Hot Chicken Salad and Nutter Butter Ghosts

This summer I joined up with the My Girl Paula cooking group and have cooked and indulged in at least 16 Paula Deen recipes. Sadly, those 16 recipes have stuck with me, if you know what I mean. We all know that Paula's recipes are not kind to the waistline. It is for this reason that this will be my last post with the My Girl Paula group. I will still be following along and may cook up an occasional Paula treat, but the main focus is going to be on cooking lighter (with a few exceptions, of course).

This week at My Girl Paula there was no chosen recipe. We were able to choose any recipe we wanted. I chose to go with Paula's recipe for Hot Chicken Salad, which allowed me to finish cleaning out my refrigerator. I remembered making this recipe several years ago and having mixed feelings about it. Back then I used sauteed and cubed up chicken and this time I used leftover rotisserie chicken. After trying the version made with rotisserie chicken I can easily say that this is the only way you should make this recipe. The texture was just so much better and this recipe was delicious! We really liked it, and I will definitely be making it again.....someday. If you really want to indulge, this is a quick, comforting and very tasty recipe packed with crunchy and creamy goodness.

Hot Chicken Salad - adapted from Paula Deen & Friends by Paula Deen
2 cups cooked chicken breast meat, cubed (use rotisserie chicken, if possible)
1-1/2 cups diced celery (my hubby doesn't like celery, so I added peas)
1/2 cup slivered or sliced almonds (do not skip this,, it was my favorite part of the recipe)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon grated onion
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 cup mayo
1/2 cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese
2/3 cup crushed potato chips
Note: We love garlic, so I added 1 big clove of garlic
Note: I baked mine in an 8x8 baking pan

Preheat the oven to 375F. Paula says to spray a 13x9 inch baking dish with vegetable oil, but I don't really think you need to. In a large mixing bowl, combine the chicken, celery (or peas), almonds, salt, onion, pepper, lemon juice, mayo, and cheese. Place the mixture in the prepared baking dish. Spread the crushed potato chips on top. Bake for 20 minutes, or until bubbly.

This would be great dish to take along to a party, serve to children, or as part of a family dinner!!

For dessert, I made these cute little nutter butter ghosts. While shopping through the Fresh Market one day, I noticed a package of these little guys and thought they were really cute. Rather than pay $4.95 for about 4 or 5 of them, I decided to try them myself. I didn't really use a recipe. I just melted some white chocolate in a double boiler, dipped the nutter butters in the white chocolate, and then made some ghost eyes using Nutella.


They turned out pretty good, but I did notice a couple of things along the way. Coating just one nutter butter used a lot of white chocolate. In fact, it was probably cheaper to buy them at Fresh Market. My white chocolate mixture was pretty thick and probably needed to be thinned out somehow. Also, the Nutella wasn't the easiest thing to pipe out into eyeballs. In hindsight, I wish I had used mini chocolate chips and a little pair of tweezers. I think that would've been a little easier. I originally wanted to insert the nutter butter onto a popsicle stick and make them into lollipops/suckers. However, the popsicle stick was too wide and just made the cookie fall apart. You could probably use a wooden skewer, but it wouldn't be as easy to hold. They tasted pretty good and the kids loved them. I will probably make them again next year, with a few adjustments. I definitely welcome any suggestions you all might have for improving these little guys.

Happy Monday!!

Final Oikos Greek Yogurt Post & Strawberry Pretzel Salad for My Girl Paula

I want to start off by announcing the winner of the "Pitch Your Own Food Network Show" contest. Congratulations Pam of Sidewalk Shoes! Pam is the random winner of three Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics products: Ocean Salt (an exfoliating scrub for face & body), Lemony Flutter (a lemony cuticle cream), and Up You Gets (a citrusy shower aromatherapy product). Pam's concept for a food network show was to feature a selected herb for each show, making an appetizer, main course, and dessert. Great idea Pam!

Secondly, this week's My Girl Paula recipe is Strawberry Pretzel Salad. This salad is somewhat like a pie. It is made with a pretzel crust, a cream cheese layer, and topped with strawberries and strawberry jello. This is a recipe that I have ate before and enjoyed, especially in the summertime. It is a good dish to take to a summer potluck. Paula's version also includes crushed pineapple, but I didn't have any so I left it out. We enjoyed this recipe for it's salty and sweet flavors. You can find the recipe here.

Lastly, this is my last week of posting recipes for Oikos Greek Yogurt. A big thanks to Kristina at Stonyfield for sending me such a generous pack of coupons! I was able to try my hand at a variety of recipes. The first week I made Martha's Date Bran Muffins and Tyler's Greek Yogurt. The second week, I made the Food Network's Almost-Famous frozen yogurt. The following week, I made an Apple-Walnut Turkey Sandwich , using the Greek yogurt in place of mayo as a sandwich dressing. Last week, I made these decadent looking Loaded Mashed Potatoes , using the Greek yogurt to replace the sour cream.

This week I have two recipes for you! You simply can't feature Greek yogurt and not do a smoothie recipe. It just wouldn't be right! As a tribute to summer, I have chosen two of my favorite summertime fruits, the peach and the raspberry, and combined them into one smoothie; The Peach Melba Smoothie. It was super delicious, unique, and healthy.

Peach Melba Smoothie - courtesy of Recipezaar, adapted by me
1/2 cup frozen raspberries
1 cup frozen peaches
1 cup low-fat milk
1 cup Greek yogurt
1 frozen banana (optional)

Whisk in a blender and serve.

This smoothie was thick, like a milkshake, creamy, refreshing, cold and best of all....different from the same old strawberry-banana smoothie. You can even add a tablespoon of wheat germ if you like.
I did try one more recipe with the Greek yogurt that is really unique! At work, we have face masks made with yogurt. Yogurt is terrific for your skin as it smoothes, pampers, moisturizes and tightens your skin. It will remove traces of dirt, pollution and makeup from pores. You can use plain yogurt, or even blueberry, strawberry or honey. It all depends on your skin type. Any fruit, such as blueberries or strawberries acts as an antioxidant removing dead skin and revealing new and glowing skin. Here is a basic recipe for a face mask using Greek yogurt, or even regular yogurt:

Dry Skin - 1 Cup yogurt
1 Tablespoon honey (honey brightens skin and retains moisture)

Oily Skin- 1 Cup yogurt
Couple drops of lemon (acid cuts excess oil on skin)

* Leave the mask on for about 30 minutes and rinse off!

Now onto the giveaway!!! Kristina at Stonyfield offered to share more coupons and goodies with a winner!
The winner will receive:
2 FREE 16 OZ. OIKOS COUPONS
4 FREE 5.3 OZ OIKOS COUPONS
$4 WORTH OF STONYFIELD COUPONS
OIKOS SPATULA & RECIPE CARD SET

All you need to do is leave a comment telling me your favorite way to use Greek Yogurt! It's that simple. If you have never used Greek Yogurt, then pick a way that you would like to use it. Giveaway is open to all! Comments will close this Friday at midnight and winner will be pulled in a random drawing, which will be announced this Saturday morning! Good luck : )