Chicken Salad Platter

Chicken Salad Platter

Chunks of Grilled Chicken, juicy Nectarines & creamy Avocado resting on a bed of shredded lettuce!  Add a few whole Pecans, some shredded Red Cabbage & Carrots with Feta Cheese resting on top.  Now that is colorful!  Now that is so nutritious & yummy, too!

Then Raspberry Balsamic Vinaigrette drizzled on top.  This is definitely my kind of Salad Platter for dinner.  It's been HHH lately, so after enjoying Grilled Chicken, Grilled Zucchini & a microwaved "Baked Potato" one night at dinner, a cold Chicken Salad Platter the next evening is oh so good!

The OXO salad dressing shaker is filled with:

Raspberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

• 1/4 Cup Balsamic Vinegar

• 1/2 Cup Olive Oil for salads

• 2 teaspoons Raspberry Jam or Jelly

Then, shake, shake, shake & shake that container again!
Repeat & repeat again until the Jam/ Jelly is dissolved.

If I had cold Grilled Zucchini left, I'd add it to the Salad platter, too! This is a great refreshing nutritious dinner on an HHH night!

Yummy!
Enjoy!

~A Promotion in My Kitchen~

Drizzled with Raspberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

Winter here in Massachusetts has been harsh & quite trying at times. The Boston area has had a harder time than we in Western MA.  I was watching the Boston College basketball game last week & was surprised when I heard one of the ACC commentators say that Boston always has these extreme weather conditions.  Woah!  He must have cut way too many Geography classes in high school.

My "Bubble Charts"

Sprinkled in with weekly snowstorms was scheduled cataract surgeries & Eye Dr. appointments.  I lived by my "Bubble Charts" that were given to me by my wonderful Ophthalmologist.  Keeping track of needed Rx eye drops was much easier.  Then, an unexpected surprise!  Breaking a finger in my right hand.  So, as time moves on, my vision is now so clear & distinct!  Woohoo!  And, I'm typing with my left hand.  Both my grandson & I are learning how to print- but he's right handed.  :)

Now, a girl's gotta eat!  Her DH, too!  That brings the promotion in the kitchen.  Jim's been cooking!  My blog sure comes in handy to continue eating healthy foods that are easy to prep.  So my friends, that's why there's been a lack of foodie posts lately.

Simple is good!  We enjoy dinner salads in the warm summer months, & this is one yummy salad that's  drizzled with Raspberry Balsamic Vinaigrette.  We're enjoying it this winter!  Defrosting the cooked frozen medium sized shrimp in the microwave was a new adventure, too.

Raspberry Balsamic Vinaigrette 

Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Olive Oil for salads & marinades
1/4 Cup Balsamic Vinegar
Dash Black Pepper
1 Tablespoon Raspberry Jam or Jelly

 ***Salad Dressing Mixing/ Shaking Container

Method:

1.   Place Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinegar in shaker container.
2.   Add dash of Black Pepper.
3.   Add 1 Tablespoon Raspberry Jam or Jelly.
4.   Place cover on container.
5.   Shake, shake, shake & shake again.  Repeat until jam/ jelly is dissolved.
6.    Drizzle over salad.
7.    Enjoy!

Store Vinaigrette in fridge.  About 1/2 hour before using again, remove from fridge & sit on counter.  Shake, shake, shake & shake again before using.  This small batch is made often.  It's delicious!

Enjoy!
Yummy!

Blueberry or Raspberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

With a drizzle of Blueberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

The flavor started to grow on me!  Balsamic Vinaigrette!  I'm not sure when, but whenever we ate dinner out this dressing was my choice for salads.  Then, I purchased a bottle of a commercial brand for my salads at home.  When I discovered the OXO Salad Dressing Shaker for making/ storing salad dressings, I purchased one.  That's how it all started.  Balsamic Vinaigrette is quite simple to prepare.  The ingredients are placed into a container & shake, shake, shake and shake again.  Repeat if necessary!

Then one evening while dining out I enjoyed Raspberry Balsamic Vinaigrette.  Oh, the sweetness combined with the tang & flavor of raspberries!  Yum, yum, yum!

Now fast forward... it's Blueberry season!  Blueberry Freezer Jam time, too!  Last night I took out the handy green OXO Salad Dressing Shaker and made another delicious Balsamic Vinaigrette - Blueberry Balsamic Vinaigrette.  Drizzled over our cold grilled chicken salad plate it was delicious!

Grilled Chicken Chunks Salad
with Blueberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

 

 

 

 

I haven't purchased dressings in quite a few months, because I'm totally hooked on Balsamic Vinaigrette.  What can be better than a dressing made with Olive Oil???   And making it yourself???  And controlling the ingredients???

About 20- 25 minutes before using a Balsamic Vinaigrette, I take it out of the fridge to warm it up a bit, before shaking it & drizzling.  Then back into the fridge it goes. 

Blueberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Olive Oil for salads & marinades
1/4 Cup Balsamic Vinegar
Dash Black Pepper
1 Tablespoon Blueberry Jam or Jelly

***Salad Dressing Mixing/ Shaking Container

Method:

1. Place Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinegar in shaker container.
2. Add dash of Black Pepper.
3. Add 1 Tablespoon Blueberry Jam or Jelly.
4. Place cover on container.
5. Shake, shake, shake & shake again.  Repeat.
6. Drizzle over salads.

For Raspberry Balsamic Vinaigrette use Raspberry Jelly.

Do you enjoy the taste of a Balsamic Vinaigrette?  Try it, you'll like it!  Plain, Blueberry or Raspberry!  A little drizzled over a salad goes a long way!

Enjoy!
Yummy!

         

Blueberry/ Raspberry Muffins

Blueberry/ Raspberry Muffins

After days of intense heat and high humidity... and rain stopping in, I have not used my oven in a couple of weeks.  The A/C has felt so good.  We've been enjoying grilled fish at dinner time and I've been using the stove top.  Definitely summertime in New England!

Suddenly, Yummy Blueberry Muffins came to mind!  Well, there were no bags of tasty frozen blueberries to be found in our large freezer.  However, 3 combo packages of Blueberries/ Red Raspberries were located.  I remember purchasing a large bag at Costco's during the winter and dividing the contents into Ziploc Qt. sized Freezer Bags.  My supply of our local frozen blueberries usually runs out before the next year's supply is cleaned/ packaged and placed in my freezer.  It's now that time of year!

So, 1 package of the mixed berried was defrosted.  Amazing to me how much fluid needs to be drained from the purchased bags of defrosted berries before using them.  After locating my Yummy Blueberry Muffin recipe, 22 Blueberry/Raspberry Muffins were placed in my preheated oven.   

The batter was swirls of pink containing berries, so I was unsure about the resulting muffins. The result?  Oh, they definitely have a raspberry taste!  I will be using the other 2 packages in my freezer to bake these muffins again.  :)  Yum!

Blueberry/ Raspberry Muffins

Oven Temperature:  375°F
Time:  26 Minutes
Yield:  22 Muffins

Ingredients

1/2 Cup Butter/Margarine
1 and 1/4 Cups Sugar
1 Whole Egg + 2 Egg Whites
2 Cups Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Salt
1/8 teaspoon Cinnamon (optional, but a wonderful addition)
1/8 teaspoon Nutmeg (also optional)
1/2 Cup Milk (can be Soy Milk)
2 - 2 and 1/2 Cups Blueberries & Raspberries combined (fresh or frozen that have been defrosted)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Place paper liners in muffin tins.
3. In large bowl cream butter/margarine with Sugar and beat until light.
4. Add Egg + 2 Egg Whites, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. Add Baking Powder, Salt, Cinnamon, Nutmeg and 1/2 of Flour.  Beat.
6. Add 1/2 of Milk, beat.
7. Add remaining Flour, beat.
8. Then, add remaining Milk, beat.
9. Gently add in Blueberries & Raspberries.  Stir in with Spatula or large Spoon.
10. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full.
11. Bake 26 Minutes or until muffins are lightly browned.

These are delicious muffins!  My Plan B worked well!  Adding only Raspberries to the batter would also be very tasty.  You will enjoy these!

Enjoy!
Yummy!

***Update:  7/12/13  After storing a few these muffins in an air tight container/ Ziploc bag, the flavors blend and they are oh so yummy!  :)

Simply Delicious!

There are occasions (like last night) when I'll open our freezer door prepared to make two ice cream cones.  Unfortunately, there will only be about 1 cup of ice cream remaining in the container.  That is my clue that the next day I will be making Simply Delicious!  It's light, it's colorful and it needs only three ingredients.  Did I mention easy to prepare?  The directions below are for 2 servings, but it can be doubled very easily.  :)

Simply Delicious

1. Boil 1 Cup cold water.
2. Place contents of 1 small pkg. flavored gelatin in a medium bowl.
3. Pour in hot water and stir to dissolve gelatin.
4. Add 1 Cup Vanilla ice Cream.
5. Whisk or stir well until ice cream melts.
6. Pour into 2 serving dishes/mugs.
7. Refrigerate several hours.
8. Serve with whipped cream.

Earlier this afternoon I used one small pkg. Raspberry flavored Jello gelatin and 1 Cup of Black Raspberry ice cream.  Sweet!

Sometimes, I use Strawberry flavored Jello, Strawberry ice cream and a few defrosted Strawberries. 

Life sure is good!  Looking out my window at the colorful bouquet of blooming Zinnias eating Raspberry Simply Delicious!  Yummy!  That was after our visit this afternoon to Stanley Park in Westfield.  Stanley Park is a gem in Western MA.  Filled with flowers and beautifully landscaped, a stroll through this gorgeous park always offers wonderful gardening ideas.  It also has a fountain!  :)

Do you have a favorite quick dessert you make during the summer?  Do you have a favorite park you visit?

Enjoy!