Mediterranean Chicken with Cucumber Mint Sauce

This is a lean protein/Fibrous Veggie Dinner Option (for the MUFA I like a piece of dark chocolate)
And the kids really like this as well.

3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubbed into 1 in cubes
6 oz plain Greek Yogurt
3 cucumber- seedless are nice, but not necessary, peeled
2 Tbsp mint, chopped
2 tsp. Greek seasoning blend (or 1/2 tsp each sesame seeds, garlic powder, dried oregano, and crushed red pepper (which I go light on for the kids))
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
lemon wedges

1. Preheat a large saute pan on medium-high heat with a Tablespoon or two of olive oil. Toss cubed chicken with Greek seasoning blend, and cook until brown, stirring often. About 10 minutes.

2. For sauce, shred one cucumber; set aside. In a bowl combine yogurt, chopped mint, and shredded cucumber with a dash of salt. Cover and refrigerate.

3. Thinly slice the remaining cucumbers into semi-circle slices.

4. Serve the chicken with sauce, onions, and thinly sliced cucumbers. And perhaps some lemon wedges.

(This is also REALLY yummy on naan, flatbread, or pita.)

Chloe Coscarelli's Sweet Potato Casserole

Make Ahead Tip: Assemble the entire dish except for the final baking step up to 2 days in advance. Store in refrigerator and bake before serving.

Ingredients:
Pecan Streusel
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 C pecans
1/4 C brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch of salt
1 1/2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

Casserole
3 large garnet yams, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 C canned coconut milk, mixed well before measuring
1/3 C packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus extra for garnish
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 C dried sweetened cranberries
1/2 C vegan marshmallows (no gelatin)

Preparation
For the pecan streusel:
In a food processor, combine flour, pecans, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt, and process until crumbly. Add oil and pulse until crumbly and somewhat combined.
For the casserole:
Preheat oven to 400 F. Lightly grease an 8-in square pan.
Place yams in a large pot and cover with cold water. Cover and bring to a boil. Cook until fork tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain and return to pot.
Add coconut milk, brown sugar, salt, spices, and vanilla, and mash with a potato masher until you achieve a chunky texture. Adjust seasoning to taste. Mix in cranberries and transfer to prepared pan.
Top with pecan streusel and marshmallows. Bake for 15-20 minutes until marshmallows look toasted. Dust with cinnamon and serve.

Chicken Satay

1/2 cup coconut milk (Chaokoh brand)
1 clove garlic
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 tsp fish sauce (red boat brand)
3/4 lb skinless, boneless chicken thighs
wooden skewers

whisk together ingredients and marinate meat for at least 30 min. Grill 4-6 min on each side

Dipping sauce:

1/4 C peanut butter
1/2 C dates (chopped)
1/2-3/4 C fresh orange juice
1/2 C soy sauce
1/4 C raw cashews
2 Tbls roasted peanuts

add all ingredients except peanuts to a food processor and chop until smooth fold in chopped peanuts

waterfall beef

1 lb flank steak
2tbl chopped lemongrass
1 tsp black pepper
2 tbls soy sauce

salad:
1 oz sliced shallot
1/4 C mint leaves
1/4 C cilantro leaves

Dressing:
1-2 Tbls fish sauce (red boat brand)
2 Tbls lime or lemon juice
1 1/2 Tbls soy sauce
1/2 ts toasted chili powder
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp brown sugar

mix marinade and rest beef in it

coarsley chop greens. Grill the steak turning twice on each side (1.5 min each turn = medium rare)

slice cooked meat against the grain and diagonally, cover with salad

Wookie Cookies

(Adapted from the Star Wars Cookbook)

-2 1/4 cups flour

-1 tsp baking soda

-1 tsp salt

-1 tsp cinnamon (I like to put a little extra, but it's up to you)

-1 cup unsalted butter, softened (not melted)

-1 cup packed brown sugar

-1/2 cup granulated sugar

-2 large eggs

-1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

-2 cups milk chocolate chips (we usually put 1 cup milk chocolate and 1 cup semi-sweet)

-1 pkg (6 oz) instant chocolate pudding

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Mix flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and pudding.  In another bowl mix butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smoothe.  Mix in eggs and vanilla extract.  Add the flour mixture and stir until blended.  Add the chocolate chips and mix.  Scoop dough on an ungreased cookie sheet leaving 1" between each scoop.  Bake for about 10 minutes.

Bath Bombs

1/4 Cup: Baking Soda
1/8 Cup: Espom Salt or sea salt
1/8 Cup: Citric acid
1/8 Cup: corn starch
1.5 teaspoons vegetable oil or castor oil
12-15 drops food coloring and a squirt of liquid hand soap to make bubbles
1 teaspoon water

mix dry. mix wet. 1/2 teaspoon essential oils (lemon, eucalyputs, etc)
15 drops red
stir while adding wet to dry
shakein a tupperware
embroidery floss with knoat at the bottom
line toilet paper tube with paper
spoon misture into tp tube, one spoonful at a time
near top compound with battering ram
make hole and put fuse in and ram it around
freeze 10-15min

Lemon tarragon pasta salad

Knock off of plates and palates pasta salad

1 (16 oz) box of bow tie noodles

2 cups red grapes

1 cup celery

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1 bunch green onion

Dressing: 

1 1/4 C regular mayo

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 tsp onion powder

2 lemons juiced and zested

1/2 tsp salt

2 TBLs fresh tarragon, minced

1 TBLS sugar

2 TBLS honey

Swig Sugar Cookie Copy Cat

Swig Cookie Copy Cat Recipe

I combined two of them together and man these cookies are good!!! If you do a normal size cookie dough ball, (the second size scooper) it makes 4 dozen. If you made them Swig size it'd make 2 dozen.  DON'T cook them longer than 7-8 min. You don't want any brown

Ingredients

• Dry ingredients:
• 6 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon cream of tarter
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• Wet ingredients:
• 2 sticks (salted) butter (1 cup), room temperature
• ¾ cup vegetable oil
• 1¼ cup sugar
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 eggs, room temperature (important)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• For the Icing:
• 1 stick (salted) butter, room temperature
• ⅓ cup sour cream
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2-3 tablespoons milk
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla
• 1 – 2 drops red food coloring

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a mixing bowl with a metal whisk, mix together flour, salt, baking soda, and cream of tarter. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a standing mixer, cream together the butter and sugars for 2 minutes. Slowly stream in the oil while beating. Add the water and vanilla and then beat the eggs in one at a time until combined. Now add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients a little at a time, mixing until combined (scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed).
4. Using a 1½inch ice cream scoop, scoop out the cookie dough into uniform sized scoops onto a parchment lined baking sheet pan. 12 cookies per pan. With this size of ice cream scoop, you can get about 40 to 48 cookies from this recipe.
5. Place 2 tablespoons sugar in a small dish with a pinch of salt, use more if needed. Take a drinking glass or something about 2 inches in diameter (I used an empty Star Bucks frappuchino glass…you know the kind shaped like an old fashioned milk glass?…it worked great!). Dip it into the sugar (you may need to press the glass into the first cookie dough scoop to grease it up for the sugar to stick to the glass). Press the glass into the cookie dough scoops to form a jagged edge around the cookie. The dough will spill past the edge of the glass. You might need to use your fingers to press pieces of the dough back into the cookie. Repeat this process of dipping the glass into the sugar and pressing it into each scoop of sugar cookie dough.
6. Bake the cookies for only 8 minutes. You don’t want to over bake. You can either let them cool right on the pan (because they are not baked that long in the oven, that is if you have enough baking pans for the rest of the cookies…this is what I did), OR you can gently move the cookies onto a cooling rack and let them cool completely this way.
7. For the Icing:
8. Cream the butter, sour cream, and salt together. Add powdered sugar a little at a time, alternating with adding the milk. Add extra milk or powdered sugar if needed to reach your desired consistency. Add food coloring and vanilla and mix until combined. Using a rubber spatular add a big dollop of icing onto each cookie. With the backside of a spoon, spread the icing over the center circle of the cookie. Let the icing dry and set to the touch and then store in an air-tight container in the fridge. I used a 9×13 glass pyrex dish with plastic wrap over the top and parchment sheets between the stacked cookies, and it worked great.These cookies are served chilled because of the sour cream in the pink frosting.