Buffalo Chicken Salad

I found this recipe years ago but tried it for the first time this summer. We've been missing out! This is a new favorite main-dish salad. Serves 6

Dressing:

1/2 c. mayonnaise

1/4 c. BBQ sauce

1 t. tobasco sauce

2 T. milk

Salad:

1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 t. tobasco sauce

1 large carrot, shredded

8 c. chopped romaine lettuce

2 stalks celery, cut in thin matchsticks

1/2 c. crumbled blue cheese

• Combine dressing ingredients in a small bowl.
• Add 1/4 c. dressing and additional tobasco sauce to chicken in a ziploc bag or dish. Marinate in refrigerator at least 30 minutes . Grill or broil chicken until cooked. Cool and slice into strips.
• Combine lettuce, carrot, celery, and blue cheese in a large salad bowl. Stir in dressing and then top with the chicken. Sprinkle with extra blue cheese, if desired.

I thought this salad needed something extra, so I added corn (thawed from frozen), black beans, and juilienned red pepper.

My Favorite Oatmeal Cookies

My sister-in-law asked me for a good oatmeal cookie recipe (a couple of weeks ago--sorry it took so long, Jenni) so I'm posting my favorite. I've tried many over the years and have settled on this one. It's a combination between America's Test Kitchen version and a recipe I found in the cookbook: 5 Star Recipes From Well-Known Latter-day Saints. I like the oat to flour ratio (twice as many oats) as well as the amount of butter called for (it's less than most recipes but still enough). This makes a soft chewy cookie, with a lightly crisp outside. I'm partial to chocolate chips and nuts in this recipe, but Craisins and white chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, or butterscotch chips are all very good.
Update 7/26/12
I tried making these with 1/2 cup butter and 1/3 cup pure olive oil and they turned out perfectly when baked right away.  I doubt I'll ever make them with all butter again.  No spread, and slightly crisp edges with chewy centers.  I bet coconut oil would also be a good replacement for some of the butter.
Famous Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 c. butter, softened

1 c. brown sugar

½ c. sugar

2 eggs

1 t. vanilla

1 ¾ c. flour (I use whole wheat pastry flour)

½ t. baking powder

½ t. salt

1 t. cinnamon (optional; I usually don't use it)

3 c. old-fashioned oats

2-3 c. Add-ins (chocolate chips, nuts, Craisins, raisins, other baking chips)

Cream butter and sugars; add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Add flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon and mix until combined. Add oats and chips. Scoop onto cookie sheet (I use parchment paper--and I use each sheet over and over again) and bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. For bar cookies, spread batter in ungreased 9x13 pan and bake for approx. 30 minutes. This recipe makes exactly 3 ½ dozen cookies when I use my medium pampered chef cookie scoop.

Tip: If you bake these right away, they spread a little. They're good (my kids don't complain) but I prefer to chill the dough first before baking (as per America's Test Kitchen suggestion). I scoop all the dough onto cookie sheets and refrigerate or freeze before baking. Add an extra minute to the baking time when baking chilled dough.

Note: The above recipe works great for my altitude and my oven. If you are baking at a lower altitude, try using ¼ c. less flour and ¼ c. more sugar and alter baking temperature and time as needed.

Basic Crepes

This is the recipe we (actually Cori--thank you!!) made for the cooking class. We doubled it and there were no leftovers! I didn't even get one!

Ingredients:
2 beaten eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1 cup flour (use 1/2 whole wheat, 1/2 white)
1 tbsp oil or melted butter
¼ tsp salt

Method:
Combine eggs, milk, flour, oil, and salt; Whisk until smooth Heat an 8 inch non-stick skillet; remove from heat and add about 2 tbsp crepe batter. Lift and tilt pan to evenly spread batter. Return to heat and cook crepe until it appears dry. Cook on one side only. Invert crepe onto paper towel. Repeat process with remaining batter.

Notes: You can do so much with crepes. Like these Banana Caramel Toasted Coconut Crepes--delicious! For the cooking class I made an apple filling using the dried apples from the cannery. Just put desired amount of dried apples in a microwaveable bowl and add water just barely to cover. Microwave for about 5-6 minutes, stirring every minute, or until the liquid is absorbed. Add cinnamon and sugar to taste and serve inside crepes with vanilla yogurt and toasted walnuts or pecans. The Nutella was also very popular!

Buttermilk Syrup

This was a big hit at the cooking class. It's so yummy, and while I can't claim it's low-fat, it's much better for you than the original recipe was!

1 cup buttermilk
¼ cup butter
1 t. baking soda
2 cups sugar
2 t. vanilla

In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients except vanilla; boil for 5 minutes. Add vanilla. Serve on pancakes, waffles, crepes, french toast, or ice cream. It’s important to use a big saucepan because it froths a lot while cooking and WILL boil over if you use one that‘s too small. Ask me how I know that (and ask Cori Reynolds how much fun it was to clean!).

Apple Spice Syrup

This syrup is great with pancakes, french toast, waffles, and German pancakes. It has very little added sugar because it's sweetened with apple cider or juice.

¼ cup packed brown sugar
2 T. cornstarch
¼ t. ground allspice
1/8 t. ground nutmeg
1-¾ cup apple juice or cider

In a saucepan, combine brown sugar, cornstarch, allspice and nutmeg; mix well. Add juice or cider. Cook and stir over medium heat until syrup is bubbly and slightly thickened. Makes 1-¾ cups. (I make it in the microwave in a large glass bowl. I cook it 3-4 minutes, stirring every minute or so.)

German Pancake

This is a favorite in our house and easy to make for a crowd--just double the recipe and bake in 2 pans. Or for a smaller family, half the recipe and bake in a pie pan or a square one.

6-8 servings

2 T. butter
6 eggs
1 c. milk
1 c. flour (I use whole wheat)
½ t. salt
Put butter in a 13x9 pan and place in the oven while preheating to 400. Watch carefully so butter doesn’t burn (not that I’d know from experience….) Blend all remaining ingredients in a blender until smooth. Tilt pan to distribute melted butter, then pour batter on top of the butter. Bake for 20 minutes. The pancake will get big bubbles in the middle and start to come off the edges of the pan.

Serve with your favorite toppings: fruit, yogurt, syrup, powdered sugar, warm applesauce, etc.

Steel-Cut Oats

serves 4-6

I love this much more than regular oatmeal but never ate it because it was expensive and takes awhile to cook. It is sold in the grocery stores as "Irish Oatmeal" in a fancy tin, but I found it at Kitchen Kneads in West Jordan as "steel-cut oats" for about 1/5th the price. My next great discovery is that it cooks in only 5 minutes (instead of 20-25) if you soak the oats in the cooking water overnight. In the morning, all you need to do is turn on the heat and stir it occasionally as it cooks. Now I eat it a couple of times a week.

2 c. dry steel-cut oats
4 c. water
1/4 t. salt

Mix all in a saucepan, cover, and let soak overnight. In the morning, heat over medium heat until creamy, about 5-8 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in your favorite ingredients. Some of my favorites are: chopped apple, Craisins or raisins, banana, chopped toasted nuts, vanilla yogurt, cinnamon sugar or brown sugar, and jam. Use a combination of the above and stir in a little milk if mixture is too thick.

Note: Millet is another grain I love for breakfast. It is considered one of the most nutritious, least allergenic, and most digestible grains. I buy this at Kitchen Kneads also. Cook it the same way, only the ratio is 1 c. millet to 3 c. water. After soaking all night it will cook in 15 minutes (instead of 45 for unsoaked).