Mediterranean Chicken Salad Pitas

I try not to speak in hyperboles.

The operative word here being "try".

But this is the most delicious non-dessert I've had in months.

And it's actually healthy!

Here's how I made it.

First I combined these lovely ingredients.

And then added some cooked and cubed chicken...

Let me introduce you to my new favorite sauce.

Mix together the lovelies,

 and add the sauce. 

Then line a pita with lettuce and a sliced cucumber (or use a tomato).

And spoon the salad right on in. 

Unbelievably good.  Light and refreshing.  Perfect for a hot day. 

Or any day.

Enjoy!

Here's the printable recipe. 

Mediterranean Chicken Salad Pitas
Serves 6 (makes about 3 cups of salad)

1 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
3 cups cooked chopped chicken breast
1 medium red bell pepper, diced
1/4 cup diced red onion
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
6 whole-wheat pitas
12 large lettuce leaves (or use fresh spinach)
2 mini (seedless) cucumbers, sliced lengthwise into 6 sections each

To make the sauce, combine first four ingredients in a small bowl. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Combine chicken, bell pepper, onion, cilantro, and chickpeas in a large bowl.  Add salt and mix well.  Pour yogurt sauce over chicken/bell pepper mixture.  Combine well.  (You can stop here and serve it as a beautiful salad*.)

Cut each of the 6 rounds of pita bread in half.  Carefully open each pocket, trying not to tear the bread.  Line each pita half with two lettuce leaves (or a few pieces of fresh spinach).  Top lettuce with two slices of the cucumber (or substitute tomato slices).   Spoon in about 1/2 cup into each pita half and serve immediately so the bread doesn't become soggy.

*You can refrigerate the salad overnight...the flavors will mix and mingle and develop into something even more delicious.

Recipe slightly adapted from here. 

Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake Towers

 

 

An unexpected twist on the old favorite.  

And a great addition to your summer dessert repertoire.

Enjoy!

(Here's the printable recipe.)

Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake Towers
(Serves 8)

1 quart fresh strawberries, sliced
2/3 cups sugar, divided
2 cups flour
1/4 cup baking cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon miniature semisweet chocolate chips, divided
3/4 cup half-and-half cream
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon coarse sugar
1/2 pint heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
3/4 cup hot fudge sauce (I used caramel sauce)
Chocolate curls or shavings, optional

Combine strawberries and 1/3 cup of sugar; refrigerate. 

In a large bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and remaining 1/3 cup sugar.  Using a pastry cutter or two forks, "cut" in the butter into the flour mixture until mixture becomes course crumbs.  Then add the 2/3 cup of mini chocolate chips and mix.  Pour in the half-and-half and stir until just moistened (do not over-mix).

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Divide the dough into 8 "patties", each about 3/4-inch thick.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Place patties on baking sheet and brush each with the egg white.  Then sprinkle patties with coarse sugar and remaining chocolate chips.  

Bake for 13 minutes, or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.  Cool.

In a small bowl, beat whipping cream and powdered sugar until stiff peaks form.  Refrigerate until ready to assemble shortcakes. 

To assemble, split shortcakes in half cross-wise.  Place patty bottoms on a dessert plate.  Make an "assembly line" and top patties with about two-thirds of the strawberries,  whipped cream, and fudge topping.  Replace shortcake tops and top with remaining berries, cream, and topping.  Garnish with chocolate curls or shavings, if desired.  (A sprig of mint looks pretty on the plate, too, if you have it...)

Recipe from:  A Taste of Home

Linking up at:

 

Happy Mother's Day from Mrs. Groundhog

A family of groundhogs has taken up residence in our backyard.

And Mrs. Groundhog recently gave birth to five darling little furballs.

(Yet I wonder how darling she feels they are when they try to nurse simultaneously?!)

  "Childreeennnnnnnn!  Come on in the den now." 

 Bless her heart.  I wonder if Playtex makes an 18 hour bra for groundhogs?

Just precious.

Happy Mother's Day, all.

(And let's just lift of a word of thanks that our nursing babies don't come equipped with rodent incisors.)

Nutella-Chocolate Chunk Granola

This granola is not healthy.  Don't be fooled.  And please don't sue me because you have been "misled" by advertising and think Nutella is actually good for you. 

That's like believing Lucky Charms is "part of this complete breakfast."  Remember that one? 

Or Sunny D.  Who on earth thinks Sunny D is a healthy beverage?  (If you know someone who does, please let them know I have some oceanfront property for sale here in Arkansas...)

For real.  Did you hear about the woman who successfully (!) sued the makers of Nutella because she was "duped" into believing it was a health food and fed it to her daughter on a regular basis?  She won the $3.05 million suit.  Unbelievable.  This makes my hair catch on fire.  Oh, I have an idea.  Instead of dodging all nutritional accountability (and every other sort of accountability), why don't we try reading labels?     

And did you see this:  "As part of the settlement, anyone in the U.S. who purchased Nutella between January 1, 2008 and February 3, 2012 (or for Calif. residents between August 1, 2009 and January 23, 2012) can file a claim. People can claim their purchases until July 5, 2012 and expect $4 for a single purchase and up to 5 jars for a maximum award of $20 per household." (Source:  CBS News)

FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS GOOD AND DECENT, DO NOT CASH IN ON THIS CLAIM!

Consider this a public service announcement.

Now that I've stirred that pot, let's get on with this cellulite-causing but DELICIOUS recipe, shall we? 

Start by mixing old-fashioned oatmeal, ground flax seeds, and ground walnuts.

In a saucepan, melt coconut oil, agave nectar (or honey), and almond butter. 

(Agave nectar provides sweetness without the dreaded sugar rush and subsequent crash.) 

And then stir in a tablespoon of vanilla. 

What we're going to do next will blow your mind.  And your diet.

Heavens to Mergatroid! 

You'll burn a few calories attempting to stir it all together. 

Then place the granola on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet and bake for about 45-50 minutes at 275 degrees, stirring every 20 minutes or so.

After it's cooled, add some chopped dark chocolate and slink off to a dark corner and stuff your face.

Or take the more reserved approach and gingerly sprinkle it over yogurt. 

Either way, it's crazy good.

Here's the printable recipe.

Nutella-Chocolate Chunk Granola

Makes about 8 cups

5 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1 cup ground walnuts (or any nut; can be coarsely chopped)

1/2 cup ground flax seeds

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

3 tablespoons coconut oil

2/3 cup agave nectar (or honey)

1/2 cup Nutella

1/4 cup almond butter (or peanut butter)

1 tablespoon vanilla

1/4 cup cocoa powder (I used Special Dark)

2 tablespoons hot water

2-3 ounces dark chocolate, chopped into chunks

Mix together the oats, nuts, flax seeds, and salt in a large bowl.  Set aside.

In a saucepan over low heat, mix the coconut oil, agave nectar, Nutella, and almond butter.  Stir constantly until the mixture is pourable.  Add in the vanilla.  Remove from heat.

In a small bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder and the hot water until a thick paste forms. Stir into the Nutella mixture.  

Pour Nutella/cocoa mixture over oat/flax seed mixture.  Mix well with a sturdy wooden spoon.

Heat oven to 275 degrees.  Spread granola on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and stir the granola while it's on the baking sheet.  Bake for another 20 minutes and stir again.  Bake for an additional 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.  (Although the granola will still be chewy when you remove it from the oven, it will become a bit more crunchy as it cools.)

After the granola is completely cool, stir in the chocolate chunks and store in an airtight container. 

Recipe adapted from the wonderful blog Phemomenon

Chocolate, Caramel, Toffee & Pecan Cheesecake Parfait (SRC)

For this month's Secret Recipe Club, I was assigned to the blog Cravings of a Lunatic.

Kim Bee, the author, is very genuine and frank in her writing style; her blog is great fun to read.  She also has so many delicious recipes posted that it's hard to believe she's only been blogging for a little over a year.  Her site has really taken off!

I loved reading her "About Me" section; it's full of entertaining snippets.  My favorite is, "I would like to eat all of Paula Deen's recipes but look like Giada."  You're in great company, Kim!

Having never been much of a cheesecake fan, I stopped in my tracks when I saw Kim's no-bake cheesecakes in a jar.  They spoke to me.

 

I had no choice but to make them right away!

I started by crushing 12-13 Oreo cookies in my food processor.  

(You could arrive at the same answer by putting the cookies in a large ZipLock bag and smashing out all your frustrations on them with a rolling pin.) 

Then I added melted chocolate to a hedonistic mixture of whipped cream, powdered sugar, and cream cheese.

 

I'm pretty sure this is an entree at the Love Shack.

Incredibly, vanilla improves the un-improvable.

The parfait fun begins with a layer of crushed Oreos,

followed by a dollop of creamy chocolate love,

followed by crunchy, buttery love,

and then by the nutty, earthy love.

Lovely.

More Oreos.

Are you taking notes here?  Yum + Yum + Yum + Yum = ...

And now for the caramel layer. 

(Kim has a great caramel sauce recipe.  I tried to make it twice, and both times I encountered a semi-emergency involving my boys where I had to step away from the stove. Both batches were ruined.)

So I turned to my buddy, Trader Joe.

This is so good, I bet it's known to cause something bad in the State of California.

Like jiggly upper arms.

But hang on, we're not done yet.

Put the remaining 2 ounces of melted dark chocolate in a ZipLock bag, snip a teensy corner off of the bag, and voila.  You have an easy, no-mess way to drizzle it over the tops of the parfaits.

Like this.

I hear angels singing.

Let's see that drizzle action again.

Wowza.  Thanks, Kim!

Here's the printable version of the recipe.

Chocolate, Caramel, Toffee & Pecan Cheesecake Parfait (No-Bake)
Makes 4 gigantic servings*

1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 ounces dark chocolate, melted (divided)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup crushed Oreo cookies (12-13 cookies); substitute crushed graham crackers
1/4 cup Heath Bar Bits (substitute Skor Bar Bits)
1/4 cup chopped pecans
4 tablespoons caramel sauce

In the bowl of an electric mixer, use the whisk attachment to combine the whipping cream and powdered sugar until the mixture thickens and stiff peaks begin to form.

Switch to the paddle/beater attachment.  Add the cream cheese to the mixture and beat well until it's very smooth.  Add 2 ounces of the melted chocolate and the vanilla to the cream cheese mixture and mix well; scrape down the sides of the bowl once with a spatula to ensure everything has been incorporated.

Using 4 canning jars (one-cup/250 ml size) or glass mugs*, place a layer of Oreo crumbs (about 2 tablespoons per jar) in each jar.

Add about 2 tablespoons of the chocolate-cream cheese filling on top of the crusned Oreos.

Then add 2 teaspoons of the Heath Bits and 2 teaspoons of the chopped pecans.

And then another layer of Oreos (about 1-2 tablespoons).

And then 2-3 tablespoons of the chocolate-cream cheese mixture.

And then 2 teaspoons each of the Heath Bits and pecans.

Add 1 tablespoon of the caramel sauce to each parfait.

Add remaining Heath Bits and pecans on top of the caramel.

Use the remaining melted chocolate (you may have to heat it again to re-liquify it) to garnish the top of the parfaits.

Refrigerate for 1-2 hours and enjoy!

*You can also make this in a pie dish, a compote bowl, a trifle dish, etc.  You will have to tweak the amounts a bit.

Kim's original recipe can be found here.