Cilantro Lime Chicken Salad

 This chicken salad is simple to make and full of fresh bold flavors.  Great served in an avocado half or with tortilla chips.

Ingredients

3 cups shredded chicken breasts ( I use a rotisserie chicken)

3/4 cup mayo

1 t. garlic powder

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. black pepper

1/2 cup red onion, finely chopped

1 red pepper, finely chopped

1/2 cup cilantro 

Juice of 1 lime

Combine the mayo, garlic powder, salt, pepper and lime juice and mix. In a large bowl, stir the chicken, onion, pepper and cilantro.  Mix with dressing and chill. 

Tomato Basil Soup

 Ingredients

1 medium onion, chopped

6 cloves garlic, minced

4 T olive oil

3 (28 oz) cans crushed tomatoes 

1 (32 oz) carton of chicken broth

2 T sugar

1 t salt

1 t pepper

1 1/2 T dried basil

4 cups heavy cream

Instructions

Saute garlic in olive oil. Add tomatoes, chicken broth, salt, pepper and sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat, lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Using an immersion blender or your food processor, blend until smooth.  Add 3-4 cups heavy cream and fresh or dried basil.  Warm and serve.

Chicken Noodle Soup

 Back in the day when Jamie played golf, his group would play on Thursdays at the El Dorado Country  Club. Thursdays was Chicken Noodle Soup day and was always a favorite. When I opened the Invisible Chef, I called Ronnie Hughes, the manager and long time friend and asked for the recipe. And this was what I received.

I use the following:

3 leg quarters

1 onion diced

3 stalks celery diced

1 bag medium egg noodles

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

3 Chicken bouillon cubes or 3 T chicken base

Boil leg quarters with onion and celery.  Remove chicken when done; add bouillon and let broth come to a boil.  Add egg noodles and cook until tender.  Stir in the soups, taste and add salt if necessary, add pepper and cut up chicken. This gets thicker as it cools and if necessary add more broth to thin. Great served with cornbread(see recipe in blog)

Aspen Snowflake Cookies

1pound butter, room temperature 

1 cup sugar

3 cups flour 

1 t vanilla

1 1/2 cup coarsely crushed smooth potato chips

Powdered sugar

Heat oven to 325* Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add flour, then vanilla, mixing well after each addition. Gently stir in crushed potato chips. Drop by rounded tablespoons(walnut size) on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 325* for 15-20 minutes, until edges are golden. Sprinkle cookies with powdered sugar. Remove from pan and cool. Makes about 6 dozen. 

And if you’ve never tried “non melting” powdered sugar, it’s a must for these as well as lemon bars. It never disappears or melts into the cookie. 

Veggie Pizza Squares

 Veggie pizza squares

These are quick, make ahead of time and so good. My only bit of advise is chop the veggies finely. Otherwise, it’s very difficult to eat. 

INGREDIENTS

• 2 (8-oz.) packages refrigerated crescent rolls
• 2 (8-oz.) packages cream cheese
• 1 cup mayonnaise 

• 1 (1-oz.) package powdered Original Ranch dressing mix
• 1/2 cup grated broccoli
• 1/2 cup grated cauliflower
• 1/2 cup grated carrots
• 1/2 cup or more finely grated cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped scallions

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350. Unroll crescent rolls onto a large baking sheet, separating dough and arranging in a single layer covering the baking sheet. Press together the perforations and prick with a fork. Bake until golden brown.  Remove from oven and cool.  

In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, mayonnaise and ranch dressing mix. Using a hand mixer, blend together until smooth.  Spread mixture onto cooled crescent rolls.  Sprinkle broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, scallions, and cheese. Place a piece of wax paper on top and press down on the veggies,  Cover with plastic wrap and chill for one hour prior to cutting.

Joe's Stone Crab Key Lime Pie

After eating this pie numerous times at Joe's Stone Crab restaurant in Las Vegas, I finally asked the waiter if they shared their recipe and he gladly gave it to me.  He said the secret of their recipe is freezing it!

Two 14-ounce cans sweetened condensed milk.

5 egg yolks.

1 cup fresh key lime (or lime) juice.

Zest of 1/2 key lime (or lime)

10 graham crackers, crushed.

1/4 cup sugar.

5 tablespoons melted unsalted butter.

Whipped cream, for serving, optional.

Directions

Special equipment: 12-inch pie pan

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Mix the milk, yolks, lime juice and zest for filling. Mix the crackers, sugar and butter for crust. Form the crust in the pie pan and bake for 8 minutes at 375 degrees F. Remove and cool. 

Pour the filling in the crust and bake another 8 minutes. Remove and cool. Once cool, place in the freezer at least 1 hour or until ready to use. When ready to serve, remove from the freezer and let thaw for 15 minutes. Top with whipped cream if desired. Enjoy.

Cranberry Chicken Salad

Someone asked me to give them this recipe and my reply was “look on my blog, it was most likely one of my first post”. Well, was I wrong. It’s been 18 years since the Invisible Chef and I never use a recipe for this, so it’s time.

SALAD
4 cups cooked diced chicken breast, about 4 breasts
2 celery ribs, thinly sliced
3 green onions, sliced
3/4 cup toasted pecans, chopped
4 ounces Craisins
1/2-3/4 cups mayonnaise
1/4-1/2 cup Sweet Hot Mustard, see recipe below
Mix chicken, celery, green onions, Craisins and chopped pecans. Mix desired amount mayonnaise with sweet hot mustard and add to chicken mixture and refrigerate.

Sweet Hot Mustard
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup Coleman’s Dry Mustard
2 eggs, beaten,
1cup white vinegar
1/4 cup honey
Mix sugar and dry mustard. Whisk in eggs and vinegar. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, about 10 minutes, until thickened and smooth. Add honey and cool. Refrigerate any leftover mustard for later use.