Spinach Chicken Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing

This chicken salad is to die for!  It is a beautiful, light, and nutritious meal that is highly satisfying.  Sounds great, right? 

Start with the chicken.  Marinate two boneless, skinless chicken breasts for 1-2 hours in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste.  After you marinade the chicken, pound the fatter part of the chicken with a meat tenderizer (I do this is a zip lock bag), so that the chicken is of even thickness.  Use olive oil on one side of the chicken, and season with some more Kosher salt.  Grill the chicken.  Sear on each side for about two minutes to get a nice carmelization, then keep turning the chicken until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.  This will give you a beautiful juicy chicken.  Set aside and allow to cool.  To prepare for the salad, slice it against the grain in 3/4 inch thick pieces.

Next, make the salad dressing.  Just put all of the ingredients together in a measuring cup and mix with a whisk until smooth.  You can prepare the dressing and the chicken well ahead of time.

To assemble the salad, use fresh spinach as the base, and top with craisens, cheese, almonds, and bacon bits.  Fan the chicken across the top, and drizzle the dressing across the top.

Spinach Chicken Salad

From the Kitchen of Lynnae Hymas

Chicken Marinade

·         ¼ cup oil

·         ¼ cup balsamic vinegar

·         Salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients

·         2 Grilled and marinated chicken breasts

·         1 pound Spinach

·         ¼ cup Roasted Almonds

·         ¼ cup Craisins

·         ¼ cup Blue Cheese Crumbles

·         1/8 cup Bacon Bits

Directions

Mix the oil, vinegar, and salt and pepper together.  Marinate chicken breast in marinade 1-2 hours before cooking.  Grill the chicken until the internal temperature reaches 165°.  Cut into small ¾ inch strips and allow to cool to room temperature.  Add all other ingredients to a salad bowl and toss.  Add chicken and serve with honey mustard salad dressing. Serves 4.

Spinach Chicken Salad PDF

Honey Mustard Dressing

From the Kitchen of Lynnae Hymas

Ingredients

·         ½ cup mayonnaise

·         2 tablespoons honey

·         2 tablespoons yellow mustard

·         2 tablespoons milk

·         2 teaspoon lemon juice

·         ¼ teaspoon coriander

Directions

Mix all ingredients together in a measuring cup with a whisk.

Honey Mustard Dressing PDF

Tuesday Tips-Oven Bake Your Bacon

I LOVE bacon, but I hate to fry it on the stove top.  It makes a huge mess and the bacon smell just sticks to me.  So, I started baking my bacon in the oven.  I cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil (I use the 18" width kind for this job), spray it with non-stick spray, and spread the bacon in a single layer across the pan.  The non-stick spray really is an important step.  I know bacon has plenty of fat in it, but the bacon sticks if I don't spray it first.  Bake at 425 degrees for 15-23 minutes, depending on how crispy you like it and how thick your bacon is.  I like my bacon thick and crispy!

 

After it's done cooking, I fold one hot pad in half and set the pan on it and a flat one so that it create a tilt. 

Place the pan on the folded hot pad as well as a flat one for the other end.  I push the bacon to the top half and let the grease run down to the bottom.

Remove the bacon and place on paper towels to absorb any extra grease.  Once the pan cools a bit, I put a couple of paper towels down to soak up/contain the grease, fold the foil up into a neat little packet, and throw it in the garbage.  No mess no fuss.  If I cooked any extra bacon, I crumble it up and store it in the fridge for bacon bits.

Barb's Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

Several years ago, one of my co-workers and good friends, Barbara, would bring the most amazing chocolate chip cookies to work to share.  They were soft and rich, and I could easily eat half a dozen in one sitting.  Give them a try.  You won't be disappointed. 

One amazing tip I've learned is to cream your eggs and butter together to create beautiful, creamy emulsion.  See the picture below.  It takes a while, so don't panic.  The cookies bake differently when I do this and when I don't. This picture shows the whip attachment for the mixure, but I prefer to use the paddle attachment.

After the eggs and butter cream together, I add the sugars, cream, and extracts and mix, then switch to my dough hook.  Next, I add the dry ingredients that I mixed together in a separate bowl, and lastly, the chocolate chips, about 1 1/2 bags.  Guittard Milk Chocolate Chips are my favorite.  I'd definitely use a high quality chocolate chip in these.  Milk and semi-sweet both work great.  Use your favorite!

Next, drop them onto a cookie sheet.  Don't flatten them.  I recently started using silicone baking liners, and I love them!  Another tip is don't bake too many at a time.  I only cook a dozen at a time.

Bake at 350 degrees for 9-12 minutes.  Do NOT over bake them.  They will get hard and crunchy if you do.  The best way to tell is by looking at the bottom of the cookie.  They should be on the very light end of turning brown.  I like to leave them on the cookie sheet for an extra minute or two before I transfer them to the cooling rack.  They cook just a tiny bit more and are a little easier to handle after they have cooled for a moment.

They are the best when served with a tall glass of milk!  After they have completely cooled, store them in an air tight container so they will stay fresh and soft.

Barb’s Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

From the Kitchen of Lynnae Hymas

Recipe adapted from Barbara Leonhardt

Ingredients

•          1 ½ c. butter
•          3 eggs
•          2 c. brown sugar
•          1 ½ c. sugar
•          1 ½ tsp vanilla
•          1 ½ tsp coconut extract (don't leave this out!)
•          ¾ c. cream

Dry Ingredients

•          4 ½ c oatmeal flour (17 ounces)
•          4 ½ c. flour (22.15 ounces)
•          1 ½ tsp baking powder
•          1 ½ tsp baking soda
•          ¾ tsp salt
•          3 c. chocolate chips

Directions

Cream the eggs and butter together until emulsified.  Preheat oven to 350° F.  Cream the sugar.  Mix in extracts and cream.  Blend oats in blender until flour.  Combine dry ingredients together in a separate bowl and then add to sugar, butter, and egg mixture.  Combine together, then add chocolate chips.  Drop balls onto a cookie sheet and then bake for 9-12 minutes.  Allow to cool on the pan for a minute or two. Remove from pan and allow to cool on cooling rack.  Makes approx. 6 dozen cookies.

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