Chicken Salad Sandwiches

I was at a friends house and she made us these amazing chicken salad sandwiches. I love chicken salad and have compiled several favorite recipes . My friend put them on croissants but I did not have any when I made it for my family, so I used the sandwich thins.

Chicken Salad

1-2 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless, cooked, cooled and cubed
1/3 c. mayonnaise
1 t. mustard
9-12 red seedless grapes, halved
1/4 c. pecans, chopped
Dash of Mrs. Dash seasoning
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and serve on bread of choice.


Tips:

-I like to buy the big packages of chicken breasts on the bone and cook them in the oven with the skin still on and seasoned with salt and pepper and drizzled with olive oil. I bake them at 375 degrees F. for about 30 minutes or until the meat is not pink in the middle anymore. I let them cool and peel the meat off the bone for salads and freeze the remaining breasts in a freezer bag until I want to make another chicken salad. The chicken tends to stay more moist on the bone and I can reheat them in minutes to make another salad.

-I use Dijon mustard for this recipe but I am sure you can use whatever your family likes.

-The pecans are optional. If you are allergic or simply do not like them omit.

-Season to taste. If you like more Mrs. Dash add more. This recipe is pretty flexible.

Ham and Cheese Roll-ups

One night I was looking in the refrigerator for something to make my family that I thought they would eat.
(I do this a lot in the summer because I don't tend to cook as much due to the heat and because I would rather be doing something else. :) )
I glanced around and saw crescent rolls, ham and cheese and thought quick and easy ham and cheese sandwiches.

So super easy and the kids all liked them. I am sure someone out there has done the same thing a million times, but for us it was a first.

Ham and Cheese Rollups

1 can refrigerated crescent rolls
8 slices ham
4 slices Swiss cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Unroll rolls and pull apart. Cut ham and cheese in half crosswise and place on rolls. Roll up just like you would if making the rolls alone. Place on baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, or until tops are golden brown.

Tips:

-Make extra and serve with a dipping sauce for parties.
-Place a small amount of mustard inside the rolls before rolling to give them tang.

Hawaiian Chicken

My parents brought this recipe back from Hawaii when they went 18 years ago. I remember they loved it so much and made it so often that we all got tired of it. But now that 18 years have passed I love it again. It is the perfect summer dish. And it can be baked in the oven in the winter if you are craving a dish to liven up the table. Served with fresh fruit and rice it is so wonderful. A nice salad goes well too.

Hawaiian Chicken

Chicken thighs and legs
1 c. pineapple juice
1/2 c. Dijon mustard
3/4 c. honey
1/4 c. water
2 T. cornstarch
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Place chicken on large baking sheet. Salt and pepper lightly. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in oven for 2 hours. Remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes. Remove foil and peel skin off of the chicken.
While chicken is cooling preheat grill. Combine pineapple juice, honey and mustard in sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Dissolve cornstarch in water and add slowly to mixture in pan. Stir constantly until the cornstarch has cooked in completely. Place cooked chicken on the grill and brush with pineapple Dijon glaze. Turn over after about 4-5 minutes and brush on the glaze again. Continue to heat for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and serve hot. Serve extra glaze on the side for guests to put more on or add to their rice.

Tips:

-If you are baking, do not precook the chicken. Instead, marinate in glaze for about an hour and then cook in 350 oven for 20-25 minutes until chicken is done.

-If you like the chicken skin you do not have to remove it. We prefer not to eat it and if you leave it on and then glaze, the flavor goes with the skin when you peel it off later.

-The glaze will be very thick. Keep stirring or it will stick to the bottom.
You will know the cornstarch has cooked in when the sauce no longer looks milky.

-You can cook the chicken on the grill but do not brush the glaze on until the end of cooking. The honey and pineapple juice in the glaze will make it burn.

-Precooking a the low temperature with the foil keeps the chicken nice and juicy and allows the skin to act as a natural moisture retainer. Then you can peel it off for the final heating on the grill and you do not have to worry about flare ups on the grill from the grease and your chicken will be done and not dry.

Cherry Cheese Cupcakes

For the Fourth of July we had a BBQ at our house and I wanted to make a treat. I saw all over the blogs these amazing cupcakes. So I thought I would follow suit and make cupcakes for our get together. In college, I went to a graduation party and they served this wonderful sheet cake. It was a white cake with a fluffy icing and cherry pie filling. So yummy. I asked my friend for the recipe and thought these would be perfect because they are red and white. And I could easily turn it into cupcakes.

Cherry Cheese Cupcakes

1 box white cake mix and ingredients to make the cake

2 8 oz. pkgs. cream cheese, softened to room temperature

4 c. powdered sugar

16 oz. cool-whip topping

1 can cherry pie filling

Prepare cupcake pans and make cake mix according to package directions. Bake cupcakes and allow to cool.

Combine cream cheese and sugar. Mix until it is light and fluffy. Gently fold in the cool-whip. Using a butter knife cut a small x in the top of the cupcakes. Fill cupcakes using a decorator's tip and piping bag or plastic bag, push tip into x and squeezing filling in. Frost cupcakes and top with a couple cherries.

Tips:

-For the Fourth of July I wanted red and blue too. So I colored some of the batter blue and red. I used the paste food coloring so the consistency of the batter was not altered.

-We had a lot of kids coming so I also made mini cupcakes and filled them the same. Each got one cherry and they were perfect for little hands.

-To make this a sheet cake bake the cake in a large sheet pan for 20 minutes and let cool. Spread frosting and top with the pie filling.

-I can imagine that these would be wonderful with fresh strawberries, raspberries or blueberries instead of the pie filling. Any of those pie fillings would also be delicious too.