cashew cranberry chicken sandwich

Here's another post for the leftover rotisserie chicken. Cashew nuts give a nice crunch to the sandwich. It can be served as a salad or as sandwich. All the main ingredients start from "C" so it's easy to remember. :)

Ingredients:

(makes 3 big sandwich or 4 smaller ones)

Rotisserie or grilled chicken - 3 cups 
Celery - 1 stalk (chopped)
Cashew - 1/2 cup (chopped or halved)
Cranberries - 1/2 cup

Mayonnaise - 3/4 cup (or more, depending on how much you love mayo)
Lemon juice - 1 tsp (or more, depending on how you like it)
Salt & Pepper - to taste
Garlic powder - 1/4 tsp

Bread or croissant - enough for 3-4 sandwich
Lettuce leaves and tomato slices - optional 

Prep:

1. Chop cashew nuts in half or smaller, depending on your size preference. 
2. If you are like me and don't like the stringy thing that celery comes with, then peel the outer layer of celery off. Chop and set it aside. 
3. Shred the meat into bite size pieces. Heat up in the microwave for 1-2 minute. Set it aside to cool down a bit.
4. Wash lettuce leaves and slice tomatoes if you are adding them.

Cook:  

1. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Use a spoon and mix well. 
2. Toast the bread if you like it warm and toasted. 

Serve:

1. Spread some mayo on each slice of bread (or inside of croissant). Add in lettuce and tomatoes. Scoop about 2 big spoonful of chicken salad in the sandwich. 
2. Serve with nice cup of hot soup. 

caeser salad with sweet roll croutons

I LOVE Caesar salad. It's my favorite salad and I can eat many servings of it. I made my own Caesar dressing once, but it didn't taste quite the same, so I need to work on that recipe more. I found the dressing and it was very yummy. This post is for sweet roll croutons. 

Ingredients:

Hawaiian sweet rolls - 4 rolls *see TIPS
Olive oil - 1 and half TBS
Italian seasoning - 2 tsp
Dried Basil or parsley - 1 tsp
Garlic powder -  1 tsp
Salt - pinch

Romaine lettuce - 1 head (chopped & washed)
Grated Parmesan cheese - as much as you like, usually about 1/2 cup for 1 head of lettuce

Your favorite Caesar salad dressing   

It's yummy, plus the company gives all their profits to charity! What an awesome dressing!

 

 

 

 

Prep:

1. Cut the Hawaiian rolls into 1/2 inch (or smaller, depending on how big you want your croutons to be) chunks. Leave it on a kitchen counter for 30 minutes. If you are rushing, you can skip the leaving on the counter part.
2. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

I like my croutons big, but cut it to the size you like - even different shapes!

Cook:

1.  Turn the broiler on, or if you want to use oven instead, turn up to 400 F.  You can also use oven toaster if you have one (I want one!)
2. On a prepared baking sheet, toss cut-up rolls with the rest of the ingredients. The pieces should be wet from olive oil and it should cover the whole piece. 
3. [Broiling] Broil it for 2-3 minutes, use spatula to turn the croutons and broil for another 1-2 minutes. Make sure you don't burn them. :) Keep tossing. Turn off the broiler, cover with aluminum foil and leave it in for 5-7 minutes to dry out. 
4. [Baking] Bake in 400F oven for 3-4 minutes, turn using spatula and bake for another 4-5 minutes. It should turn golden brown. Turn the oven off, cover with aluminum foil and let it dry out.

Toss with your hands so you can make sure each piece gets the good stuff on

Watch the oven - multitasking will lead to croutons like the one above. :)

Serve:

1. Toss cut romaine lettuce with cheese. Pour desired amount of dressing. Toss. Sprinkle with homemade croutons. Do this just right before you eat. 

TIPS

• No Hawaiian rolls? No worries! It works with any kind of bread/rolls. If you are using regular toast bread, use 5 slices. 

spinach strawberry salad with poppy seed dressing

Poppy seed dressing

This is my husband's favorite salad! We have it for special occasions like Thanksgiving, anniversary, and Christmas. The recipe was from our close friend. Hope you like it, too! 

Ingredients:

[Poppy seed dressing]

White sugar - 1/4 cup
Dry mustard - 2 tsp
Salt - 2 tsp
Vinegar - 1/2 cup
Vegetable oil - 1/3 cup (add 1/3 cup more if you like to less thick)**see TIPS
Sweet onion - 2 large 
Lemon juice - 2 tsp
Poppy seeds - 2 tsp

[Spinach salad]

Baby spinach leaves - 1 bag (or 4 cups)
Bacon - 3 (cooked and crumbled)
Strawberries - 2 cups (sliced)
Candied walnuts/almond - 1/2 cup
Mandarin oranges - 1 can (medium)
Dried cranberries - 1/3 cup 

Prep:

1. [Poppy seed dressing] Measure all ingredients.

Cook:

1. In a blender, blend sweet onion, white sugar and vinegar until smooth. 
2. Add in the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth. 
3. Keep in the airtight container. It tastes the best after a day or two in the fridge. 

TIPS

• Adjust consistency of the dressing with vegetable oil

holiday leftovers: turkey apple salad

We got some turkey leftovers from our friends and they are perfect for salad addition! This salad gives fresh side, using apples, cranberries, and lemon juice. My hubby said it'll go awesome with croissants. 

Ingredients: 

Turkey leftover meat - 2 cups (chunks)
Romaine lettuce - 2 bunch (chopped)
Roma tomatoes - 2 (cubed)
Apples -2 (cubed) **see TIPS
Dried Cranberries - 1/3 cup
Walnuts or almond - 1/3 cup (chopped or sliced) 

[Salad dressing]
Mayonnaise - 3/4 cup (more or less, depending on your preference)
Poppy seed dressing - 3TBS (I'll post the recipe for poppy seed dressing soon!)
Lemon juice - 2 tsp
Black pepper - 1 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp 

Prep:

1. Cut turkey meat into cubes. Microwave for a minute and set it aside to cool.
2. Mix salad dressing ingredients in a bowl. 
3. Chop and cube lettuce, tomatoes and apples.

Cook: 

1. Cut romaine lettuce into bite size pieces. Wash or use salad spinner. Put it in a big bowl. 
2. Add in turkey meat, cubed tomatoes, apples, and dried cranberries. Give a light toss.
3. Add in the salad dressing. Toss until well blended. 
4. Add in walnuts/almond on top of the salad. 

Serve: 

1. Cover and chill until ready to serve. 
2. Serve as side salad or in a bun/croissants. 

TIPS

• I like to use Fuji apples, but any crunchy apples will work in this salad. Keep the skin on - it gives nice crunch and good nutrients, too! 

strawberry jello salad

It tastes better than it looks (I promise)!

When we were students in Utah, we tried all sorts of jello salads & desserts. Some were really good (like this recipe we got from our Utah family) and some were... let's say, 'interesting.' This jello is more like a dessert, but I don't mind having it as a salad, too! Our very good friends in Utah made this for Thanksgiving dinner one time and ever since then, we make it every Thanksgiving & Christmas (and other special occasions).

Ingredients:

Mini Pretzels - 2 and 1/2 cups (crushed)
Butter - 3/4 cup
Sugar - 2 TBS

Cool whip - 1 small tub (8 oz) **see TIPS
Cream cheese - 1 (8 oz) **see TIPS
Sugar - 2/3 cup

Strawberry or Raspberry Jello - 1 box (6 oz)
Hot water - 2 cups
Strawberries - 2 cups (sliced)
Crushed pineapple - 1 can small

Prep:

1. Put pretzels in a Ziplock bag. Use rolling pin and crush them. 
2. Take Cool Whip and cream cheese out of the fridge/freezer and let it soften.
3. Slice strawberries. 
4. Open pineapple can, but do NOT drain. 

Crush pretzel with rolling pin

Cubed butter will melt evenly

Cook:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. In a microwavable bowl, heat butter for 45 seconds. It should be somewhat melted and soft. Mix crushed pretzels, butter and sugar. Press down on 13"x9" pan. Bake in a preheated oven for 7 minutes. Let it cool completely.
3. In a Kitchenaid or in a bowl, combine cream cheese and sugar (2/3 cup). Blend it until smooth. Add in Cool Whip and mix together. Make sure you scrape the bottom of the bowl occasionally. Cream cheese tends to stick to the bottom. Mix until smooth. 
4. Spread cream cheese mixture on the pretzel. Cover and keep it in the fridge.
5. In a separate bowl, combine jello and hot water. Let the jello powder melt. Add in crushed pineapple can and mix. Let the jello sit in the room temperature for an hour, or in the fridge for 20 minutes (let the jello sit a bit). 
6. Take out the cream cheese/pretzel, and add sliced strawberries on top of cream cheese layer. Slowly add in jello mixture on top of the strawberries. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours. 

Before going into the oven

After 7 minutes in 400 F

Let jello sit for a while

Pretzel + Cream cheese layer

Blurry picture of three layers from the side

Serve:

1. Just scoop it out and enjoy! It can get messy, see TIPS for some option.

It serves 12 good size portions

TIPS

• You can make your own whipped cream instead of Cool whip. Just add 8 oz of it. 
• You can use low fat cream cheese and whipped cream. It gives lighter cream cheese layer, and still tastes good!
• If you want a clean scoop, line your baking pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Let the paper or foil come out of the pan a bit so you can lift them up later. You can also use spring-form pans. You can also make individual cupcake.

pineapple coleslaw

We have a pretty decent coleslaw recipe. But one day, my husband said, "it needs some kick to it" and then he took out a can of pineapples and mixed it with the slaw -- it was a big HIT! The pineapple coleslaw tasted much better than the original recipe and it brought back memories from all the awesome food we ate in Hawaii.

Ingredients:

Coleslaw mix - 1 packet [16 oz] (or cabbage 1 small & carrots 2) **see TIPS
Onion - 1/3 cup (diced)
Mayonnaise - 2/3 cup
Vegetable oil - 3 TBS
White sugar - 1/3 (or more for sweet tooth) **see TIPS
White vinegar - 1 TBS
Salt - pinch
Poppy seeds - 1/2 tsp
Lemon juice - 3 tsp

Crushed pineapple - 1 small can (drained)  

 

 Prep:

1. Dice onion and drain can pineapple. 
2. Cut cabbage and carrots if you are cutting your own. 

Diced onion and drained crushed pineapple

Cook:

1. In a big bowl, combine all ingredients. Mix well. Adjust the taste. That's it! 

Ready to mix!

Serve: 

1. Perfect side dish for any BBQ or fried food!

 TIPS

• Coleslaw mix is  very convenient and pretty affordable (about $2). It'll save you time.
• Add 1/4 sugar first, and add more until it's sweet enough for you.