Gramma Sue's Chicken Salad

Here is my Chicken Salad Recipe.  This is a meal they way I plate it.  I will post a picture the next time I make this which will be very soon.  Let me know how you like it.

Gramma Sue’s Chicken Salad

3 cups cooked chicken chopped fine or shredded (vegetarians use two small cans of Fry Chick)

2 stalks celery small diced

2 Tlbs red onion small diced

2 stalks green onion small diced

1 red bell pepper small diced

¼ c finely chopped fresh basil

1 c. cooked orzo

Place all of the above ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Pour dressing over ingredients and mix well.

Dressing

1 c. mayonnaise (vegetarians can use vegan mayonnaise)

1 fresh lemon squeezed, about 1-1/2 to 2 Tlbs

1 1/2 to 2 tsp. cumin (I like the taste but 2 tsp may be too strong for some)

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Wisk ingredients together in small bowl until smooth and pour over Chicken Salad mixture.

Plating

For each plate serving place

1 cup iceberg lettuce shredded or cut into bit sized pieces

1 cup baby spinach cut into bite sized pieces

(Mix together)

½ avocado pitted and skinned. (sprinkle with lemon juice to keep from turning brown)

Place avocado half on top of bed of lettuce. Scoop Chicken Salad over top of avocado half…about a cup.

Place favorite bread cut in half or at an angle on each side of the plate. I used flat bread. You can use any bread you like.

Home Made

Sebby and I decided to try our hand at making crackers.  So many crackers in the store have milk products of some sort in them.  Whew! I didn't realize that going to the grocery store for "vegan" food would be like going to the library.  I really have to read labels. I also need to carry my laptop so I can look up all the funny looking words in the ingredient list like "casein".   It is a protein found in cheese and milk. Now I have to plan my trips instead of just running to the store for a quick shop.

I looked on line for a cracker recipe. The one we did was really simple but I think I need to tweak it before sharing it with you.  I think the key is making sure the dough is rolled thin enough and the crackers are baked long enough but not too long.  I am at high altitude and so I am going to have to mess around with the recipe till I get something good.  Sebby like them when we tasted them.

Davy wasn't so sure about the crackers. He does like graham crackers though.  He also doesn't have to be on the vegan diet, but since Sebby is why not let them both be on it.  Then I don't have to cook so many different things at meal time!

If any of you have ever made crackers before I would love to hear your experiences with them.  Would love the recipes too!

Hunkering Down and Chocolate Chip Cookies

It's getting colder by the minute.  I think it's going to snow again.  Sigh.  I really am tired of the snow and cold, but the nice thing about it is that I can snuggle with the boys.  Davy came this morning with this darling and very warm hat on.  He looks so cute in it.

Both of the boys have colds. So what's new.  They decided to get on Grammy's fluffy bed and wrap up in blankets to watch cartoons.  Sebby said, "Can I watch cartoons Grammy? That would cheer me up."  How can I refuse. 

We did make cookies today. They came out really good. 


Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
Cream together:
1 pound butter softened, (four sticks or two cups)
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar firmly packed

Add to creamed butter and sugar
2 eggs beaten
1 Tablespoon vanilla
and beat till fluffy.

Separately  put
4 cups flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
in a bowl and stir dry ingredients together. Add spoonful at at time to mixture and beat on low till well blended

Add
1 cup of coarsely chopped walnuts
1 12 oz pkg chocolate chips

Stir till blended.

You don't have to grease the cookie sheet, but I either spray it a little bit or use parchment paper liner. I actually use a small ice cream scoop (about 1.5 inch) to shape the cookies.  They all come out the same size that way. Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown.
This recipe is good for high altitude cookies.  I live at 7600 feet.

Pizza Party

I have always wanted to make home-made pizza dough.  So I went on line and found Mitch's Basic Pizza Dough recipe.  Sebby and I decided to make two different kinds, one with regular pizza sauce and the other with an Alfredo sauce.

It was fun putting it together.  We followed Mitch's recipe and added to the dough 1 Tablespoon dried Rosemary.  Really added a nice flavor.  Once the dough had risen we took it out and cut it in half.  We oiled the pans, rolled out the dough, and then patted it onto the pans.  We let the dough rest for 20 minutes while we got the toppings ready.

The first one had Alfredo sauce.  I made my own but you can used pre-made.  I used fresh grated Parmesan cheese.  We spread on the sauce, added sliced Roma tomatoes, fresh and lightly cooked spinach that was squeezed dry, and chopped sweet red pepper.  Sebby sprinkled the cheese on top.

The second was pizza sauce with pineapple on one side and black olives and green chilies on the other.  We used the mixed cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese  on top.

We heated the oven to 425, popped the pizzas in and baked them for 30 minutes.  They had good flavor, but the Alfredo one was a little doughy in the middle.  Next time I will spread it with olive oil and bake it for 15 minutes before putting the toppings on.  I will have the toppings hot so that only the cheese needs to melt and brown a little.  Maybe that will help it not be soft in the middle.

Sebby is getting to be quite the cook now. Sure is fun doing this with grandkids.  Seems more fun with them than with my own kids.  Wonder why?

Train Cakes

My grandson, Sebby, loves trains.  I asked him what he wanted for breakfast.  After yesterdays fun train project still in his memory He exclaimed, "A train cake!"  After thinking on that a bit, we decided to get out the pancake mix and make a train pancake. Sebby added the right amount of water to the mix and beat it with a wisk.

We heated up the griddle, sprayed it with cooking spray, and he spooned out some batter onto the hot griddle.  I shaped the batter into a rectangle.  After that was cooked we set it on the plate.  We cooked a round pancake and cut it in half.  One half we put for the front of the engine and the other half for the cab on top.  Then we cooked a cloud shaped one for the smoke.

After assembling the main part Sebby cut (with a butter knife) banana wheels and head lights.  He also cut banana windows and a door.  He put raisins for people in the window and bolts on the wheels.  Then we poured syrup on the bottom of the plate for "tracks".

Of course we had to take pictures.  We would have saved this work of art to show Mommy but it disappeared quickly.  Sorry, pictures will have to do.

Never Out Of Season

Denice gave Sebby a Gingerbread Train kit to put together for a Christmas present.  In all we had going on it got shoved to the back of the pantry. Last night I was thinking about what I could do with the boys today.  Suddenly I remembered the train.

This morning when they came over I gave them their usual bath, dressing, and breakfast. Afterward Sebby and I cleaned up breakfast together and got out the Gingerbread Train.

We carefully laid out the pieces.  The "cow catcher" was broken in three places but everything else was in good shape.  Following the instructions we made icing "glue", separated the candies, got out piping bags, and readied the sprinkles. We were able to put it together and even glued the "cow catcher" back together so you could't tell it was broken.  It looks great!  We got licorice to make tracks and gum drops for trees and squirted "glue" all over them for snow.It was so much fun, and Sebby hung in there the whole time and even said, "Thank you for the train!"

Taking pictures was fun too.  We put the timer button into action and had another project.  Getting the picture just right.  "Let me see it!" he would say excitedly.  Then, "Do it again!"  Laughing and giggling we finished our photos and came to post them on my blog.

Some things may seem out of season, but making a Gingerbread Train was a fun activity.  Fun is never out of season.