BBQ Chicken Salad and BBQ Sauce

We make a lot of salads at our house.  We have one every night with dinner, but my favorite is our BBQ'd Chicken Salad with homemade BBQ sauce.  I know it's weird but I LOVE BBQ sauce!  I have made several different recipes, but lately I have been making one that comes from a Fine Cooking recipe for barbecued chicken.  

The salad is pretty versatile and you can add whatever vegetables you have.  Ours has different ingredients every time we make it.  And there really are no exact measurements - just put in the amount you want.  Remember less is more!  It's easy to add extras!

It's also great deconstructed for the kids.  L & M gobble this stuff up - especially when there is blue cheese involved.  (Yes, blue cheese and BBQ sauce make for an amazing combination.)

salad ingredients:
head of Romaine lettuce, chopped
1 bone-in breast barbecued chicken (or for the quick, easy version....rub the chicken breast with olive oil, salt, pepper and a bit of BBQ sauce.  Bake it in a 400°F oven until 165°F.  Let it cool and pull apart. Set aside.)
¹⁄₂ cup corn
¹⁄₂ - 1 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
black olives, chopped
green beans, briefly cooked or steamed
artichoke hearts, quartered
¹⁄₂ cup cooked quinoa
tomatoes (I like the strawberry sized ones)
avocado
cilantro
onion
blue cheese
salt and pepper to taste

dressing:
equal parts bbq sauce and olive oil
balsamic vinegar, to taste 
salt and pepper

bbq sauce:
1 cup unsweetened apple juice
¹⁄₂ cup cider vinegar
1 cup ketchup
2 Tbs. Dijon mustard
2 Tbs. pure maple syrup
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
¹⁄₂ tsp. hot sauce, such as Tabasco
¹⁄₂ tsp. kosher salt
¹⁄₄ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

To make the sauce: in a medium saucepan, boil the apple juice and vinegar over medium-high heat until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Lower the heat to medium low and add the remaining ingredients. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.

The bbq sauce can be made ahead and will keep in the refrigerator for about 1 week.

To make the salad: Mix the dressing ingredients in small jar with a tight fitting lid.  Shake vigerously and set aside.  Toss all of the salad ingredients together in a large bowl.  Add the dressing to taste and serve.

The salad may be made several hours in advance.  Simply keep out the tomatoes, avocados and dressing until you are ready to serve.

Serves 4

The barbecue sauce recipe is from Fine Cooking, June/July 2013.

Crustless Quiche

This quiche is a quick, easy and delicious idea for dinner.  As long as you have milk and eggs you add just about anything to it.  The one I made below is diced ham, leek and cheddar, but any meat, veggie, cheese combo will work too!

ingredients:

6 eggs
1¹⁄₂ cups 2% milk
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
2 leeks, white and light green parts chopped
1 cup diced ham
dash of tabasco sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil for the leeks

Preheat the oven to 400°F.  Lightly whisk the eggs and milk and set aside.  Sauté the leeks in some olive oil, over medium heat, until soft.  About 5 minutes.  Add the leeks and the rest of the ingredients to the milk and eggs.  Pour into a 9 inch pie/baking dish and bake for 30 minutes or until puffy and golden brown on top.

If you using other vegetables either roast or sauté them before mixing them in with the eggs.

Serve with some toast and a big green salad.

Serves 4

Weekend Waffles

Every Saturday and Sunday morning in our house is the same: waffles or oatmeal?  L loves oatmeal, I love waffles.  L usually wins, but occasionally she wants waffles too! 

These are delicious!  They stay crispy in the oven and are good with just about anything served on top!

ingredients:

¹⁄₄ cup whole wheat flour
¹⁄₂ cup all-purpose flour
¹⁄₈ cup quick oats
¹⁄₂ chopped pecans
¹⁄₄ cup cornstarch
¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
¹⁄₂ teaspoon baking powder
¹⁄₄ teaspoon baking soda
¹⁄₂ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup buttermilk (we make our own: mix 1 cup milk with 1 tablespoon lemon juice.  Let sit for 15 minutes.)
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 egg, separated
1 tablespoon sugar
¹⁄₂ teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 200°F and preheat a waffle iron. Combine the first 9 ingredients in a large bowl and mix.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, oil and egg yolk.  In a third bowl, whip the egg white until soft peaks form.  Add the sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form, then beat in the vanilla.  Pour the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk together until just incorporated.  Gently fold in the egg white. 

Pour a generous 1/2 cup of the batter onto the waffle iron.  Close the waffle iron and cook until well browned and cooked through, 5-7 minutes. As each waffle is cooked, set it directly on the oven rack to keep warm while cooking the rest of the waffles.  Do not stack the waffles or they'll be soft, not crispy. Once the waffles are all cooked, serve with maple syrup and fresh fruit.  The waffles are also delicious with a dollop of whole milk, plain yogurt!

Serves 4

Adapted from Celebrate the Rain. A Junior League of Seattle cookbook.