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Curry Chicken Salad

3 cups cooked chicken breast, cubed
1 cup raisins (or dried cranberries)
1 cup celery, sliced
1/2 cup red onion, sliced (I omitted this)
1/3 cup slivered almonds (or cashews)
1/4 cup toasted coconut (I omitted this)
1/2 cup tart apple, chopped

Dressing:
2/3 cup mayonnaise (I used lite mayo)
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon fennel seed
1 teaspoon honey
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a large bowl, combine chicken, raisins, celery, onions, almonds, coconut and apples.

Dressing: In a small bowl, whisk mayonnaise, lemon juice, curry, fennel, honey and cinnamon. Pour over chicken mixture and toss well. Serve on a bed of romaine lettuce or in pita pocket bread.

Servings: 6.
Recipe from In the Kitchen with Muggs

Notes: Although I really liked the way this salad turned out, it wasn't exactly what I was expecting. The fennel seed added a really interesting flavor, but I think it overpowered the curry. Next time I'll add more curry and less fennel seed. Even with the fennel, I still loved it.

Easy Curry Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 can cream of chicken soup (I used the reduced fat version)
1 teaspoon curry powder (or more for added flavor)
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper, to taste

Brown the chicken and onion with a little olive oil in a large frying pan until the chicken is cooked through. Season with salt and pepper. Add soup and 1/2 to 1 can water; stir. Add curry. Cover and let simmer for about 20 minutes. Serve over rice.

Yields 4 servings.
Recipe from a family friend's cookbook In the Kitchen with Muggs

Notes: I've been craving curry for weeks, so I scoured the web and looked through all my cookbooks, trying to find a recipe that looked good, but also met my requirement of being quick and easy. I think I found a winner. It may not be a traditional curry recipe, and it may lack the pizazz that other recipes may offer, but for an easy meal without a lot of fuss, it's perfect. When I make it next time, I might add some cubed potatoes and carrots for a bit more substance.

One Last Chance

If you'd still like to vote for Domestic Diva or any of the other fabulous finalists in the BOB Awards, you only have a couple hours left to do so! Voting will end this afternoon at 6PM MST (5PM PST). If you haven't voted in the last 24 hours, you can do so HERE. (That is, if the system will let you.)

Turkey Meatloaf

"Meatloaf, smeatloaf, double-beatloaf. I hate meatloaf."
Randy, A Christmas Story

Why is it that meatloaf gets such a bad rap? I've never quite understood that. Maybe I've just never experienced really bad meatloaf, or maybe I'm just not that picky, but I happen to like meatloaf...if it's made right. Since giving up red meat over 10 years ago, I haven't had much of an opportunity to eat meatloaf, but I decided to give turkey meatloaf a try last Sunday night. I was pleasantly surprised. First, it was easy. Second, prep time was minimal. Third, clean up was a cinch. What's not to like?!

1/2 cup ketchup
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon dry mustard

2 pounds ground turkey
1-1/2 cups bread crumbs (I used seasoned bread crumbs)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup onion, diced
3 tablespoons lemon juice
Additional seasonings, as desired

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, combine ketchup, brown sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and dry mustard until smooth.

In a large bowl, combine ground turkey, bread crumbs, onion, egg, lemon juice, seasonings, and 1/3 cup of the ketchup mixture until well mixed. Form into a loaf and place in a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

Bake 1 hour. Pour reserved ketchup mixture over loaf. Bake 10 minutes more.

Notes: If you like your meatloaf on the sweet side, this recipe is for you. If not, you can cut down on the brown sugar in the ketchup mixture so it's not so sweet. I have to say that I'm a big fan of the sauce. In fact, next time I make this recipe, I'm going to double the ketchup mixture for extra sauciness. Yes, I like the sauce.

I'm also going to play around with the seasonings. For this batch, I added some Emeril's Chicken Rub, which is a combo if garlic salt, basil, oregano, paprika, crushed red pepper, and poultry seasoning. Next time, I might mix it up a bit and try something new.

Yields 8 servings.
Recipe adapted from Allrecipes.

Baked Ziti

1 pound ziti pasta
1 onion, chopped
1 pound ground turkey (or ground beef)
2 (26 oz.) jars pasta sauce
6 oz. provolone cheese, sliced
1-1/2 cups sour cream (I used the lite version)
6 oz. Mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti and cook until al dente; drain.

In a large skillet, brown the onion and ground turkey over medium heat. (I also added minced garlic.) Add pasta sauce and simmer for 15 minutes.

Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Layer as follows: 1/2 of the ziti, 1/2 sauce mixture, provolone cheese, sour cream, remaining ziti, mozzarella cheese, and remaining sauce mixture. Top with Parmesan cheese.

Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Notes: I made this for dinner last night, and it turned out great. I was hesitant about the sour cream, but it added an interesting kick to the dish that was surprisingly good. This recipe makes a huge batch; the 9x13 inch dish was completely full. Next time I might use two 8x8 inch baking dishes and freeze one for later.

Yields 8 servings.
Recipe from Allrecipes.

Crab Canapes

1 (8 oz) can refrigerated biscuits (like Pillsbury Golden Layer Biscuits)
2 (3 oz) pkg. cream cheese
6 oz crab meat (or imitation crabmeat)
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated
2 tablespoons chopped onion
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Separate dough into layers (about three per biscuit) and place on ungreased baking sheet. Mix remaining ingredients together. Place a small amount of mixture onto each piece of dough.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until bread is golden brown. Serve immediately.

You can play around with different breads to serve the crab mixture on. Years ago I ordered an appetizer-style crab pizza at a restaurant that tasted almost exactly like this recipe. I also found a similar recipe on Allrecipes with slightly different ingredients including Swiss cheese and curry powder that I might have to try.

Note: You can make the crab mixture ahead of time and assemble the canapes right before serving.

The BOB Awards

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Go take a look at all the fabulous blogs that are in the running!

You can cast your vote HERE for all your favorites!

Taco Soup

My mom has been making Taco Soup since I was young. When I was back home for Christmas this year, she made a batch and I remembered how much I liked it...and Kevin became a fan too. Since this was another rainy NW weekend (perfect for soup) I thought I'd take a stab at it. I had the original recipe from my mom (a Weight Watchers recipe from years ago), but I decided to Google it as well. Apparently it's still a Weight Watchers standard, but with a few changes and time-saving shortcuts, and I'm all about the shortcuts.) I've listed the original seasonings below if you want to make the traditional recipe. This soup is full of flavor, healthy and filling. And best of all, it's quick and easy to make! Definitely a keeper.

1 pound ground turkey
1 large onion, chopped
1 can red beans, including liquid
1 can kidney beans, including liquid (any kind of beans will work)
1 can corn, drained
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 package Hidden Valley ranch salad dressing mix (or equal)

Brown the turkey with chopped onion until meat is thoroughly cooked. Combine with remaining ingredients in a stock pot and simmer for at least 30 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips.

Alterations: Instead of using the taco seasoning and salad dressing mixes, you can use 2 chicken bouillon cubes, 4 teaspoons chili powder, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, and 1/8-1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper.

Recipe adapted from Weight Watchers.

Easy Chicken Casserole

I made this dish for dinner tonight because I wasn't in the mood to cook and wanted something easy enough that I couldn't screw it up. It's a very basic recipe, and although it won't be winning any awards for creativity, it actually turned out pretty well. The sour cream adds a slightly tangy flavor to the sauce that you don't get with most cream soup based casseroles. I added enough milk to the sauce to be able to serve the "casserole" over pasta. (Maybe I'll try rice next time.) The recipe can be easily modified with different vegetables and a variety of seasonings. One alteration I will make next time is to saute the onions before adding them to the sauce. They were a bit too crunchy for me.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 cups vegetables of your choice (I used frozen broccoli, cauliflower & carrots.)
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup (I used the reduced fat kind.)
1 cup sour cream (I used lite sour cream.)
1/2 milk (or more if you want a thinner sauce)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Preheat over to 350 degrees.

Boil chicken until cooked through (about 20-25 minutes). Chop into bite size pieces and place in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Spread veggies on top of chicken.

Combine soup, sour cream, milk, onion and garlic powder. Pour mixture over chicken and veggies. Top with crumbled crackers.

Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes (or freeze for baking at another time).

Yields: 4 servings
Modified from a recipe on Allrecipes.

Port Salut Cheese

I'm not an expert on cheese by any definition of the word. Give me a nice hunk of Swiss (or if I'm really going all out - smoked Gouda) and I'm in heaven. But lately, I've been toying with the idea that I need to branch out a bit. Explore new options in the glorious world of cheese. That is when I discovered a new love. Port Salut.

Port Salut is not a fancy cheese. In fact, rumor has it that cheese snobs would snicker at the thought of someone singing the praises of this lowly cheese, but I don't care. It's a hell of a lot better than Velveta.

For those of you unfamiliar with this cheese, it originated in the 19th century by a group of French monks. It's a semi-soft cheese made from cows milk, smooth and creamy with a mild, savory flavor. It pairs well with fresh fruit or a sliced baguette. I picked up a nice sized wedge at Whole Foods Market for less than $5.00, and it will stay fresh in the refrigerator for over two weeks if stored properly. It gets this Domestic Diva's seal of approval.

Stay tuned for more cheese reviews from the Domestic Diva. (Sorry but you won't find me gorging myself on stinky cheese anytime soon. If it has the word blue in the name, I stay clear. I have to put my foot down somewhere.)