BBQ Chicken Salad

We’re having our carpet cleaned tomorrow so our house is in shambles.  I made sure to clean so the carpet people wouldn’t be distracted thinking about how they could leave dust messages on our coffee table, but at this point I’m not even sure where the coffee table is.   On the positive side, if you want to sit down there’s probably a piece of the sectional within 10 feet. 

I planned an easy meal tonight since I knew we’d need to spend some time moving furniture and I realized I somehow never shared this recipe.  This BBQ Chicken Salad is actually one of my favorite summer salads because after all the toppings it’s still pretty healthy.

Begin by boiling some chicken and shred it.  Just in case you didn’t know – you can shred cooked chicken in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment (works best if the chicken is still hot).  If you didn’t know this – you’re very welcome!  If you did know this, I’m disappointed you never shared it with me.  If you know any more life-changing tips you think I may not know, please let me know!

Once the chicken is shredded, coat it with BBQ sauce so it can soak up the flavor while you work on the rest of the salad.

Cut up the lettuce and veggies. I know the basil seems like a weird addition, but it really makes the salad.  Trust me on this one. 

Mix the dressing in a separate bowl.

I usually portion the lettuce into 4 bowls, divvy the cut veggies between the bowls, and then toss each one separately with dressing.  This way no one gets jipped because all the good stuff fell to the bottom, but you can do whatever floats your boat. 

That’s it!  This saves very well and if you’re saving leftovers, just make sure to keep the BBQ chicken, dressing, and cheese separate from the veggies and mix together right before serving.  

BBQ Chopped Chicken Salad

Recipe adapted slightly from: hungry girl (based on California Pizza Kitchen’s BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad)

Yields: 4 serving

Ingredients

1 lb. chicken, shredded or cubed

BBQ sauce

10 c. chopped romaine lettuce

2 medium tomatoes, chopped

1 c. jicama, chopped

1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed

1 c. corn kernels

½ c. scallions, chopped

¼ c. cilantro, chopped

¼ c. basil, chopped

½ c. fat-free cheddar cheese

Dressing

½ c. fat-free ranch dressing

¼ c. BBQ sauce

Directions

In a small bowl, coat shredded chicken with BBQ sauce.  I usually use about ¼ - ½ c. or so.  It’s best to start with a little and add more as needed.  Set aside.

Place lettuce in a large bowl.  Top with tomato, jicama, black beans, corn, scallions, cilantro, and basil.

Make the dressing in a separate small bowl.  Add in a little dressing at a time and toss salad until coated, depending on your personal preference. 

Divide up into 4 portions.  Top each with equal amounts of the BBQ chicken and cheese.

Enjoy!

Summer in AZ

I feel like I've dropped off the face of the earth a lot lately.  In the past few months I've had some medical stuff going on, and it's amazing how that, and not feeling like yourself, can consume your life.  That's not to say I haven't been enjoying life, but I'm not the type of person who can be told "don't worry" and actually not worry until I have results!  Mr. C is good at that, but me - not so much.  I do enough worrying for the both of us!   I did a lot of worrying, a lot of praying, a lot of things I didn't want to (growing up sucks), and then I spent some time thanking God for all the supportive, wonderful people in my life.  To know that people were praying for me was a huge thing and I can't imagine living life not knowing that God's got my back.

I'm finally feeling back to myself and I'm so excited!  I've missed blogging so much and I'm so excited to share with you the wonderful recipes I've discovered even though I wasn't posting them.  

I hope you've been having a wonderful summer.  I'm not a fan of this crazy AZ heat, but it's finally monsoon season which is a wonderful time of year, even if it is in the summer.  Monsoon season means waking up to cloudy days, thunder in the distance, and rain when we're lucky.  Sunsets in AZ are usually pretty amazing and with the monsoon clouds they are extra beautiful.

We took this photo one evening (sorry for the poor quality) after dinner when we took Coconut to run around in a grassy area.  It was actually cool out that night and Coconut looked so happy running around in circles in the overgrown grass while Mr. C and I enjoyed the gorgeous sunset.  That's my idea of a perfect night.  Hope you've had some of your own perfect evenings too!

Animal Sanctuary

I’m back!  I’m sorry for being MIA for a bit but our internet was down for quite awhile.  After one new modem and all outside parts being replaced by the cable guy, our internet is finally back up and running so I can resume my postings!

We recently were lucky enough to spend some time in Colorado with my parents, aunt, and cousins.  It was sooooo nice to get out of the AZ heat and Mr. C and I are in love with Denver so it was a perfect long weekend.  While we were there my aunt and cousins took us to the Wild Animal Sanctuary.  The Sanctuary houses mainly lions, tigers, bears, and wolves.  These animals were saved from  horrible conditions which typically consisted of some crazy person thinking they could keep a lion or bear in their apartment or something similar.  The animals begin in smaller areas when they are brought to the reserve and as they bond with other animals they are eventually introduced into the larger areas where they have acres to roam and a safe habitat.

A catwalk was created to allow visitors to view the animals in something closer to their natural setting.   The catwalk creates a stress free environment for the animals since they have no natural predators above and don’t see people parading by at eye level as they would in a traditional zoo setting.  We loved the Sanctuary and I’ve never in my life seen lions so relaxed….they looked just like our happy kitty at home.  Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the trip.  It was hard to get a good angle sometimes so sorry for those shots!

I don't know about you, but it looks like that lion is a smilin' to me

Clearly not shy.....

This little squirrel was running around the bear habitat.  He clearly was a bit of a daredevil, along with the little bunnies running around the same area.

One very ferocious wolf...I believe he was one of two "adopted" by a couple in the woods behind their house. When the couple was going through a divorce the husband hired someone to kill the wolves so his wife couldn't enjoy them.  Luckily the hired man saved the two and they seem to live a very happy life at the Sanctuary.  It's not really hard to figure out why the wife probably wanted a divorce....

No, this is not a bunny or squirrel!  The animals seemed to be very well fed with piles of raw meat in their areas.

The prides each had separate areas which consisted of many acres, and they also had access to this indoor area if they wanted a change of scenery.

Happy Mother's Day!

It’s Mother’s Day and this year I’m spending the day with my mom for the first time in 10 years.  Actually, I’m pretty sure I was graduating from high school 10 years ago on Mother’s Day Weekend.  That just makes me feel old.  

I’m sure a lot of people think their mom is the best mom in the world, but I really can’t imagine my life without my mother.  My mom has taught me so many things, more than I could list in one post.  She's always been my biggest cheerleader and has been a role model for me in more ways than she knows.  

One thing I've always admired about her is her thoughtfulness.  Sometimes it's with her baking, sometimes with a call, sometimes with a card.  Like a typical mom, she does a lot of things for others without thinking twice.  This is a lesson that’s stayed with me as I’ve seen how her thoughtfulness has made a difference in the lives of others.  Everyday life is busy and stressful and we all have our own issues, but when you're feeling down or grieving or frustrated there's something so special about receiving those cookies or the phone call or the card in the mail.

I came along a bit later in life for my mother and she tells me that I was such a blessing, but I also know that I was very blessed to get to be her daughter.  Today especially, I am grateful for my mother, mother-in-law, grandmothers, and aunts.  Happy Mother’s Day to all of you and all the friends I’ve seen develop into amazing mothers!

Chicken Avocado Salad

When summer comes around I find myself looking for more recipes that are lighter and anything that lets me avoid turning on the oven in the summer is just a bonus.  My co-worker brought this salad to work for a potluck and it was gone VERY quickly.  It’s very light, filling, fairly healthy, and so very delicious.  I changed a few things and it’s become quite the staple in our meal plan.  Did I mention that it’s crazy easy to make as well? 

Chicken Avocado Salad

Slightly adapted from: kalyn’s kitchen

Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients

1 rotisserie chicken, shredded (or 2-3 c. chicken)

2-3 medium avocados, diced

2 TB. lime juice, divided

Salt

½ c. thinly sliced green onion

½ c. chopped cilantro

3 T. light mayo

Directions

Shred the rotisserie chicken (or boil enough chicken to make 2-3 cups).

Mix the mayo and 1 Tb. lime juice to make the dressing.  Wisk together with a fork and then pour over chicken and stir to coat.  Add green onions and cilantro.

Dice avocados into medium pieces and mix with 1 Tb. lime juice.  Season with salt to taste (don’t skip the salt, it’s just not the same!).

You can make this ahead of time, but it’s best if you add the avocados just before serving.  We typically only eat half of the recipe in one sitting so I mix up everything but the avocados, put half of the mixture in a container for the next day, and just add avocado to the part we’ll eating that night.

You could eat this on bread, croissants, or lettuce, but we just eat it by itself because it’s that amazing. 

April Loves of the Month

Somehow it’s the end of April already.  Here in Phoenix that means that our air conditioners have been on for a bit, and in other parts of the country, such as Nebraska, that means that it may snow tomorrow.  Crazyness.  I would love some of that cold air to come here and in return I’d be willing to share some of our heat :)  If only it worked that way!

Since it’s the end of April that also means it’s time for my loves of the month - my favorite music, movies, books, or anything else that I think everyone should know about because it’s just so darn amazing.

Based on a recommendation, I read Mindy Kaling’s (from the Mindy Project and The Office “Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)” and I loved it.  It’s a very quick read and full of random, funny stories.  It was right up my alley.  I told Mr. C I had plenty of weird, random, funny stories and maybe I should write a book like this.  He politely informed me that no one would read it.  Ha!

Mr. C and I checked out the movie “Homerun” this past weekend and loved it.  Although it’s partially about baseball, the movie is more about family, dealing with the past and forgiving even when it seems impossible.   The movie is from a Christian perspective and had a really great message.  The acting was a bit cheesy in a few parts, but overall it was a great movie and definitely one I’d recommend seeing and supporting in the theatre.

Sara Bareilles is one of my all-time favorite artists.  Her songs are always unexpected, anything but cliché, and her voice is natural and beautiful.  Her songs have a great message and since hearing one of her hits years ago, “Love Song”, about her refusal to sell out to the pop scene by just writing a catchy song, I’ve been a huge fan.  I’ve never been disappointed by her music, and her new single, “Brave”, does not disappoint.  You can check out the music video here (also a great music video).

Fossil Collective is my favorite album of the month.  One of their songs was free on itunes and after one listen I was hooked.  The album is mellow and original.  If you haven’t figured it out by now I’m mostly an alternative girl and I like albums with some substance that I can play straight through without getting bored.  This album was just that for me.

…However I’m also loving ZZ Ward’s album.  I really tried to just pick one, but I couldn’t!  I originally fell in love with her song, “Put the Gun Down” which is a perfect song to blast with the windows open (if you were wondering).  While I love the entire album, “Til the Casket Drops”, “Last Love Song”, and “Lil Darlin” are a few of the songs I find myself repeating the most.

Did you find any amazing books, movies, or songs/albums this month?  If so I’d love to hear about them!  We have an upcoming trip and I really need a great book for the flight.

Fabric Flower Wreath

I have a bit of a wreath obsession.  I recently realized I didn’t have one for spring/summer which is of course a huge problem.  I’ve been itching to make one of those yarn wreaths that have been popping up all over pinterest and I figured this was a great opportunity for that. 

Here’s what you’ll need:

-foam wreath form

-yarn

-felt scraps

-fabric scraps (I used a combo of scraps and some quilting squares you can usually pick up for around $2)

-buttons for the center of the flowers

-hot glue gun

Wrap the form completely in yarn.  I did this while watching TV and it went pretty quick.  To start, I looped the yarn around and tied a knot, continued wrapping, and when I finished I tied another knot in the back of the wreath.

For the flowers you’ll need to cut out 8 equal circles for the base and 8 smaller circles for the center (I used a stencil, but as long as your fabric is semi-circle shaped that’s just fine).  You can cut more or less circles, depending on how full you want your flower.  You’ll also need a small felt circle.  The felt acts as your base so you just need it large enough to be able to glue the tips of the base petals on.

For each circle, fold it in half, then half again.  You just glue this onto the felt circle.  Mine halfway overlapped since I used 8 circles.  Repeat with the second set of circles and finish with a pretty button on top.  When I was finished I glued inside some of the “petals” as necessary.

For each circle, fold it in half, then half again.  You just glue this onto the felt circle.  Mine halfway overlapped since I used 8 circles.  Repeat with the second set of circles and finish with a pretty button on top.  When I was finished I glued inside some of the “petals” as necessary.

I varied the size of my three flowers but you can really do whatever floats your boat.

I chose to pin my flowers onto the wreath so I can swap them out as the seasons change, but you could also glue it if you’d prefer.

That’s it!  It would be pretty to hang with a piece of burlap or ribbon too.