teriyaki chicken salad sandwich*

My little sister is the cutest! Last night she came over to hang out with me and do a little yoga. I have never done yoga in my life, but my best friend Ashley was telling me that she discovered that there was yoga on Xfinity on Comcast. I decided to look it up and check it out the other day and I had no idea how hard yoga is! It is definitely a workout. Anyway, I decided that I should give it a shot so I invited my sister to join me in this adventure. So she came over with my little nephew Xander (love him!) and we about died doing yoga! I didn't know my body could twist/bend that way. It was an experience to say that least!

So once the torture was over, we ordered some Chinese, since it is so healthy and all, and just hung out. My little nephew is only 5 weeks old and I have babysat the little guy 3 times. I asked her how she dared have me watch him so much, when I don't even have kids myself. She said that she sees the way I take care of my dog, so knew I would do a good job. HAHA! That is sad! I told you little Tankers is spoiled! I cracked up for a good 5 minutes! Oh man...

This sandwich is so delish! I love chicken salad!! However, I do not love chicken salad with grapes. I don't know why, but mixing fruit with my meat seems weird. This recipe has mangoes and pineapple in it, so I'll admit, I was skeptical. Especially because I am not a huge fan of mangoes. Let me tell you, it works! The teriyaki sauce mixed with the mayo is pure heaven, and the crunchiness of the toasted almonds is magical! I tried to be good and eat it on a piece of whole wheat bread, but let me tell you it was hard to turn down the buttery croissant! I am sure the combo of this amazing chicken salad and the croissant would have been to die for!

smoked turkey artichoke panini*

Heritage is holding their annual fund raising scholarship gala in October and each department puts together a gift basket to put up for auction.The proceeds go to funding college scholarships for the students. Last year our department did a BBQ basket with the BBQ cooking tools, cookbook, apron, picnic basket, tablecloth, and fancy steaks. This year we just needed to go bigger and better. And, I must say, I am SO EXCITED! We are going to do a BAKING basket! Seriously, my heart beats faster just thinking about it - because I am a dork like that :)! It's the little things that make me happy! So here is what we are thinking should go in the basket:

*cute bright glass mixing bowls, apron (I am trying to get Flirty Aprons to donate - cross my fingers!), cute baking cups, baking/cupcakes cookbook, piping bag & tips, spatulas, muffin tins (regular & mini), round cake pans, cake leveler, cupcake corer, sprinkles, cute measuring cups, rolling pin, neon food coloring, freshly baked cupcakes and/or other baked goods from a local bakery and so much more*

I am trying to get some, if not most, of it donated. The gala isn't until October, but today Sarah and I were on the phone already calling different businesses trying to get some donations so that our basket can come to life! I will keep you updated - since I am so sure you will lose sleep over the matter :).

These paninis are SO AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING. Ok, I'm done. After one more AMAZING! We buy a whole wheat ciabatta bread that we make our paninis with and I am telling you - with all of the incredible ingredients inside - it makes for a mouth watering, stomach growling, heart stopping - well, maybe not heart stopping - but a very savory delicious sandwich! But please, do not leave out the garlic-herb sandwich spread. OH MY DELICIOUS! Please - make this sandwich. Make it now!

Smoked Turkey & Artichoke Panini
from Our Best Bites

One loaf rustic sourdough bread (I used whole wheat ciabatta - highly suggested)
One jar marinated artichoke hearts
Garlic-Herb sandwich spread (see below)
Smoked Deli Turkey
Swiss cheese (you could also use baby swiss, provolone, or smoked provolone)
Tomato, sliced
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Spread garlic-herb mayo on each slice of bread, then layer cheese slices on each. Pile generous amounts of turkey slices on one side of each sandwich, followed by tomato slices and artichoke hearts.

Brush both outer sides of sandwiches with olive oil and grill until golden brown. I actually left off the olive oil, and just toasted it without it.

Garlic Herb Sandwich Spread
from Our Best Bites

1 1/2 C mayo
1 large clove garlic
1/2 T lemon juice
zest from 1/2 lemon (1/4-1/2 t)
1/2 t fresh rosemary
1/2 T fresh oregano
1T fresh basil

 
Place mayo in a small food processor. Finely mince garlic, or press, and add to mayo. Add lemon zest then juice. Chop all herbs and add to mayo mixture.

I chop everything first to assure it gets evenly chopped in the food processor. If you do it by hand, without a food processor, just finely chop everything, and make sure to press garlic so you don’t get any big chunks.

Process until smooth and combined. (Or stir if doing by hand.)

This is best if made ahead so flavors have a chance to merry and intensify.

Garlic-Herb Sandwich Spread = AMAZING!!

-alyssa*

parent conference snacks and treats*

Phew, I am so glad we made it through last weekend! We had several parents from all over to visit their kids and the teachers and staff at Heritage. With the help of my staff, we prepared 4 meals and 3 different snack bars for approx. 320-340 people! HOLY TOLIDO - that's a lot of people! But we survived and it was a great success!

On Thursday night we had a networking and mingle for all of the parents to meet each other and get to know each other a little bit. They had a workshop and then headed on over to the cafeteria for some goodies. On the menu we had meatball sliders, chicken salad croissant sandwiches, veggie tray, hummus w/ pita chips, chocolate chunk and macadamia nut cookies, rice krispy pops, cream puff and strawberry kabobs, and a fresh fruit bowl. My favorites were the chicken salad croissants, rice krispy pops, and cream puff and strawberry kabobs :).

Rice Krispy Pops

*Rice Krispy squares dipped in melted chocolate Candy Melts, drizzled with white chocolate and poked with a lollipop stick!*

Cream Puff and Strawberry Kabobs

from Get Off Your Butt and Bake

*Frozen cream puffs (thawed), drizzled in chocolate Candy Melts, then skewered with some deliciously sweet strawberries*

 

 Chicken Salad Croissant Sandwiches

*Shredded chicken, Miracle Whip, chopped onion, chopped celery, salt and pepper on a buttery croissant*

Meatball Slider
*Meatballs - cooked (I cheated and bought frozen), topped with marinara and shredded mozzarella on a slider bun*

The spread in all of it's glory :)

'Nother angle

Although we prepared WAY too much food, I couldn't be more pleased with the outcome! Everything looked delicious and tasted even better! Tomorrow - a chocolate peanut butter nutella ganache cupcake! Get ready - it's gonna be a doozy!

-alyssa*

grilled caprese sandwich*

I cannot believe I have not put this recipe up yet. If you've ever had a caprese salad - this is the same, only it's a toasty melty sandwich. Sound amazing?? Well, it is. We made these a few weeks back for all the kiddos and they are my new favorite sandwich. I am actually in the process of looking for a panini press for my household so that I can make them for the husband. I don't have a panini press at work, but don't fret because we are very creative. I decided to take one of our big steam table pans, fill it with rice, and throw it on top of our sammies and BAM (I miss Emeril - haven't watched him in awhile), they get nice and smooshy and melty.

Grilled Caprese Sandwich
adapted from Alyssa's Two Bites (another fellow Alyssa. She must be cool :)

Take a french baguette and slice it in 4 inch long pieces, then cut the pieces in half, and drizzle with olive oil.  Top one of the halves with basil leaves, tomato slices (which I marinaded in some balsamic), and fresh mozzarella (fresh is the ONLY way to go).

Heat up a grill pan or panini press (you could use my rice idea :) until the crust is golden and the mozzarella just starts to melt.

That's it people. Seriously, my new favorite sandwich. And I don't like tomatoes. I would highly suggest the balsamic marinade because it just adds a yummy tangy "what is that?" taste. Now, back to ordering my panini press...

-alyssa*

turkey sloppy joes*

Oh man, what a crazy week! Sorry, I didn't do much blogging. I think I should have just set up a cot in my office and slept in there. Seriously, I feel like I haven't left work in a month! This last week I had 4 staff gone, and 3 of which were cooks. I only have 3 cooks. It was pure craziness. I need to send out a big shout out to my fill-in cook, Jordan. Between the two of us the kids got fed some delicious meals and we did pretty darn well if I do say so myself :). THANKS JORDAN and the rest of my staff that really stepped up and helped so that it wasn't crazy overwhelming. I need to remember to take a picture of all of us and post it on here so that I can brag about my awesome crew whom I don't know what I would do without. You guys are AWESOME!

I have never cooked with ground turkey until this meal. I have always wanted to use it because it is much more healthy than ground beef and it is a great alternative. I was pleased with the way these sloppy joes turned out and I think I will start using ground turkey more often :).

Turkey Sloppy Joes
from Sweet Treats and More

1 pkg honeysuckle white ground turkey

2 tbs vegetable oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 1/2 c. chili sauce. ( I used 1 can tomato sauce + 2 tbs brown sugar + 1 tsp chili powder)

2 tbs Worcestershire sauce

6, 4 inch hamburger buns

Green leaf lettuce, optional

1 medium tomoato, optional

1.  Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Cook onion and bell pepper until softened, about  5 minutes.

2.  Add turkey; crumble and cook until no longer pink, about 5 minutes; drain.  Stir in chili sauce and Worcestershire sauce.  Cook covered over low heat for 10 minutes.

3.  Divide mixture evenly over bottom of buns.  Layer on lettuce and tomato if desired.  Top with remaining buns.

Don't these look yummy?? If I didn't tell you there was turkey in there I bet you wouldn't even know! The look just like your normal sloppy joe on the street, but no way jose. These babies don't have nearly the amount of fat, and served on a whole wheat bun they are pretty much healthy. Do I dare say that word??

-alyssa*

grilled chicken wrap*

Today Sarah and I were making a cheesecake for one of the students' birthday and I had such high hopes for it. I found the recipe online and the picture looked SO good, but the instructions were a little strange I thought. However, I am not an expert of cheesecake, seeing as how my first cheesecake was only a couple weeks ago. But this one said to cook it at 425 for 15 minutes, then 275 for an hour, then turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake in the oven for 2 HOURS. Maybe this is normal, I don't know. I checked on the cheesecake about 1/2 way through cooking it on 275 and it was turning pretty brown. So I turned it down hoping that the browning would stop (yeah right) but I didn't want the middle to be runny. Well-I turned the oven off with 10 minutes to go and still didn't dare open the oven doors because the instructions specifically said DO NOT OPEN OVEN during the 2 hour period. Finally an hour into it I couldn't take it anymore. I needed to see how dark the cheesecake really was, praying it wasn't burnt. Well, it wasn't burnt, but it wasn't the cutest thing ever. But I could save it by shaving off the top. The middle was moist and looked SO delicious, so I decorated it and you would never know it had any flaws. However, I will not be sharing the recipe with you because I will never be using it again, so I am going to save you the trouble. I will be sharing with you the end result though because it really turned out cute!

Cute huh!! As frustrating as it was, I am very happy with how it turned out!

Ok, let's talk grilled chicken wraps. These are hands down my favorite meal that we make as of right now. They are the cutest things ever and I love their presentation. They are kind of a process to make and I just make little stations of everything to put them together, but in the end they are worth the time. The recipe I have is for 25 servings, so just adjust it according to how many wraps you actually need.

Grilled Chicken Wrap
from Dixie Regional Medical Center

Ingredients

25 - 4 oz. chicken breasts
25 10" flour tortillas - I used tomato basil wraps
50 oz. lettuce - you can use romaine, or I used spring mix
25 oz. shredded parmesan cheese

Sundried Tomato Mixture

2 cups sundried tomatoes
1/2 cup minced garlic
1 cup capers

Mix sundried tomato mixture ingredients together and keep cool until ready to use.

Aioli

1 cup mayo - I used light
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes
1 oz. lemon juice
4 oz. artichoke hearts

Place all Aioli ingredients except mayo into a food processor and puree until a chunky consistency. Put mixture into a separate bowl and add mayo; mix until incorporated.

Directions for Wraps

Grill chicken then set aside. Heat a tortilla on an electric grill for 30 seconds per side (or you can throw one in the microwave for 10 seconds). Spread 1 ounce of Aioli onto tortilla. Slice chicken into 5 strips and place on top of lettuce. Add sundried tomato mixture on top of chicken. Top with cheese and 2 ounces of lettuce.

Then roll like a burrito and cut on a bias (45 degree angle).

These are SO YUMMY!! They would be perfect for a little appetizer at a party or for a light lunch. I like to serve them with my pesto pasta salad, and I normally serve this meal with a slice of lemon cheesecake. Now that is the perfect lunch!!

-alyssa*