Cranberry Cashew Chicken Salad

This has become my signature chicken salad and it's always a big hit! This recipe feeds a crowd, but you can divide it for a smaller recipe.

3 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts
3 chicken leg quarters
4 stalks celery - finely diced
8 oz. cashews
6 oz. dried cranberries
mayo
salt, pepper, garlic & basil to taste

- Poach, roast or boil chicken just until cooked through.
- Cool.
- Clean leg quarters off the bone. Cut chicken into 1/2" cubes.
- Add in cranberries, celery and cashews.
- Add in seasonings and enough mayo to moisten, but not to overwhelm.
- Mix thoroughly and chill.
- Serve on your choice of bread, crackers, salad greens or on it's own.

I think it's even better the second day. We eat this year round, but it's great on a hot summer day.

Rainbow Salad

You always hear that you should "eat the rainbow" to get a full range of nutrition and I love to try to get the whole rainbow in one meal. Lately we have been loving Rainbow Salad. I just chop up veggies and place them in a rainbow over a bed of mixed greens. Sometimes I even add feta clouds. In this salad I had:

Red - Peppers
Orange - Carrots
Yellow - Squash
Green - Spinach, Romaine
Blue - Blueberries
Indigo/Violet - Grapes, Dried Cranberries

Delicious tossed with a homemade Balsamic Vinaigrette!

Caramel Apple Cobbler

4 apples - peeled, sliced and cored
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
splash lemon juice
1/2 stick butter
2 cups bisquick
1 cup half and half
1 cup apple dip style caramel

- Preheat oven to 375.
- Spray bottom of baking dish with non-stick spray.
- Toss apples in a splash of lemon juice and put in bottom of dish.
- Top with 1/2 cup of brown sugar, butter (sliced), and caramel.
- In separate bowl, mix 3/4 cup brown sugar, half and half and bisquick.
- Pour batter on top and bake about 30-40 min until top is golden brown and batter is cooked through.

Margarita Watermelon

At the beach we made watermelon margaritas and they were really good, but the best part was the watermelon inside them. I decided to make the watermelon by itself. Yum!

Sliced Watermelon
1 Cup Margarita Mix
1/2 Cup Tequilla
1/2 Cup Watermelon Pucker

Pour liquids over sliced watermelon in a storage container and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Hawaiian Chicken Pita Pizza

Easy and delicious.

Whole Wheat Pita Bread (6)
Pineapple
Chicken Breast (2)
Colby Jack Cheese - 12 oz
BBQ Sauce

-Pound chicken breast to 1/4 inch thickness between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Salt and pepper each side.
-Add 2 tsp of canola oil to a skillet and sear on medium heat until cooked through. -Slice in thin strips.
-Place pitas on baking sheet and top with a thin layer of your choice of BBQ sauce. (We love Sweet Baby Ray's.) Add thin slices of pineapple and chicken.
-Bake in pre-heated oven at 400° for 7-10 minutes until cheese is melted and edges are crispy.

Plastic Dough

This cold weather has us searching for some new fun things to do inside and the other day we made some plastic dough.

6 drops food coloring
1/4 cup white glue
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup water

-Mix white glue, water and food coloring in small bowl until well blended.
-Combine flour and cornstarch in separate bowl.
-Mix both combinations together until dough forms.

Snow Cream

We don't get much snow around here, so when we do we play in it, build snowmen with it, make snow angels with it and even eat it! Last year, when it snowed, we made snow cream but the sugar granules left me wondering, "Is that sugar or is that dirt?" I tweaked the recipe this year to remove the doubt.

1 cup sugar
1 cup half and half
1 cup milk
1/2 gallon of fresh clean snow

Melt 1 cup of sugar into half and half either in the microwave or on low heat on the stove top. Once sugar has dissolved, put in the freezer for 30 minutes until cooled. Remove from freezer and pour into large mixing bowl with milk. Collect fresh, clean snow and stir in until well mixed.