Buffalo Chicken Salad

Tonight's dinner was a quick, easy buffalo chicken salad courtesy of Rachael Ray. I like Rachael's recipes, but never find them to be truly 30 minute meals...it always take me MUCH longer. Anyway, this recipe is true to its 30 minutes. The chicken gets a quick saute in butter and olive oil, who doesn't love butter? It's then tossed with buffalo sauce, we used Franks Red Hot. The salad is romaine, shredded carrots and chopped celery in ranch dressing. It calls for crumbled blue cheese, but I forgot to buy that....it was still good without! I highly recommend this salad for a quick meal. You can find the recipe HERE.

Barefoot Thursdays

This week's Barefoot Bloggers challenge was Panzanella from the Ina Garten Parties Cookbook chosen by Melissa of It's Melissa's Kitchen. Being married to an Italian man I had to look up exactly what Panzanella meant...check it out HERE. At first I was a little nervous about this recipe because I don't like raw tomatoes (I know, I know) but I was surprised at how much I liked this salad. Ina hit the mark with this one! The dressing was just right, not too over powering and the fresh veggies (tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, onion and basil) tasted great with the toasted bread. We did make one omission, we left out the capers. Being a carb lover I had to include a photo of my favorite part.....
And yes, I ate the veggies too! Thanks Melissa, for choosing such a great summer time recipe. We will be making this one again.

Kid Friendly Meal

I'm a little late in posting this meal, but last week we made one of my favorites, Mac N Cheese and served it along side Oven Fried Chicken. This meal reminds me of one of those all you can eat buffets! Mac N Cheese has always been one of my favorite comfort meals and I usually make my mother's recipe but am always up for trying new things. I've made the Barefoot Contessa version several times, but this one comes from Tyler Florence.
I liked this recipe because it called for heating the milk with onion, cloves, garlic, bay leaves, mustard and thyme. That really smelled great on my stove! I will be adding this version to my recipe box. You can find the recipe HERE.

We choose to make the Barefoot Contessa Oven Fried Chicken (recipe HERE) to serve along side the mac n cheese. I am always making Ina Garten meals, however, this recipe was not one of my favorites. The chicken looks beautiful, however it was lacking in the flavor department. The breading was flavorful, and the chicken moist, but overall I found it to be a bit bland. This was our first attempt at oven fried chicken so perhaps next time we'll season the chicken (under the skin) prior to cooking.
We did enjoy this meal like we were kids! Something about fried chicken and macaroni and cheese....just makes you smile!

Real Barbecue

Tonight we had Kansas City Barbecued Spare Ribs, Red Beans and Rice, and local grown corn. A true barbecue! It was finger licking good. Of course a thunderstorm rolled in right when it was time to fire up the grill, so we started the ribs in the oven and finished them, post storm, out on the grill. They turned out great. The rice was a new recipe for us and it was also delicious. Will definitely make that again.

The rib recipe comes from the Weber's Big Book of Grilling. Follow these directions to make Kansas City style Spare Ribs:

For the rub:
2 T kosher salt
2 T mild or hot Hungarian paprika (we used regular)
1.5 T cumin
1 T dried oregano
2 t onion powder
1 t garlic powder
1 t fresh ground black pepper
1/2 t ground allspice
1/2 t ground cinnamon

2 to 3 slabs meaty pork spareribs (6 to 7 lbs trimmed of excess fat).

To make the rub, combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Coat the ribs with rub and place in a large, resealable plastic bag. Press air out and seal tightly. Place in a bowl and refrigerate for 2 to 8 hours.

For the Sauce:
2 T unsalted butter
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
3 T finely chopped yellow onion
1 cup ketchup
2 T fresh lemon juice
2 T granulated sugar
2 T cider vinegar
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 t dry mustard
fresh ground black pepper

To make the sauce in a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and saute the celery and onion until tender, about 10 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients, including pepper to taste, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Set aside. Pour some of the sauce in a small bowl to use for basing the ribs.

Allow the ribs to stand at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes before grilling. Grill, rib side down (we started in a 350 degree oven for 1.5 hours then moved to the grill), over indirect medium heat until the meat is very tender and has pulled back from the ends of the bones, 1.5 to 2 hours.
During the last 20 minutes of grilling time, baste frequently with the small bowl of sauce. Remove from the grill and allow to rest for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing. Reheat remaining sauce and serve on the side with the ribs.

The Red Beans and Rice comes from the Southern Living Secrets of the South's Best Barbecue (the website is here).

2 t olive oil
6 oz smoked turkey sausage
1 1/4 cups chopped onion
1 t minced garlic
1 1/2 cups uncooked long grain rice
1.2 t dried thyme
1/2 t ground red pepper (we used cayenne)
3 bay leaves
2 (15 oz) cans kidney beans, drained
2 (14 oz) cans beef broth
1 1/2 cups seeded chopped tomato
3 T sliced green onions

Coat a dutch oven with cooking spray; add oil. Place over medium high heat until hot. Add sausage, onion and garlic; saute 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Add rice and next 3 ingredients; saute 30 seconds. Stir in beans and beef broth. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender. Remove and discard bay leaves. Serve topped with tomato and green onions.

BB Smoked Salmon Spread

This week's Barefoot Bloggers recipe was Ina's Smoked Salmon Spread chosen by Ashley of the Spicy Skillet. Now, I'm not one for smoked salmon, or any salmon for that matter, but decided to make the recipe as is as my husband said he'd eat it and we served it to our friends H&M on Sunday. The feedback I received was that the spread was good, however it make a lot for three people, we have quite a bit left over. We served it with crackers. Because I'm not a salmon person I can't say as if we'd make this again, but it gave me some ideas for salmon substitute...really anything blended into cream cheese would be good! I am looking forward to the August round of recipes and am hoping for some delicious summer time treats...as it's quickly approaching it's end.


Smoked Salmon Recipe:
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon minced fresh dill
1 teaspoon prepared horseradish, drained
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 pound (4 ounces) smoked salmon, minced

Cream the cheese in an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until just smooth. Add the sour cream, lemon juice, dill, horseradish, salt, and pepper, and mix. Add the smoked salmon and mix well. Chill and serve with crudites or crackers.

My Son Can Bake...

I thought I would share this as it's just too darn cute. My 18 month old son is taking cooking classes at his wonderful daycare center. Last week they made chocolate/frosting covered pretzel rods. We originally took this picture to share with his Grandma, but though you all might enjoy seeing what an 18 month old can bake. He walked around the kitchen with a big smile on his face holding the bag containing his homemade treats. He could not have been more proud of himself.

Blueberry Peach Crisp

Okay, so here's another picture of a partially eaten dessert, can you tell I can't wait to dive in when it comes to dessert?? This is an adapted recipe from the Barefoot Contessa. Her recipe is a Peach and Raspberry Crisp but I used blueberries instead of raspberries. I made this for a dinner party Sunday night. The peaches at the store were slightly on the under-ripe side, but we left them in a brown paper bag overnight with a few bananas to hopefully improve the ripening process...although not much changed. Oh well, the crisp turned out great (looks a little soupy in the picture but that might be because it was hot out of the oven). I served it with a little vanilla ice cream. It was a hit! If you're looking for a quick summer time dessert recipe give this one a try. Thanks Ina!