preheat a flat grill or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle some of the seasoning blend over both sides of each cut of beef. *
3. Grill the steaks on each side to your desired level of doneness. Be sure to use tongs to sear all the edges of each steak to a rich brown color. **

* I rubbed each side of the steak with olive oil and then srinkled the seasoning. I then seared the meat on both sides for 1-2 minutes.

** I actually cooked the steaks in the oven after searing them. The oven was at 500 and I had them in for about 5 minutes.

Rating: 4.75 of 5

Yeah, they were that good. So good, we almost didn't use A1 sauce.

Source: http://www.bigoven.com/recipe/164169/outback-steakhouses-steak-seasoning

Chili-Lime Chicken Kabobs

Ingredients:

3 T. olive oil

1 1/2 T. red wine vinegar

1 lime, juiced

1 t. chili powder

1/2 t. paprika

1/2 t. onion powder *

1/2 t. garlic powder

pinch ground cayenne pepper **

salt and ground black pepper taste

1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces

* I used chopped onion.

** I didn't have any cayenne pepper so I just left it out.

Recipe:

1. In a large bowl, combine the olive oil, vinegar, and lime juice. Add chili powder, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and salt and pepper to taste. Whisk until oil and vinegar are blended.

2. Add chicken to the bowl. Cover and marinate in refrigerator for 1-2 hours. *

3. Preheat grill for medium-high heat.

4. Thread chicken onto skewers. Grill chicken for about 10 minutes or until the juices run clear.

* At this point in the recipe, I just threw everything into a skillet and sauteed the chicken until cooked. We don't have a grill. It smelled really, really spicey....like heartburn in a pot....so I added a can of crushed pineapple without the juice.

Rating: 2.75 of 5

I would give this a 3 but I think LaDon's was probably lower. With the added pineapple it tasted a lot like sweet and sour chicken. I liked it just fine. LaDon really liked it with shredded cheese and sour cream on top and without the rice. With the pineapple it wasn't spicy at all. Maybe when we have a grill I will make the recipe as it is.

Source: All Recipes Dinner Tonight, pg. 145