Toppings Galore!

I love Cobb Salads. Especially Cobb Salads with Ranch Dressing! And since I have a huge container of freshly made Ranch, I'll surely be posting recipes that will allow you to use it all up!

Here is my version of a Cobb Salad, with all my favorite toppings. Feel free to make substitutions. It is a great way to use up veggies and cheeses from your fridge!

Crista's Cobb Salad

Lettuce
Blue Cheese crumbles
Diced tomatoes
Grilled chicken strips
Diced red onion
Bacon pieces
Shredded Colby jack cheese
Hard boiled eggs
*Ranch Dressing of course!*

The 5th Food Group....Ranch Dressing

I believe in the following theory:

Anything can be improved upon if it is covered in or dipped in Ranch dressing.

But not the nasty bottled stuff! You must make your own to achieve a Ranch euphoria! :)

Here is a doctored up version of the recipe you will find on a packet of dry Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix.

Crista's Better Than the Bottle Ranch Dressing

1 packet dry ranch dressing mix (Hidden Valley)
1 cup light mayo
1 cup light sour cream
1 cup skim milk
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Mix all ingredients together and store in the fridge for a few hours. Enjoy!

Easy Asian Chicken

This is another Dinner Diva's recipe. It was selected from Cooking Light, and I've loved everything I've tried from CL, so I knew this would be great. The recipe suggests serving it over noodles, but I opted for rice because that is what I had on hand.

Orange Mandarin Chicken

2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
4 (4-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 (11-ounce) can mandarin oranges in light syrup, undrained
1/2 cup chopped green onions 1 tablespoon finely chopped seeded jalapeño pepper
1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic 1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Add chicken to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until browned.While chicken cooks, drain oranges in a colander over a bowl, reserving 2 tablespoons liquid. Add oranges, 2 tablespoons liquid, onions, jalapeño, and garlic to pan. Reduce heat; simmer 2 minutes. Combine broth, soy sauce, and cornstarch; add to pan. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute or until slightly thickened.

Yield 4 servings (serving size: 1 chicken breast half and 6 tablespoons sauce)

Nutritional Information CALORIES 212(16% from fat); FAT 3.8g (sat 0.7g,mono 1.3g,poly 1.3g); IRON 1.9mg; CHOLESTEROL 66mg; CALCIUM 27mg; CARBOHYDRATE 15.2g; SODIUM 562mg; PROTEIN 27.2g; FIBER 0.7g

Omnivore's Top 100

Here's a game for you, for fun!

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Wrapping Up a Busy Summer

Sorry for the delay in recipe posting! I haven't had much time in the kitchen this month. We've had a busy August. We traveled up to Michigan for some much needed R&R on the beautiful white sand beaches of Traverse City and Glen Arbor. We sampled (and bought) way too much wine from various Leelanau wineries. Our favorites include Ciccone Vinyards (Madonna's Dad), Chateau Chantal, and Chateau Grand Traverse. Another favorite store of ours is The Cherry Republic, they have so many neat jellies, sauces, jams, salsas, and treats! After we got back to Indy, we of course had to go to the Indiana State Fair for some deep fried food on sticks, and grilled cheese sandwiches from The Dairy Barn! August also brought us the release of American Teen , which I was looking forward to seeing because it was filmed in my hometown, and I know a few of the families featured in the film. I personally loved the film, and felt it was a real and true view into the heads of most teens during high school. Go see it!

So now that I'm back and have a little time in the kitchen, I'm hoping to get my blog going again. Although I will be in Virginia a couple of times over the next few weeks for work, so I apologize in advance for another brief hiatus! If anyone has any recommendations for things to do in Richmond, VA, be sure to tell me!

I've recently joined a group of girls called The Dinner Divas, and hope to be trying out as many recipes as possible with the ladies! This first recipe was a winner. Perfect for summer, fresh and delicious!

Chicken Cobb Burgers

For the burgers:

8 (1/2- thick) strips bacon

1 1/2 pounds ground chicken, 90 percent lean

2 tablespoons canola oil

Salt Freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

4 burger buns, split

1 large ripe beefsteak tomato, cut into 4 slices

1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and cut into 8 slices

For the vinaigrette:
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup finely shredded romaine lettuce

For the burgers:
Heat the grill to medium. Place the strips of bacon on the grill (lay them across the grate so they don't fall through) and grill for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until golden brown and slightly crispy. Remove the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels. Increase the heat of the grill to high.
Form the meat into 4 (6-ounce) burgers, brush with the oil and season with salt and pepper on both sides. Grill the burgers until golden brown on both sides and cooked completely through, about 5 minutes per side. Top the burgers with the blue cheese, close the cover, and continue cooking until the cheese begins to melt, about 1 minute longer.
Place the burgers on the bottom half of each bun and top with a slice of tomato, 2 slices of avocado, 2 slices of bacon and some of the dressed romaine. Cover each burger with the bun tops and serve.

For the vinaigrette:
Whisk together the vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, Worcestershire, garlic, sugar, salt, pepper and oil in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using to allow the flavors to meld. Just before assembling the burgers, place the romaine in a medium bowl and toss with the vinaigrette.

Source: Bobby Flay

Peachy Keen!

I've been trying to make this recipe for a few weeks now. The first time I tried, the peaches I bought were too soft and fell apart while I was cutting them. The next time I tried to make the dish, I realized Scott drank the Mt. Dew (yes, there is indeed Mt. Dew in the recipe).

Tonight I finally had some firm peaches and a bottle of Mt. Dew in the fridge! I was very leery of this recipe, but intrigued by the ingredients. It turns out like a dumpling surrounded by a very sweet syrup. It is really yummy, and very easy to make. I think this recipe would also be great with apples this fall. (I made a half batch of the recipe below.)

Peach Enchiladas

2 packages (8 ounces each) refrigerated crescent roll dough
4 firm peaches, peeled, pitted and quartered
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 citrus-flavored soda (12-ounce can) such as Mountain Dew

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 13-inch by 9-inch by 2-inch pan with non-stick spray, set aside.Unroll crescent roll dough and separate into triangles. Place 1 peach quarter on the wide end of a dough triangle. Roll up from large end to small end to encase the peach slice. Place in prepared pan. Repeat with remaining crescent dough and peaches.In a small bowl, combine sugar, melted butter and cinnamon. Pour mixture over rolls. Pour soda over top and bake for 45 minutes.

Source: Indianapolswoman.com

Cream Cheese Chicken

I love to cook with wine! Even better, since this recipe calls for very little, there is that much more left for the cook to enjoy! :)

I've been meaning to try this recipe for a long time, and I'm so glad I finally did. The sauce is incredibly good, and it was fantastic over mashed red potatoes. It would also be good over noodles or rice.

I got this recipe from the What's Cooking board on TheNest.com. It was posted by Mary Ellen, who is always posting delicious looking recipes. I'll be sure to try more soon!

Cream Cheese Chicken

3 chicken breasts, trimmed and kept whole or cut into strips or chunks
1 can chicken broth, separated
4-8 cloves garlic
red pepper flakes
4 oz cream cheese
1.5 tbs flour
2 tsp white wine

Put chicken in large pan with a little bit of olive oil. Add red pepper flakes and pressed garlic (I used minced). After 1-2 min, add white wine to deglaze the pan and then add ¾ can chicken broth. Bring to a boil then simmer 20-25 min until chicken is cooked. Remove chicken and place in a covered dish; keep warm. Mix flour with remaining broth and add to pan; mix. Add cream cheese, mix until thick and bubbly. Pour sauce over chicken.

Source: Mary Ellen on thenest.com