Greek Chicken Salad

2 cucumbers
1/2 lb. carrots
3 oz. feta
3 cooked chicken breasts, diced
Italian dressing

Cube cucumbers and slice carrots into thin rounds.  Add chicken and crumble feta into salad.  Pour salad dressing (one small bottle or about half a large bottle) over everything and stir.  Marinate at least one hour to overnight.

Carrot Cake

In a medium bowl, sift together: 2 c cake flour 2 tsp of each: baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon 1 tsp salt Set aside. In a large bowl, combine: 1 ½ c oil (can use ½ c oil and 1 c apple sauce) 2 c sugar 4 eggs, adding one at a time 4 c shredded carrots 1 ½ c chopped pecans raisins, optional Gradually add flour mixture into the large bowl. Pour into 3 8" cake pans that are greased and lined with wax paper, or a greased and floured 13x9" pan. Bake @ 325̊ degrees for 45-60 minutes until sides start to pull away from pan. Let cool 30 minutes before icing. Cream Cheese Icing 1 stick butter, softened 8 oz cream cheese, softened 1 tsp vanilla Box Confectioner's sugar Whip together butter and cream cheese. Add vanilla and powdered sugar. If too stiff for spreading, thin with milk. Sprinkle with nutty topping, if desired. Cook's note: Amy made this in cake pans and used the oil/applesauce combination, which made for a very moist cake. I will try that the next time. I always made this in the oblong glass dish, but cake pans worked very well.

Bug Juice

"Bug Juice" is the name of our favorite summertime drink, and it brings back such fond childhood memories!

You have to make it in a large drink cooler when you're expecting a crowd because it makes a ton (3+ gallons?).


All you need are two cans frozen lemonade concentrate and one can grape concentrate (all approximately the same size).  Follow the directions on the can for how much water to add.  (I also added several extra cans of water because it was too sweet to me otherwise.)  Enjoy!  

Haley's Broccoli Salad {Lightened Up}

1-2 heads fresh broccoli, chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
3-5 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 small (not tiny) box of raisins
1 6-oz container plain nonfat yogurt {I prefer Greek.}
mayonaise
3 TBSP apple cider vinegar
1/4 c. sugar

Begin by making the dressing.  Add enough mayo to the yogurt to make one cup.  Add the sugar and vinegar and mix well.  Regrigerate.

Combine the rest of the ingredients.  Pour the dressing over the salad and stir well.  {I love to make this early in the day or the day before so that the flavors mix well.  Stir every so often.}

Click HERE to try a broccoli slaw that sounds very similar in ingredients.

Man-pleasing Chicken

Preheat oven to 450̊

Place in ovenproof baking dish:
1 ½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
salt and pepper thighs

Mix the following, then fully coat thighs:
½ c Dijon mustard
1/4 c maple syrup
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
(rosemary–later)

Place chicken thighs into the oven, and let them bake for 40 minutes, or until a meat thermometer reads 165̊. Baste the tops of the chicken with sauce by turning them over halfway through cooking.

Let the chicken rest 5 minutes before serving. Plate the chicken, making sure to spoon some extra sauce over the top. Sprinkle with fresh (or dried) rosemary. Serve this savory goodness over rice. Penne pasta wasn’t quite right for this.

Cook’s note:
With cooking this dish on high, it makes a mess of the baking dish. I would spray Pam around the inside of the dish next time. But also next time, I will try this in the crockpot (Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours...should work equally as well when you don’t want to heat up the kitchen with the oven.).

Thanks to www.wittyinthecity.com

Chinese Coleslaw

One more version:

1 head of cabbage, chopped
4 green onions, chopped
½ stick butter, melted
1 c sliced almonds
½ c sesame seeds
1 c sunflower oil
1/3 c rice wine vinegar
1/4 c sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 bag ramen noodles (no flavor packet)

Chop one head of cabbage and 4 green onions. Store in fridge in separate bags until ready to mix.

Melt butter and saute: 1 cup of sliced almonds, ½ cup of sesame seeds. Let drain on a paper towel.

Dressing---Mix together:
1 c sunflower oil
½ c rice wine vinegar
1/4 c of sugar
1 tsp salt
l tsp pepper

Just before serving, mix the cabbage, onions, and nut mixture. Pour the dressing over the salad. Mix in the crunched up ramen noodles (uncooked-no flavor packet).

Delicious!

Joan Crooks

Juicy Low-Fat Parmesan Chicken

6 oz. fat free plain Greek yogurt
1 tsp. (or one clove) minced garlic
1/3 c. parmesan cheese
1/3 c. Italian bread crumbs
4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

If you have time, add the garlic to the yogurt 30 min. to an hour prior to prepping the rest. (Mixing ahead will just marinate the flavor better. It's okay to mix and continue if you don't have time.) Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

If chicken breasts are thick, pound thin or even slice in half into cutlets. Place on greased baking sheet. Salt and pepper, if desired.

Add the parmesan cheese to the garlic-yogurt mix and spread onto the tops of the chicken breasts. Sprinkle the bread crumbs evenly on top.

Bake for 20-30 minutes until chicken is cooked through.

{Original recipe can be found HERE.}