My favorite Chicken Salad,Sugar Cookie Bars and awards

First things, first. I have amazingly received another award. I never thought anyone would even look at my blog, let alone give me for an award for it and it is very rewarding for me. This Kreativ Blogger award comes from Teresa over at A blog about food. Her blog is wonderful, she has great recipes, so if you haven't visited her, please do so today. You won't be disappointed.





I am giving you 2 recipes today, just because I feel like it. My kids are quiet, the husbands sleeping, so in between cutting out paper hands for the girls , I am posting my absolute favorite cranberry-walnut chicken salad and sugar cookiebars. First the chicken salad. This recipe comes from smitten kitchen. I am sure most of you know about her blog. It is amazing. There are so many recipes and they all look so good. Go see, if you haven't already seen. You will be so happy you did. I love this salad because it has so many different textures, creamy and crunchy and just so good. I tweaked it a little to suit me. My changes will be in parenthesis.







Cranberry-Walnut Chicken Salad


4 cups cubed cooked chicken


1 cup walnuts,chopped and toasted

1 cup dried cranberries

1 celery rib,diced into small bits

2 tbsp chopped shallots

2/3 -3/4 cup mayo ( i didn't measure, just put what looked right)

3 tbsp Tarragon vinegar ( used white vinegar, its fine)

2 tbsp finely chopped tarragon or herb of your choice( I used dill)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper















The way I prepared my chicken, was The Barefoot Contessa way. I took 2 chicken breasts on the bone and drizzled them with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper.



Roast at 425, for 40-45 minutes, or until they look like this:


I know my picture is upside down. So dumb. Let the chicken rest and when it is cool enough to handle, shred it into large bowl.


Then comes the hard part. Add all ingredients to the bowl with the chicken and mix well.

Refrigerate and enjoy on bread, english muffins, put it in wraps or enjoy it on toast. I am going to share one of my favorite appetizer s with you. Have you seen these little shells in the supermarket. When you see them, buy them. They are so versatile. Sweet or savory.



I take a teasoonful of chicken salad and put it in a prepared shell and serve it as an appetizer. People love it.

And why wouldn't you? They are adorable and really tasty. Try it, you'll like it.

Next up are sugar cookie bars, that's right you heard correctly. Sugar cookies as bar cookies. This recipe comes from stylish cuisine, this blog is full of goodies you have to see to believe. So when you have a minute , go check it out. I'm sure you will like it. You will find things like this on there:

These sugar cookie bars are so easy and it makes a huge amount. They are perfect for a school bake sale or a big holiday party. The original version called for buttercream frosting, but I used a cream cheese frosting instead, I didn't want them overly sweet. I even cut down on the amount of sugar used. I only used 1 2/2 cups and it is just perfect to me.

Sugar Cookie Bars

1 cup butter, room temperature

2 cups sugar ( i used 1 1/2)

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

5 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

Cream butter and sugar, until fluffy.

Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition.

Add vanilla and mix well.

In a separate bowl, combine flour,salt and baking soda.

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined.

Spread into a greased jelly roll pan (13x18)

Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes, or until golden and a toothpick comes out mostly clean. Cool completely and frost with your favorite icing. Cut into as many bars as you can. This makes alot!

I used cream cheese icing. I also doubled the icing , you can never have too much. Here is the recipe:

Cream cheese icing

1/2 cup butter ,softened

1 8oz package cream cheese, softened

1 tsp vanilla
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Beat together butter and cream cheese, add vanilla and then add powdered sugar. Beat until you reach the consistency you want.

Aren't they lovely? And the best thing about these cookies, think about the holidays. For Valentines day add a little red food coloring to the icing, St Patricks Day, add some green, how about Halloween add some orange food coloring and you will have a huge tray of the most festive cookies, at whatever party you are at.

I hope you try them, you will like them. They are a keeper.

Pioneer Womans Corn Fritters

One of the first blogs I ever started to visit regularly, even before I started my own, was The Pioneer Woman. I am sure most of you already check in on her , on a daily basis. Ree tells wonderful stories and even better has easy and really delicious recipes that deliver a punch. When I saw these cute and crunchy looking little corn fritters, I knew I had to make them immediately. It was a beautiful weekend, here, in New York, so we were going to BBQ, and I thought, this is perfect. These fritters will go great with the ribs we were having. I left out the chives, because nobody in my house, other than myself, eats anything green, but I feel like they were still as good. My kids loved them and ate them like popcorn.




PW Corn Fritters


4 generous cups corn kernels, fresh, frozen or canned
3/4 cup flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk, more to thin, if necessary
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne powder
3 tsp fresh, chopped chive
canola oil, for frying



Mix flour,sugar and baking powder in a bowl. Add eggs, milk, salt and cayenne pepper. Stir together to make batter. Add corn and chives. Fold together to combine.
In a skillet or pot, heat an inch or so of canola oil to 365. When oil is heated, drop spoonfuls of batter and cook, flipping them once, until golden brown, like this:


Remove fritters from pot with slotted spoon and drain on paper lined plate. Serve alone, with dipping sauce, or sprinkle with powdered sugar or drizzle with maple syrup. I served them in a big bowl and it was every man for himself.
So do yourselves a favor, and try these, as soon as possible. These will be a keeper and a regular at every BBQ we have. Thanks, Ree, for another winner.



YUMMY!!!!!!

Chicken Fingers

I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend. I am actually on vacation this week, at home, trying to potty train my 3and 1/2 year old and I am failing miserably. Any advice or tips welcome. But back to the food. These crispy,crunchy, and delicious chicken fingers are from a great blog, one I really love and have bookmarked numerous recipes to try and this is the first, and that blog is Coleen's Recipes. Coleen lives in Allaska, how cool is that, no pun intended. So, if you haven't already, please visit her. These chicken fingers were moist and extra crunchy and my whole family inhaled them. They were just as good the next day. So, in my book, these are a "keeper".




Chicken Fingers


6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cups buttermilk
1 tsp garlic powder
2 cups flour
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
vegetable oil


Combine buttermilk, eggs and garlic powder in a large ziploc bag. Cut the chicken into long half inch strips and put them in the same ziploc bag. Refrigerate until ready to cook(at least 2 hours).
In another ziploc bag combine flour,salt,pepper and onion powder. Shake up, to mix well.

When it is time to cook, follow these steps:



1. Drain chicken(saving liquid) and coat chicken in flour mixture.

2. Shake off excess flour and put back in liquid again.

3. Repeat step one, then discard buttermilk liquid.

4. Fry chicken until golden brown. Keep warm in the oven.






Trust me, this is a great recipe and not just for everyday dinner but make a bunch, for your next party and serve them with some ranch dipping sauce or your favorite hot sauce and watch them disappear. Thanks Coleen, for a great recipe that will become a regular in my house. And a special thanks to Donna over at My Tasty Treasures, for the two awards. I appreciate them.