Saturday, May 23, 2009

Spicy Honey Chicken Salad

Oh my goodness, I am in love. If anyone is in need of an amazing salad you must try this one. It is a main dish and I feel like I'm at a restaurant while eating it. It is soooo good. I have made it in the past but I added the mango this time and I inhaled the salad. I couldn't breathe until it was gone.

I found the recipe on this link. Check it out. There are amazing pictures to go with every step by step recipe.

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/05/spicy-honey-chicken-salad.html



It's a blog I follow and it has some really fun recipes. Most of the things that I have tried are really good but this salad has got to be my favorite.

One thing though, she uses chicken thighs, I tried once and I just can't do it. I am a breast person. They are so much less fatty and I have a thing against meat fat. It just grosses me out.

It's also a must to use the dressing that goes with the salad and you can't forget the avocado. Scott and my girls both love this as well. I copy and pasted the recipe here (in case I ever lose the recipe) but you should check out their blog. It may look overwhelming but really it's not bad at all.

Spicy Honey Chicken

2 t vegetable oil

Rub:

2 t garlic
2 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/2 t coriander
1 t kosher salt
1 t cumin
1/2 t chipotle chili powder for extra heat, increase chipotle or add ground red pepper

8 boneless skinless chicken thighs (Yes, Thighs!!)
everyone is always asking me if they can use breasts for this. Sure you can, but I'm tellin'ya right now it's better with thighs.

Glaze:
1/2 C Honey
1T Cider Vinegar

Combine the rub spices in bowl and mix well.

Use kitchen shears (or a pair of clean scissors) to trim off any excess fat from the chicken pieces. Pat dry. Drizzle oil over chicken and rub in with your hands to lightly coat all the pieces. Then toss chicken with the spice rub to coat all sides well. Use your hands and get in there! Grill chicken a few minutes on each side, until cooked through.

While chicken is cooking, warm honey in the microwave so it's not so thick. Add the vinegar and combine well. Reserve 2T honey glaze for later. Take the rest and brush on chicken (both sides) in the final moments of grilling.

I'm gonna warn you that this can make a hot mess, literally. It's sugar, and it's gonna drip. But the smelly smoke is worth it for a minute or two. Just leave your grill on for a few minutes after the chicken is done to burn off any excess glaze. It's totally worth it once you taste this stuff.

If you don't have a bbq, try it on an indoor grill pan or use your broiler. Just be sure to open a window in case you burn your glaze!

Remember how I had you reserve that extra couple tablespoons of glaze? Ya, drizzle that on top now. You're taste buds will thank you.

Honey-Citrus Vinaigrette

this recipe used to be called "Bermuda Vinaigrette," in case you were confused!
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 T grated onion
1/3 C fresh orange juice
3T fresh lime juice
1T honey
1 t cumin
1/2 t salt
1/4 t ground black pepper
1/2 C vegetable oil

3. Place all ingredients in a tightly sealed jar and shake your bootie (and the jar) vigorously. Store in the fridge, and shake before dressing salad.

Spicy Honey Chicken Salad

1-2 heads Romaine or Red Leaf Lettuce
2 ripe but firm mangoes, chilled
2-3 ripe but firm avocados

Spicy Honey Chicken
Honey-Citrus Vinaigrette

This serves 4 large salads or 6 smaller sized ones.

While chicken is grilling, wash lettuce and divide among serving plates. Slice avocados and mangoes and place them on top of the lettuce. When chicken is finished, let it sit for 5 minutes before slicing to preserve the juices. Then slice it up and divide among the salads. Drench it all in the Honey-Citrus Vinaigrette and pretend you're at a fancy restaurant!

First Dance Recital

Last Saturday was Aubree first dance recital. She has been taking tumbling and ballet for the past year. For the most part she has loved it. It was only hard to get her to go if she fell asleep and I had to wake her up right before dance.

It's been good for her to practice at something and get better. Aubree is a perfectionist and has a hard time if she can't do something perfect the first time. This has helped her try something and she that she can improve.

She was very proud of herself by the end of the performance. It was so fun to watch her on stage, even if it was only about 2 minutes. At the beginning they had everyone come out with a colored ribbon and she came out waving at us fast and furiously.

I was really glad she actually performed and didn't just stand there. She tried really hard and I have to admit I was proud of her for getting up on stage and doing her thing.

I tried to get a few pics before the recital but Aub wasn't in the picture mood. I managed a few shots though. They wouldn't allow flash photography during the show so the ones I tried there all turned out blurry. We did video it though.

Aubree wasn't too excited at first when I told her she had to wear her hair up but she really liked the final result. It was all pulled back in a bun. Some of these pictures don't even look like her because her hair is pulled back.


I thought her eyes looked nice here even if she wouldn't smile.

This doesn't really look like her but she's my little dancer.Here she is showing off some of her techniques.

Monday, May 4, 2009

Dear Brave Aubree

Aubree may be older than Sydney but she definitely isn't braver. (Is braver even a word?) When going to the doctor Aubree asks Syd to go first so she can see if it's going to hurt. When warming up her milk (yes, Aubree likes to warm her milk in the microwave....YUCK!), she will immediately give it to Syd to see if she's going to get burned. Aub can always talk Syd into doing something as a "test" to see if it's safe to do.

Sunday morning was no different. We have a few little sugar ants roaming around our house in different spots. I keep spraying them when I find a bunch of them together. As I was getting ready on Sunday the girls found some in my bathroom. Sydney will get down and pick them up and squeal with delight. Aubree loves to watch Syd pick them up and play with them. After a few minutes of watching Syd play with them this is what I saw and heard.

Aubree: Watch out Syd, I'm going to scare them.

Sydney: Okay (She basically does whatever Aubree asks.)

Aubree: She didn't say anything but she showed the ants her scariest face. She put her fingers in her mouth and pulled the sides of her mouth as far as she could.

I was laughing. Aubree thought she was so brave and her scary face would make all those ants scatter all over the place. What will she come up with next?