Hollywood Chicken Salad Sandwich

Why Hollywood?  Because that's where I live and I love it! This is a perfect lunch for those warm Spring or Summer days.  It can be made ahead of time, and it's so flavorful, with a touch of natural sweetness. It's not slimy or squishy, and covered in mayonnaise like so many chicken salads out there. It's very light feeling, a perfect mix of flavors.  It's ultimately a lighter, tastier version of a chicken salad sandwich.  Enjoy!

Hollywood Chicken Salad Sandwich

4                            Chicken breasts (cooked and shredded)
1 cup                     Celery (diced)
1/2 cup                  Pecans (chopped)
1/2 cup                  Dried Cranberries or Dried chopped cherries
8 pcs                     Toast
1/2 cup + 1 Tbs    Mayonnaise
1/4 cup + 2 Tbs    Apple juice
3 Tbs                     Honey
3 tsp                      Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tsp                      Yellow Mustard
1 Tbs                     Poppy Seeds
                              Salt
                              Pepper

Combine shredded chicken (I cooked mine in the crockpot for a few hours with some chicken broth), celery, pecans, and cranberries.  In a separate bowl combine the mayonnaise, apple juice, honey, vinegar, mustard, and poppy seeds and mix. Pour the liquid over the chicken mixture and toss together.  (I'll be honest, I just tossed it all in the same bowl one ingredient at a time and then mixed, just to save myself from washing a second bowl :)). Add salt and pepper to taste.  If it feels like it needs a little more liquid feel free to add a little extra mayo and/or apple juice to your liking. Serve as a sandwich on your favorite kind of toast.

Animal Friendly Decor

It would seem that a new fun decorating idea is animal heads, in a much animal friendlier way... From Urban Outfitters to Anthropology and Etsy you can find various animal vestiges to adorn your walls, made of paper mache, plaster, cardboard, and even material.  Animal trophies seem to be the new three dimensional art, adding color and whimsy to any space.

1.  Deer Head at Etsy.  2.  Yeti from Etsy by Cody Williams.  3.  Wall Tentacle at Etsy.  4.  Horrible Adorable Creature by Jordan-Elise.  5.  Rhino Bust from Anthropologie.

RELAUNCH!!!

I am incredibly excited to relaunch this site!  Tastylifestyle.com was originally devoted to my love of food, but I thought why limit myself to only one of the many things I love. It will now include DIY projects, fashion, adventures, and fun!  Above is a picture of me and my new husband...life has been good.  We escaped to Catalina, a little island off the California coast and got married, just the two of us (and our random passerby witness).  The picture above, however, was from a previous sailing trip to Catalina, at the beginning of our relationship.  What you can't see in this picture is the major road rash down the back of my shoulder, elbow, arm, thigh, knee, ankle and insides of my hands (scars to prove it) after wiping out on a rental bicycle on the island!  (Apparently riding a bike after an extended leave from it isn't quite "just like riding a bike") 

Anyhow, I have many new projects starting in my life and I am hopeful and excited to share them with you! Check back tomorrow, for my first new site post!

Prime Rib!!!

Here is a recipe I found, that I was a little hesitant to try as I'm sure anyone is with an expensive piece of meat. Nonetheless, I figured I would have to try it sometime, so I did and it has become a family favorite as well as our new Christmas dinner. No more turkeys, chickens, or hams. The flavor was fabulous! A huge thank you to Chef Mike for sharing!

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Garlic-Prime-Rib/Detail.aspx

The only adjustment I made was that I used a smaller piece of meat, 6 lbs instead of 10, but I still used the same amount of everything else. I used the oven thermometer instead of following the cooking instructions, and that was a big mistake, apparently the oven thermometer was not too accurate. It was still great just a little overcooked for my taste. So, I have not tried the cooking time posted in the recipe but after researching other various sites it seems correct, and I will be doing it that way next time. This one is certainly a keeper!

Chicken Noodle Soup

There is nothing like the comfort of homemade chicken noodle soup. So, here is a basic recipe just because I believe simplicity and freshness is the key here. I got all of my vegetables at a local farmer's market and it was surely worth it. You may care to adjust the amounts, personally I enjoy more "stuff" than broth so I add lots of everything, it's also quite filling this way.
Ingredients:
2 1/2 to 3 lb frying chicken cut up (I usually buy a 5 to 6 lb chicken, cut in in half right up the back and save the other half for something else)
10 1/2 cups water
2 tsp chicken bouillon
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 bay leaf
1 cup sliced celery
1 1/2 cup thinly sliced carrots
3 cups wide egg noodles
extra salt and pepper to taste
Place chicken pieces and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Skim the top, then add bouillon, specified amount of salt and pepper, bay leaf, and only 1/2 cup of the onion. Simmer covered for an additional 35 to 45 minutes. Remove chicken pieces, allow to cool a bit then remove the meat and shred. Skim the surface and add the meat back into the pot along with the carrots, celery, and remaining onion. Once again bring to a boil, reduce heat cover and simmer for 15 more minutes then remove bay leaf. Bring to a boil and drop in the noodles. Cook uncovered for 5 to 10 minutes or until noodles are done. I then add more salt and pepper to taste. I add even a few teaspoons of salt and maybe one or more of pepper, but that's my personal taste. Serve with buttered french bread.

Fruit Dip

Here is something so simple and so great. It is a perfect side if you are having guests for a brunch, or if you need something to bring to a potluck. It actually tastes almost like an orange-ish cheesecake dip. People really seem to like the fact that the fruit is healthy and the dip just adds that flavor of dessert to it. At a party it's quite addicting.

Ingredients:

1 jar (7 oz) marshmallow creme

1 package (8 oz) Philadelphia cream cheese

1 tsp fresh grated orange zest (I use a microplane, so easy, perfect size, and easy to clean)

Yep, that's it. All you have to do is blend them together with a hand mixer until creamy with no lumps. You may want to refrigerate for a little bit. Then serve in a bowl surrounded by fruit. My favorite is strawberries, I also enjoy apple slices and fresh pineapple chunks. If you do apple slices do not forget to toss them in a little bit of lemon juice so they don't turn brown. Toothpicks are a good idea for serving.

Hamburg and Barley Soup

Here's a soup that takes about an hour to cook, is full of flavor, but still simple to prepare. The only work involved is chopping up your onion, carrot, celery, and green pepper. The great part is not having to cut up any raw meat as I find that to usually be the most labor intensive and unenjoyable part of cooking.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb ground beef

7 cups water

3 tsp beef bouillon

2+ cups of chopped carrots

1 1/2 cups chopped red onion

1 1/2 cups chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped green pepper

1/2 cup barley

1 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

2 bay leaves

1/4 cup ketchup

2 -14.5 oz cans stewed tomatoes (italian style)

8 oz can tomato sauce

I've tried this soup, in the past, with a regular onion and regular stewed tomatoes, it tasted fine, however, I highly recommend the red onion and italian style stewed tomatoes as it adds an enormous amount of flavor in the end. In a large soup pan or dutch oven brown the ground beef. Drain the fat, if there is any, and add all of the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and continue to cook for 1 hour. Remove bay leaves and serve with french bread and butter! Perfect for a chilly evening!