Chicken Divan casserole

Ladies, this one could land you a husband!mine went back for seconds and talked about it all week. I made one casserole with rice on the bottom and one without. If you use rice, I would add more sauce to be safe. This is a staple for your freezer cooking. We like leftovers and freezer meals so this was about the perfect size recipe for our family of four. I made one to eat and 1 or 2 to freeze depending on size of tray. I also used fresh broccoli I had blanched in lieu of frozen (our preference and it was on sale). Definitely use seasoned traditional bread crumbs on top and be generous! Enjoy :) Chicken Divan Ingredients 6 C uncooked rice 6-8 chicken breasts, shredded( generally, I use bone in breasts and usually only need 4-5) 1jar of mayonnaise 1can of cream of mushroom soup 2-3T Dijon mustard 2 C sour cream 8 C chopped broccoli 3 C cheddar cheese 2 cup Parmesan cheese to mix with bread crumbs Large can of seasoned breadcrumbs 2 T garlic powder 2 T onion powder salt & pepper Cook rice to according to the directions. While rice is cooking, prepare chicken. You chose cooking method. Chop the broccoli, then steam it. Set aside. Mix wet ingredients in one bowl with spices and chicken and broccoli in another bowl. Spread rice in casserole dishes. Combine chicken and broccoli with the wet mix. Add mixture to casserole dishes and top with cheese and breadcrumb mixture. – Preheat oven to 350 degrees – Bake for 25-35 minutes or until middle is hot to touch.

Easy Breezy bean casserole

1 bag frozen corn 1 large can of black beans 1 can of enchilada sauce 4 cups brown rice 1 large onion diced and sautéed 2 large zucchini sliced into strips 1 bag of Mexican cheese shredded 1/2 bag of tostitos 2 large chicken breasts cut in bit sized prices and sautéed until brown. Mix everything except half the cheese and all the chips in a casserole dish. Top with chips and remaining cheese. Add salt an pepper to taste. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes. Yum.

Mango Black Bean Quinoa

Mango Black Bean Quinoa 1 cup quinoa 2 cups water 1 chicken flavored bullion cube 2 tablespoons butter or evoo 1 onion diced 1 cup cilantro chopped fine 1 mango diced 1 can of washed black beans 1 cup frozen corn Salt, pepper, paprika, and chipotle chili powder to taste. Sauté onions in oil until transleucent. Add quinoa until lightly toasted. Stir in boullion cube and water, bringing to a boil. Once at a boil lower to a simmer until water is mostly absorbed. Add remaining ingredients until all water is absorbed. Enjoy!

Smashed Stew

Smashed Slow Cooker Stew aka Guiness Beef Stew You will need: * 1/3 cup all-purpose flour * 1 teaspoon smoked paprika * 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt * 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper * 2-3 pounds beef chuck,or pot roast cut into 1-inch cubes * 1 tablespoon olive oil * 1 onion, chopped large * 1 (8 ounce) package mushrooms, chopped * 3-4 large potatoes, diced * 5 large carrots, sliced * 4 stalks celery, chopped * 3 cloves garlic, minced * 2 Cans Guiness Beer (You will taste it, if you prefer a more subtle flavor use 1 can and 1 cup of water) * 2cups of water * 5 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce * 6 beef boullion cubes * 1 can crushed tomatoes * 2 tablespoon smoked paprika * salt and ground black pepper to taste * 1 tsp onion powder *Cornstarch as needed Directions 1. Combine the flour, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, seasoned salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper in a gallon ziplock bag. Add the beef, and seal the bag. Shake the bag thoroughly to coat the beef with seasoned flour. 2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Shake the excess seasoning off the beef, stir the beef into the hot skillet adding the onions and mushrooms after a minute or two. Cook and stir until the beef is evenly browned. 3. Place the beef mixture into the slow cooker with garlic, 1 beer, water and Worcestershire sauce. Add the boullion cubes and tomatoes into the cooker. Top with the veggies. You can add the potatoes, or keep them to the side and cook as mashed instead. Cook on High for 4 to 6 hours, or on Low for 10 to 12 hours. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. In the last 30 minutes add 1/2 of the second can of beer. Because I am never exact with the veggies, you may need to add more guiness or beef broth to reach the desired thickness. You can also add cornstarch to thicken at the end. I use about 2 teaspoons to achieve a stew thickness. I also prefer to add my potatoes after 2 hours so they are more on the firm side. Another favorite variation is to omit the potatoes from the stew and serve mashed potatoes as a side to the stew.

Chicken Pot Pie

This recipe makes two 9" pot pies -enjoy both or freeze one for later !

You'll Need:
2 boxes of the Pillsbury (or like) pie crusts from the dairy section-they each contain one top and bottom crust.
3-4 split whole chicken breasts, skin on
3 tablespoons olive oil
kosher sea salt
fresh black peper
5 cups chicken stock (look for MSG free, and I usually do 4 cups regular and 1 cup bold stock)
12 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups chopped yellow onions
1 bag frozen peas (about 3 cups)
2 cups diced carrots
2 cups sliced celery
1/2 cup minced fresh parsely leaves
3/4 cup all purpose white flour-don't use wheat
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 egg and 1 tablespoon water for egg wash
4 teaspoons minced garlic-optional

1. Preheat oven to 350. Rub chicken breasts with olive oil, salt, pepper and minced garlic if you have some handy. Bake for 45 minutes or until cooked. Set aside to cool and once cool pull apart into bite size pieces.
2. In deep saute pan or dutch oven saute the onions in the butter until translucent (about 10 min on medium low heat)
3. Heat chicken stock and veggies except peas and parsely in a pot until at a simmer.
4. Add flour to onions and stir for 2 min over low heat
5. Add stock, veggies, peas, parsely, and heavy cream to the onion mixture and stir until thickened.
6. Arrange pie crusts in pie dishes, fill with the cooked filling, and top with the additional crusts making certain to use a fork to seal the edges. Poke a few holes in the top of crust to allow some air flow.
7. Apply egg wash to top of pie, sprinkle sea salt and cracked pepper on top, bake for 1 hour on a baking sheet.

Enjoy!

Shrimp-Spinach-Artichoke Bake

This is my "healthy" version of spinach artichoke dip. It is not as creamy and smooth as the dip version. This is more of a veggie casserole with shrimp. It will satisfy the craving without adding 10lbs-hopefully ;)

20 Frozen or Fresh Jumbo shrimp
1 bag frozen spinach
2 jars of marinated artichoke hearts
1/4 cup half&half
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
3 large cloves of garlic
2tablespoons EVOO, butter, or margarine
a pinch of flour

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees
-Heat spinach and drain all of the water from it.
-Remove hard tail from the shrimp
-Chop artichoke hearts into smaller bite size pieces
-Mince garlic and saute in sauce pan with butter until translucent. Whisk in the half&half and flour until slightly thickened.
If you prefer a creamier texture you would want to transfer the spinach and artichokes to a food processor. You could blend until you achieve the desired texture. Instead of the blended texture, I just toss everything into the sauce at low heat until the cheese has melted. Then I transfer to a casserole dish and bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes.
You could serve as a side dish or as a dip with pita or tortilla chips.

Chedder Crackers

Yummm! These are far from low calorie but they are soooooo good. I like to put them in the baskets with cookies and fudge at the holidays because like fudge, they are to be enjoyed in moderation... or not ;)

Cheddar Crackers

-6 oz or 1.5 cups of EXTRA SHARP or HUNTERS CHOICE Cabot cheese (do not substitute for cheapo cheese like cracker barrel-they will not taste right)
- 6 tablespoons salted butter
-1 teaspoon Frank's hot sauce (or more to taste)
-1 teaspoon garlic powder
-1 cup all purpose flour (you could try using wheat but we don't)
-1/4 cup sesame seeds

Directions:
-Heat oven to 400 and spray a baking sheet
-Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix with hands or use your food processor
- Divide the dough in half and roll into two logs that are aprox 1 1/4 inches in diameter
-Roll logs in sesame seeds and wrap in plastic wrap
- Refrigerate logs for at least 30 minutes, then slice into 1/4 in thick slices
-Optional: place fork marks on tops of each cracker
-Place slices on baking tray and bake 10-12 minutes keeping a close eye out so they don't burn.

They are great to use as serving crackers for an appetizer or all alone. Enjoy !

BBQ Meatloaf

I was reading through my blog and CANNOT believe this wasn't the first recipe I posted !! This is by far one of our favorites for the summertime, but it is equally delicious in the winter. I think it would be a great dish for upcoming SuperBowl Sunday.

BBQ Meatloaf

- 1lb Spicy Italian Sausage (you can cut open the links and squeeze out filling)
-1 lb Sweet Italian Sausage
-1 lb lean ground beef

1 Large onion or 2 medium
1 green pepper
2 carrots
2 celery stocks
*on the veggies feel free to use whatever you have on hand, and as much or little as you like

1 bottle Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce
1-2 cups bread crumbs
1-2 eggs
Salt & pepper

Instructions:
-Dice up the veggies and put to side
- Squeeze the sausage out of the casing and into a bowl with the ground beef
-Mix the meats together
-Add Veggies as you like
-Add breadcrumbs, eggs, salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons of Baby Ray's
-Mix Well
-Form into small 3 in long and 2in thick logs
-Place on BBQ to cook or bake in an oven at 400 for 25-30 minutes

This is great with Corn on the Cobb and summery salads or in smaller portions as an appetizer.
Enjoy!!

Ranch Chicken Nuggets- A meal even a husband can make !

I found this recipe online where it was suggested that it is a fun recipe to teach children to make. I taught my husband and now he has a meal he can easily make and loves to eat.

Ranch Chicken Nuggets:

-Chicken breasts or strips cut into small bite size chunks (whatever size you like)
-Ranch dressing (try the Cajun ranch or ranch mixed with hot sauce for a kick)
-Special K or Corn Flakes
-Parmesan cheese thinly grated
-Flour


Instructions:
- Pour 1-2 cups of cereal into a ziplock bag and smash until they are like panko breadcrumbs.
-Add Parmesan cheese to the cereal mixture and shake up to evenly distribute.
-Pour the cheese/cereal mix into a bowl or dish
-Put flour, and ranch dressing into separate bowls.
- Spray a baking tray with Pam
-take nuggets and dip into flour, then the ranch, then into the cereal/cheese mix and place on the baking tray
-Cook at 375 for 15-25 minutes depending on how large your nuggets are.

You could also flash fry these, but we were going for the healthier route. I like to serve with blanched green beans and almonds.

Salmon Burgers Take 2

Salmon Burgers- Take 2.
Try these with the Barefoot Contessa Cucumber salad- http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/creamy-cucumber-salad-recipe/index.html

After the initial recipe, I have made some changes based on our tastes and this is how we make our salmon burgers most of the time:

Ingredients
-1 large salmon filet (use a very large sharp knife to slice skin off the bottom)
- 1/2 box (aprox) of plain Panko style bread crumbs- don't substitute the regular bread crumbs or the italian kind
- 3 to 4 scallions diced
- 1 tbsp mayonaise (optional)
-1 egg (2 if needed depending on size of the salmon filet)
- salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste

Directions
1. If you have a food processor use this to chop the salmon up to smallest possible chunks. OR If you do not have a food processor slice into smallest possible cubes with a very sharp knife and then use a potatoe masher to further decrease the size.
2. Place salmon in large mixing bowl with all the remaining ingredients and mix together with your hands- similar to making meatballs
3. Mold into patties and place to the side
4. Heat frying pan at medium heat with EVOO and place burgers in for 2-3 minutes per side (or until the meat is white half way up the burger). You could also cook these on a grill but I am not sure how well they would hold up unless over a pretty high heat...
5. Once cooked through and with a toasty brown color on both sides, remove from heat and serve. We love to serve these with a salad. Our favorite is over a lo-fat cesar salad.
Enjoy!

The BEST Morning Glory Muffin Recipe

These are a great nutritious breakfast to toss in your bag and eat in the car. This is based off of the King Arthur Flour recipe, and so far it is the best I have found.

3/4 cup raisins
2 cups King Arthur whole wheat flour
1 cup (7 1/2 ounces) brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups carrots, peeled and grated
1 large or 2 medium tart apples, peeled, cored, and grated
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup wheat germ
1/3 cup rolled oats
3 large eggs
2/3 cup (4 5/8 ounces) vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup (2 ounces) orange juice
zest from 1 orange

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin tin, or line it with papers and spray the insides of the papers. To make the muffins: In a small bowl, cover the raisins with hot water, and set them aside to soak. Add EVERYTHING to the bowl and stir until evenly moistened. Add Raisins. Fill Muffin tins almost to the top.
Bake for 25 to 28 minutes, until nicely domed and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven, let cool for 5 minutes in their pan on a rack, then turn out of pans to finish cooling.

Chicken Noodle Casserole

Here is a really great casserole that I originally found online and modified to our tastes. You can use any type of cheese but we like the Cabot Hunters Choice Cheddar or a Gruyere.

INGREDIENTS
2/3 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon olive or canola oil
1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1 (10 ounce) can chicken broth
1 1/2 cups chopped carrots
3 celery ribs, chopped
1/2 teaspoon Mrs. Dash-tabletop blend
4 tablespoons butter or stick margarine
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 3/4 cups 2% milk
1 1/4 cups shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese
1 bag wide egg noodles

DIRECTIONS
In a large nonstick skillet, saute onion and garlic in oil until tender. Add chicken; cook and stir until no longer pink. Add the broth, carrots, celery and savory. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Remove about 1/3 of the broth.
In a saucepan, melt butter. Stir in the flour, salt and pepper until smooth. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in cheese until melted. Pour over chicken mixture. Add noodles; mix well.
Transfer to a 3-qt. baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes or until bubbly.

White Wine Chicken Bake

This is has comfort food written all over it. It takes about 5 minutes to prep, and 1 hour and 15 minutes to cook.

4 Chicken breasts
1 Box of chicken stuffing (or about 2 1/2 cups)
1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup (I use the low fat cream of chicken)
4 slices Swiss cheese
1 stick butter
1/2 cup white wine-I am not a fan of cooking wine- I don't think it gives enough flavor. This dish gets it's flavor from the addition of the wine and cheese, so I would not substitute, but that's me and I love wine. You could use any dry white wine. The last time I made it we used a Chardonnay because that was what we had planned to drink with dinner.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Mix the white wine and cream of chicken soup together in the bottom of the casserole dish.
Place chicken breasts into the mixture, and add cheese on top of the chicken.

In separate bowl, melt butter in bowl and add stuffing. Toss until stuffing is coated-it will not puff up. Then add this mixture to the top of the casserole dish.

Cover casserole dish with lid or tin foil. Place in oven to cook for 1 hour. After 1 hour, remove cover and cook for an additional 15-20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Salmon burgers

Salmon Burgers
This was inspired by an episode I saw on the Paula Dean show. She uses a japanese breadcrumb instead of the traditional dry breadcrumbs, and it makes a big difference.

Burgers:
1-2lbs of salmon fillet-silver skin removed
1/2-3/4 cup of "Panko" (Japanese bread crumbs from the asian food aisle)
1 egg beaten
1/2 onion chopped fine
1/2 red bell pepper chopped fine
salt
pepper
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp dill
1 tsp mayonaisse

Instructions
1. Remove skin from Salmon, and chop remaining fish into the smallest possible chunks
2. Dice the pepper and onion finely
3. Add Salmon, onion, pepper, beaten egg, salt, soy, dill, breadcrumbs and mayo
4. Mix with hands or spatula, adding additional bread crumbs as needed
5. form into pattyies and place in heated frying pan with olive oil
6. Cook aprox 4 minutes on each side at a medium heat or until they are flaky and light pink. You could also do a quick flash fry and then bake for a more tender salmon burger.
7. Toast buns and add sauce below for additional flavor


Sauce:
1/4 cup mayonaisse
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp dill
hamburger buns
Mix all sauce ingredients and spread on cooked burgers as desired

Amazing Blue Cheese Meatballs

These are savory and sweet and filling all at once. I normally serve with fettuccine alfredo or a spinach salad when I make this, but they would be a good appetizer too I think...

Ingredients
1-2lbs of turkey (whatever comes in the packs at the grocery store)
1-3 cloves of garlic (I usually use 3 bc I LOVE garlic)
1 jalapeno chopped finely (keep seeds for more spice if you like it)
1 container of blue cheese (I usually buy the Amish blue cheese but you can use any brand, just don't use Gorgonzola it tastes differently when the lines are green not blue)
1/2-1 cup bread crumbs (preferably Italian style but if you don't have that kind you can add 1 tbsp Italian seasoning)
1 egg
1/2 tsp garlic powder (if you don't love garlic leave this out)
salt and pepper (I use about 1 tsp of salt and a 1/2 tsp pepper)

Directions
-mince garlic and jalapeno as small as possible and then transfer garlic only to frying pan with olive oil and cook on low until toasted brown color
-transfer garlic to a bowl with all of the other ingredients and mix well using your hands
- roll into meatballs and cook on a greased baking sheet at 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes (depends on size of meatballs)

Enjoy :)

Zuchini Pizza Bites

Zucchini Pizzas

One of my favorite "healthy" football snacks.

2 large Zuccinis

1 large bag of shredded mozzarella, cheddar, or parmesean cheese

1 large jar of spaghetti or marinara sauce

1 bag of turkey pepperoni

Slice the zucchini in rounds about 1/2 inch thick, and place on a lightly greased baking tray. Sprinkle salt and pepper on each slice before adding a small amount of sauce on top. Follow with a slice of pepperoni and cover with shredded cheese.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for aproximately 10-20 minutes. The cheese should be lightly browned.

Sloppy Janes

Here is another great recipe I owe to my sister. She took her version from Barbara Chernetz. I have modified it slightly by increasing the amount of cilantro to 1 cup and using Texas Toast or homemade garlic bread instead of corn bread which will add calories, but they are sooooo worth it.

This recipe makes 4 Servings
Each serving: 322 calories, 8 g fat, 31 g protein, 32 g carbs

Sloppy Janes
1 TBSP canola oil
1 Cup each of chopped scallions, yellow bell peppers, orange bell peppers
1 TBSP garlic paste (you can use minced garlic or mashed cloves)
1 Lb. ground turkey
1 (14.5 oz.) can fire roasted diced tomatoes
2 TBSP worcestershire sauce
1 chipotle chilie in adobo chopped
1/2 tsp salt
4 pieces of texas toast
1 TBSP red wine vinegar
1 Cup chopped cilantro

1. In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add scallions and bell peppers and cook, stirring constantly, 2 minutes. Add garlic paste and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute.
2. Add turkey and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon and stirring until no longer pink, 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and their juices, worcesterchire sauce, chipotle chilie, and salt. Reduce heat to medium and cook, covered, 3 minutes.
3. Toast cornbread or texas toast.
4. Stir vinegar and cilantro into turkey mixture.
5. Spoon 1/2 of the Sloppy Jane mixture over four slices of texas toast, dividing evenly. Repeat with the remaining Sloppy Jane mixture and texas toast.

Tin Foil & Plastic Wrap Revelation

I received an email forward the other day, and just as I was about to delete it something caught me eye. The picture above is what caught my eye. Before this email I battled with the roll of foil regularly slipping out of the box. The email explains that the foil boxes all have indents on the sides that when engaged will hold the roll in place until empty. I may be a complete novice to the kitchen, but I do have my fair share of experience wrapping up leftovers,take-out,etc and I NEVER noticed this until the email. Perhaps you will find this helpful, perhaps you will get a chuckle at my oversight-either way.

Danielle's Risotto 101

So I have to admit that I was a bit intimidated by risotto. I loved to eat it, but had heard it took forever to make! Eventually I gave in to my cravings and begged my sister for her recipe. Being the good sister that she is, she shared her vast knowledge in the ways of risotto... The only problem ? Risotto is art NOT science. You can't really use a recipe... Here are my sister's words of wisdom:

So essentially it doesn't matter how much of everything you put in except for the quantity of rice. Everything else can be "to taste".and you can play. I never make mine the same way.

Basic Ingredients:
-Olive oil or butter
-Arborio Rice ( 1 cup will yield approx. 3 cooked, it absorbs a TON of liquid)
-Yellow Onion-diced
-Garlic-minced
-Chicken Stock or A mix of water and chicken stock if you're trying to cut down on sodium
-Salt and pepper to taste
-Parmesan, Parmegiano-Regiano, or Pecorino Romano cheese
-Whatever your crave for "fixings"-in your case-mushrooms Note: I'm sure common sense tells you button mushrooms will not taste as meaty and dense as portabella so use whichever texture you prefer. Do not buy those expensive cremini, shitaake, blah blah blah UNLESS you are either A. Entertaining or B. They are the star of your dish

Directions:
For 1 cup of rice, use approx 2 Tablespoons of either butter or olive oil-I would suggest olive oilHeat in a medium sized pot on low for a minute or so. Add in the onion and garlic, sautee until both have become translucent. Pour in one cup or more (depending on how many people you are serving) of the arborio rice. Stir constantly with a WOODEN spoon until the rice kernels appear slightly toasted
NOW BEGINS THE FUN
Medium heat for the flame and...Add in a half a cup of whatever liquid you have chosen until the rice has absorbed it and stir frequently. You can expect to add 3 cups of liquid or more for 3-4 servings worth of risotto by the time you have finished. It's a labor of love, add slowly and stir frequently. Once the kernels have noticeably begun to stick together and are feeling more like a pasta, begin tasting. Risotto does not get cooked al dente, it should be cooked through.
Once you feel like it is done you can turn off the heat and begin adding the cheese you have chosen and the fixings (in your case mushrooms).
NOTE: Obviously you should saute the mushrooms or whatever veggies and fixings you want ahead of time. Roasted asparagus for instance would be orgasmic if first roasted with Parmesan and then added at the end of your risotto-making.
ENJOY.Risotto is amazing.

Other yummy renditions:
Spring Pea Risotto with sundried tomatoes and asparagus is amazing
Sundried tomates and artichokes taste awesome in risotto with a mix of Parmesan and goat cheese
Rosemary and other fresh herbs with a mix of Parmesan and feta is equally delicious

So there it is-Risotto is delicious, but requires creativity, patience and approximately 1 hour of your time.

Chicken Escarole Dinner Salad

This hearty salad was a big hit with my girlfriends when I had them over for dinner. It has a lot of flavor and not a lot of fat(if you bake the chicken).

Ingredients
1 lb chicken breast strips
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 cup of flour
1 1/2 cups Italian style bread crumbs
1 bundle butter lettuce (also called boston or bibb) or 1 box arugula
1 bundle of escarole (can buy a bagged mix that contains escarole if you prefer)
1 container of crumbled blue cheese
1 box of baby portabella mushrooms
1 bag of walnuts
8 strips of bacon
EVOO
Red Wine Vinegar (or any slightly sweet vinegar)


Directions:
There are three parts.
Chicken: Take chicken strips, and dip in flour, egg and milk wash, then bread crumbs. Flash fry so they are browned on each side, then put pan in oven to bake for 20 minutes- just check them around 15, depends on how thick they are, but it can take up to 25 min.

Salad: You can buy a bagged lettuce mixture to save time and $ but make sure there is a good amount of escarole in it. Add lettuces to large bowl. Sprinkle blue cheese and sliced mushrooms (you can cook these or leave them raw) on the salad. Buy a bag of walnuts and pour into a frying pan on low heat for 5 minutes stirring regularly- no oil needed. Fry 8 strips of bacon until crispy. Crumble bacon and add to salad.

Dressing: I used EV olive oil and red wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar are also fine. If you don't have vinegar you can use wine or a citrus juice. Toss the salad and add nuts and chicken to the top.

If you don't want excess salad to go bad you can make the dressing separately in a food processor (I like the magic bullet). I would add the oil, cheese, and vinegar and blend, and keep to the side for people to add as they wish.