Chicken Salad Stuffed Avocados

So I was sitting at the table the other night trying to plan out a menu for the week….

Side note, I just realized that I start all of my ramblings with “So…”. I’ll work on that. Just so you know, I say rad a lot too…just warnin ya, in case we ever had a conversation and you were thinking, “I wonder if she knows that she says ‘rad’ a lot”… I know.

I like it 🙂

Anyway….I was sitting making my menu and subsequent grocery list, which I usually make the morning that I go shopping and end up leaving my house 2 hours later than I want because I am too indecisive and can never decide on what I want to make for dinners….and….

I decided to have street tacos from a rotisserie chicken on one night (they are yummy…and chicken was on sale). But since I knew we wouldn’t finish all of the meat, I needed another meal.

Hence Chicken Salad. But, I wanted something more fun than sandwiches….

So I decided I would stuff an avocado….or as I like to call them…God’s gift to me!!!

I like stuffing stuff into other stuff. It makes me feel creative.

If you don’t like avocados…then we simply can’t be friends

Just kidding 🙂

Then you can just make sandwiches. They will still taste rad!

Ok, are you ready to make seriously the best chicken salad ever????

Here. We. Go.

Ingredients

1/2 rotisserie chicken, cooked and picked clean

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup red seedless grapes, halved

1 apple, diced

1/4 cup raisins

2 large stalks celery, diced

A couple of dashes of pepper

2 ripe avocados

Love (I put extra in all my dishes) 🙂

Preparation

Channel your inner cave man and pick apart the rotisserie chicken until there is not a speck of meat left on it. I always feel a little more primal after this step, like I could go throw a spear or catch a fish with my bare hands.

Survivor here I come!!!

Throw half of the meat into a bowl. (or if you really wanted to, double the recipe and use the whole thing).

Add a dollop of mayonnaise (by the way, I am assuming that a dollop is about the same as 1/4 cup so that’s how I came to my measurement).

I started with 1 dollop and then added more based upon my desired creaminess.

Cut grapes in half and throw them on in. Don’t get crazy on me or you may just lose some under the fridge. Maybe we should gently toss…

Peel and dice the apple. Add it in with your nearly model perfect hand…

Cut the celery in half lengthwise then dice into teeny tiny pieces and add it to the mix.

Gently toss your raisins into the bowl …

Another side note…do you have a store where you can buy raisins in bulk??? If not then you need to move! Or maybe just find one. I bought these at Sprout’s and they are the best raisins I have had in my entire, super, duper long life!!!

Sprinkle a little pepper and…

Mix, baby mix….

Add more mayo if you like it creamier and dreamier.

Slice the avocados in half length wise. Insert a spoon in between the yummy green and the not so yummy skin and *gently* dig out the good stuff.

Put the avocado half on a plate and throw the chicken salad mixture on top making sure to stuff as much into the center as you can.

Now the important part….

Devour!!!

Hope you enjoy all of them one as much as I did!!!

Here’s the handy-dandy printable form

Ingredients

1/2 rotisserie chicken, cooked and picked clean

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup red seedless grapes, halved

1 apple, diced

1/4 cup raisins

2 large stalks celery, diced

A couple of dashes of pepper

2 ripe avocados

Preparation

Pick all meat off of the chicken and throw half of it into the bowl. Add mayo. Cut grapes in half length wise. Dice apple and celery. Add grapes, apple, celery and raisins to the chicken and mayo. Sprinkle a dash of pepper and mix until all ingredients are coated with mayonnaise.

Cut avocados in half length wise and carefully scoop out the inside, removing it from the outer skin. Place avocado on a plate and stuff with chicken salad mixture.

Makes 4 generous servings.

Cheesy Garlic n Herb Biscuits

So last night was one of those nights where I forgot to take out the chicken for the chicken noodle soup that we were supposed to have…dinner time was creeping up on me and I was kinda over what we had in the fridge and pantry…

So basically I really didn’t want to cook and REALLY wanted Chipotle. Mmmmmm…

But…it was a little nippy out (southern California nippy, but nippy nonetheless) I know, I am cold weather wimp

and, I am really trying so hard to stick to this whole budget thing….

So I improvised. We had chicken-less noodle soup with veggies and chicken boulion (I got that chicken flavor in at least) and just to make life interesting and see if I could recreate one of those yummy restaurant finds that I have never forgotten about – Cheesy Garlic n Herb Biscuits.

Hallelujah; thank you Jesus for Cheese and Biscuits and any and all combinations of the two.

I’ll be honest. I didn’t have a ton of faith in them at first. It was a defitnite last minute throw together with whatever i had on hand.

But hot digity! It was one of the best throw togethers we have had yet!

I’m going to warn you….be prepared to throw caution to the wind because when you smell these…

ooh la la!! you will eat them in multiples!

Are you ready?

Here. We. Go.

You will need:

2 Cups Bisquick

3/4 -1 Cup Shredded Cheese

1 Tsp Chives

1 Tsp Minced Garlic

2/3 Cup Milk

You will do this:

Preheat the oven to 450.

Grease a 12 cup muffin pan and set aside.

In a bowl, combine Bisquick, cheese, chives and garlic. Slowly add milk into the dry ingredients stirring constantly. The dough will get quite thick and you may have to use your hands to finish mixing it all together. Get dirty.

Roll the dough into small balls and place 3 into each cup of the muffin pan (so 36 balls in all; 3 in each cup just for those of you who are like me and need super duper specific instructions).

Bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven. Salivate.

Salivate some more.

Devour!!!!

Sorry for the lack of pics…like I said; it was one of those nights, a throw together dish….

I will never let it happen again 🙂

I hope you enjoy!!!

Oh and PS…I used cheddar and chives, but get creative!!! Mozzarella and basil or oregano. Maybe pepper jack and minced jalapenos. The possibilities are endless!!!

Sweet n Tangy BBQ Sauce

Have you ever dreamed wonderful dreams of making your own BBQ sauce?

Yes you say???

Well then, you’re not only pretty much a recipe geek like me, but you are in luck!!

I made this for the first time the other night and it came out A-mazing…

If I do say so myself….

It was super easy, I had all of the ingredients, and, I ended up making it in the crock pot!!!!

Could life get any better???

Well, I could think of a few things that would be pretty sweet, but homemade BBQ sauce made my day…my week in fact!

Go get your cowboy boots on, and if you don’t have any (generally not the common attire in Orange County), slippers or flip flops will do, and prepare yourself because you will be salivating before this creation is complete.

** Note, this recipe does not call for bananas; I am just a bonehead and forgot to take them out of the way when setting up the shot. And yes, I do buy the most green bananas on Earth; what can I say, the hubs likes under ripe bananas and I like to make the hubs happy….it’s the little things

Ingredients 

1 cup Ketchup

1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar (this is the tangy part; like less tang? Use less Vinegar)

3 Tbsp Dark Brown Sugar (I used light brown cause that’s what I had)

1 Tbsp Yellow Mustard

2 Tbsp Tomato Paste (not shown cause it was kinda an afterthought)

1/2 tsp Black Pepper

1/4 tsp Red Pepper Flakes

1 tsp Salt

1 Tbsp Maple Syrup

1/4 tsp Garlic Powder (another afterthought)

1/4 tsp Chile Powder (and yet another afterthought)

** I doubled the recipe so the pictures may not reflect the accurate measurements**

Actual recipe yields about 1 cup of sauce

Directions

In either a medium saucepan or crock pot, pour Ketchup… If you have not gotten a rubber spatula by now we need to have a talk!

Add the Apple Cider Vinegar

and the brown sugar

Note to self…we are in need of a serious manicure…what the heck happened!

Add the mustard…

and the tomato paste….

and the maple syrup….

and all of your spices…

Now stir and stir and then leave it for a bit. We want all of those wonderful flavors to mix together. Let it sit over low heat, stirring occasionaly for about 30-45 minutes to let it reduce.

When you feel like you have had enough stirring and reducing and paying attention to something on the stove, take it off, let it cool, then transfer it to an airtight container in the fridge.

or…

If you want to use it now and have opted for the crock pot and need some ideas on what to do with this amazing stuff…

Here you go (again, I am here to take the wonder out of your kitchen adventures):

Throw in some meatballs (that’s what I did, Meatball Recipe Here), sausage, rotisserie chicken or pulled pork (eat it alone or make sandwiches)

Make a meatloaf and slather it on the top prior to baking

BBQ burgers and chicken are always wonderful

Add some onions and peppers and put it on top of anything and you will think you have died and gone to heaven!

I hope you enjoy making and eating this goodness as much as I did!!!

The Best Meatballs….Ever

I know that may seem like a bold claim however…I need you to make these, end up eating until you feel your stomach fighting back…eating and eating even though you should have stopped 5 meatballs ago but they are just so good, and moist and you cry out:

“I

Can’t

Stop”!!!!

Ok, maybe your reaction will not be as severe with equal parts love and discomfort as mine was,

however,

I pretty much promise you will love them all the same. If not, there is no money back gaurentee…Just puttin it out there….

Here’s what else I love about meatballs, other than the fact that they are delicious,

You can make a ton, eat some now, eat some tomorrow, and freeze the rest for other quick meals in the future.

I know what you’re thinking

She’s a genius. How does she think this stuff up???

I am here for you.

So, again, go put the kids to bed, or if you are desperate like I usually am when attempting to make dinner, go put on another Dora or Diego or Veggie Tales…whatever the kids are into nowadays (Duck Tales is my personal fave…Woohoo) and give yourself about 15 minutes (ok maybe 20) to create something the stuff that dreams (and wife/mom of the year awards) are made of 🙂

The What

2 lbs Ground Meat (I used beef but feel free to experiment)

1 cup bread crumbs with Italian Seasoning ( or you could dry about 5-6 slices of bread, throw it in the food processor with 2 tsp basil and 2 tsp parsley)

3 Eggs

1 Cup Parmesan Cheese

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1/2 medium onion (finely chopped)

4 medium garlic cloves (finely chopped)

The How

Pull out another brightly colored bowl and get to work…

Crack 3 eggs into it (please dig out your shells, no one likes crunchy bits in their meatballs)

Whisk the eggs vigorously. Like your life depends on it. Let’s try to keep the eggs in the bowl though

Throw in your 2 lbs of ground meat. Does that not look a little like the state of Louisiana???

Add your breadcrumbs…

and your cheese. Please refrain from pulling some of the cheese out and eating it. remember, it is touching raw meat…

use your beautiful hand to sprinkle in your salt…

Add your pepper. Take a big whiff of the aroma that is working its way up to you. Sneeze. Move on.

Finely chop your onions so that you don’t have to dig through each meatball picking them out before your son will actually eat them.

And add it to the lower left quadrant of your bowl.

Chop your garlic with the fun garlic roller/chopper that you bought on a whim at Target and have used like every other day since….

and, now the fun part….

Dig in. No not with a fork…this is raw meat here people! With your hands. Squish it, mix it; do whatever you have to do to get it all mashed together.

Go grab your cookie scooper (who woulda thought that sucker had another amazing purpose), and scoop out portions of the meat mixture, roll it into beautifully formed balls and….

throw them on a plate. I got 50 meatballs in total out of 2 lbs of ground beef. You may want more or less depending on the size that you prefer – that’s what she said – note to self, too many reruns of The Office lately….

Throw about half of them into a pot of water that you so diligently started boiling after you finished mixing the meat and thoroughly washed your hands and before you started “ball rolling”…maybe that is where the phrase came from…

**please don’t throw them in but rather gently place with a spoon or spatula. Boiling water hurts when it splashes your face**

Boil them for about 5 minutes

then retrieve them with a slotted spoon and set aside. You will lose some of the onions. Please don’t be sad. It’s a part of life. Onions come and go….

When you are done boiling all of the balls, let them cool for a bit, stick them in a few bags and throw them in the freezer.

Or, add them to some marinara and throw it over spaghetti.

Or, put them in the crock pot of bubbling bbq sauce that your just made (Oh don’t you worry, that ones a comin’).

Or, just sit down at the table with a fork, no need for a knife, and eat….and eat….and eat until your insides feel all warm and fuzzy.

No need to thank me, that’s what I’m here for 🙂