I decided somewhat out of the blue that I wanted to try to make curried chicken salad. I have no idea why. I don't usually like it because it has mayo in it and I pretty much detest the stuff. But I came across a cooking light recipe that used greek yogurt instead. I threw together a lot of items, hoping that they would sort of come together well and I think they did. I will admit that it is still missing some oomph so this one will be a work in progress but here is where I started. Obviously, if you are going to share this with your kids, omit the white wine since it isn't going to be cooked off. I knew Callie wasn't going to touch this with a 10 foot pole so I decided to add it in.
Curried Chicken Salad
Ingredients
3 chicken breasts
Dressing:
1/2 cup greek yogurt
2 tsp curry powder
⅓ cup white wine
2 tsp honey
2 tsp minced ginger
apple peeled, diced
⅓ cup celery diced
red grapes, halved
Marinade for grilled chicken:
½ cup honey
¼ cup lemon juice
3 T orange juice
3 T lime juice
2 green onion finely chopped
2 teaspoons of fresh thyme leaves
2 teaspoons of fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons Bourbon (optional, but in my opinion, the flavor really makes the marinade!)
Place chicken and liquid in the bag. Keep refrigerated for 4 to 10 hours. Turn after several hours to baste liquid through all chicken meat.
Remove chicken from marinade. Pour marinade in sauce pan and heat on stove top for 3 minutes on medium heat, to blend flavors, and cook chicken juices. Just before grilling add salt and pepper to season on both sides of chicken.
Brush chicken with marinade and grill until the internal temperature reaches at least 165 degrees. Allow chicken to cool before dicing.
Make dressing and mix with a whisk. Add grapes, celery and apples. Add chicken to mixture and refrigerate for several hours to combine flavors.
Serve on whole wheat bread as sandwiches or on crackers.
The lemon bars are definitely my go-to desert recipe in the spring/summer. It is adapted from a Betty Crocker recipe that I got from a friend. It is ridiculously easy. You might not ever pay for a lemon bar at a coffee shop ever again!
Lemon Squares
Adapted from Betty Crocker’s Cookbook
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp grated lemon peel
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, butter and powdered sugar. Press in ungreased square pan (8x8x2” or 9x9x2”) building up 1/2-inch edges. Bake 20 minutes. Beat remaining ingredients about 3 minutes or until light and fluffy. Pour over hot crust.
Bake about 25 minutes or until no indentation remains when touched lightly in center; cool. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired. Cut into 1 1/2-inch squares (or whatever size square you want!)
And last, but certainly not least, the blackberry limeade. I found this on Cooking Light. We (and by we, I mean Bill) discovered that this makes a killer nectar to use with champagne for a lovely mimosa! We kept them separate so Callie could have some and she went NUTSO for it. We had to cut her off:)
Blackberry Limeade
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients
6 cups water, divided
3 cups fresh blackberries1 cup sugar
2/3 cup fresh lime juice (about 4 limes)
8 thin lime slices
Fresh blackberries (optional)
Preparation
