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by Stef | May 20, 2013 · 8:38 am

Avocado Cashew Chicken Salad

I have an obsession with two ingredients. Greek yogurt and avocado. I use plain greek yogurt in pretty much everything I make (my husband can attest) and have become a fan of pretty much any dish paired with avocado. I love a good chicken salad, especially as the weather begins to warm up (finally!). This chicken salad combines my two favorite add-ins to make a creamy, healthy dressing for the chicken. Eat this chicken salad on a croissant, atop a bed of fresh greens or all by itself! This is a great dish to bring to a picnic, although you cannot make it too far ahead of time or the avocado with turn a brownish hue. So add the dressing right before serving!

Avocado Cashew Chicken Salad
1 lb. cooked and shredded skinless, boneless chicken breast (or rotisserie chicken), cooled
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1/4 c. dried cranberries
1/4 cashews, chopped
1 avocado
1/3 C plain fat-free Greek yogurt
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
salt and pepper to taste

Combine chicken, celery, green pepper, cranberries and cashews in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mash avocado. A fork should suffice for a ripe avocado, but you may want to process it if it is a bit firm. Add yogurt, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper and mix thoroughly. Add to chicken mixture and fold together until all ingredients are covered. (Make sure to cool the chicken as to not melt the yogurt).

I hope you are all enjoying the entrance of spring and hints of summer as much as we are!

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Filed under Cook, Healthy, Main Dish, Sides

Tagged as avocado cashew chicken salad, avocado chicken salad, healthy chicken salad

by Anne | May 16, 2013 · 7:05 am

Simple Roasted Vegetables

My 1 year old daughter is a true veggie lover. She especially loves anything that is roasted. After making her many batches of roasted veggies I realized that I almost forgot just how good a simply roasted vegetables can be. Sometimes we get so consumed by making a recipe unique, adding all kinds of sauces or spices, that we forget that a vegetable in its truest form is actually very delicious, and good for you! I have found that using coconut oil helps to bring out the sweetness. I understand that this recipe is not necessary earth shattering, but hopefully it will inspire you to rediscover the simplicity of roasted vegetables.

Roasted Carrots and Zucchini

4 large carrots, pealed and sliced into even sized pieces.
1 medium sized zucchini sliced into evenly sized pieces
2-3 tablespoons melted coconut oil
Sea Salt
Pepper

Preheat your oven to 400 deegrees. Place your cut up veggies in a bowl and drizzle with the melted coconut oil. Toss until all of the veggies are coated. The coconut oil will probably harden slightly onto the carrots and zucchini and that is ok. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Lay out on parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet and roast for 20-30 minutes turning every 10 minutes.

Remove when brown around the edges and tender.

Baked Fish Tacos with Creamy Tomatillo Salsa

Yesterday for Cinco de Mayo I was lucky to have some fresh fish to work with for these tasty, tangy baked fish tacos. Fish tacos are a regular in our repertoire but lately we’ve been baking them instead of frying them. With a substantial panko crust, they taste just as good with a bit less guilt. I used fresh pan fish but tilapia or any readily available white fish would be delicious. Shrimp would also be a great choice.

I served the fish tacos with a homemade creamy tomatillo salsa, with the bright flavors lending themselves well to seafood. I like to add avocado to my version since the richness of the avocado helps balance out the tang of the tomatillos. Add in some sweet carrots, crunchy cabbage and peppery radishes and you have the perfect spring meal.

Baked Fish Tacos
makes 4 small tacos
12 panfish filets or 1 lb tilapia, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 C panko bread crumbs
1/3 C shredded parmesan cheese
3 Tbsp butter, melted
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp chipotle or chili powder
cracked black pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a cooking sheet or glass pan and set aside. In a medium bowl or large Ziploc bag, combine panko, parmesan and spices. Stir or shake to combine. Melt butter in a small bowl. Dip fish filets lightly in butter, then toss in breading mixture to coat. Set on cooking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes depending on thickness of filets. Fish should be white and flaky when fully cooked.

2 radishes, very thinly sliced
1 C chopped cabbage
1/2 C matchstick carrots
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 Tbsp lime juice
pinch of salt
4 small tortillas
chipotle mayo

In a medium bowl, add cabbage, carrots and radishes. Drizzle on olive oil and lime juice, tossing to combine. Season with salt and toss again.

Serve baked fish with warm tortillas, chipotle mayo, tomatillo salsa and hot sauce.

Creamy Tomatillo Salsa
6 medium tomatillos, quartered
1/2 avocado
1/2 small onion
1/2 jalapeno, seeded
2 cloves garlic
1 lime, juiced
1 handful cilantro
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp cayenne

Add tomatillos, avocado, onion, jalapeno, garlic, cilantro and lime juice to a food processor. Process until blended and just barely chunky. Add salt and cayenne and pulse two more times. Add additional salt or cayenne to taste if desired.

1 Comment

Filed under Healthy, Main Dish, Quick & Easy

Tagged as baked fish tacos, easy fish tacos, green salsa, tomatillo salsa

by Stef | April 30, 2013 · 2:00 pm

Wisconsin Sports Awards: Modern Sports Dessert Table

Last week, I had the absolute pleasure of hosting the dessert bar at the Wisconsin Sports Awards at the Harley-Davidson Museum. A celebration of Wisconsin high school, collegiate and professional athletes, the Wisconsin Sports Awards boasts big names from Aaron Rodgers to Ryan Braun.

Working again with the wonderful Kate of Milwaukee’s The Home Market, we put together an enormous dessert spread including treats from Milwaukee Cupcake Company, Goodie Gourmets of Shorewood, WI, Simma’s Bakery in Wauwatosa and a few homemade treats put together and brought up from Chicago by my mom!

Using a modern sports theme, we put together a spread of cupcakes, gourmet popcorn, signature cookies, sports candy, little “macs,” sports themed chocolate covered strawberries, chocolate covered pretzels and more. Black and white stripes with small bursts of chartreuse decorated the table to serve the almost 600 guests.

We served lemonade and caramel corn with pecans from Goodie Gourmets in Shorewood. The popcorn was a huge hit with all of the guests and the first thing to run out!

Not only were the desserts delectable, but the room transformed from warehouse to a swanky modern soiree by the hands of Kate. The same color scheme was dispersed throughout the room with breath-taking modern touches including lamp bases filled with orchids and water and sleek couches and chairs.

It was a wonderful experience and a great time hobnobbing with the athletes! A special thanks to all of the amazing vendors for their fantastic treats!

2 Comments

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Tagged as black white and green dessert table, dessert table, modern sports dessert table, sweets table, wisconsin sports awards

by Stef | April 27, 2013 · 9:32 am

And the winner is…

The winner of the Super Snacks for Super Kids cookbook is HAP reader Erin who said: “My little guy is only 7 months old, so he’s pretty new to the snack scene. His favorite food so far? Acorn squash.”

We are excited for your little man to experience some of these great recipes in the future!

{GIVEAWAY}: Super Snacks for Super Kids cookbook

Happy weekend to all of our HAP readers! Starting today, you have the fabulous opportunity to win the kid-friendly cookbook, Super Snacks for Super Kids by Sarah Fox MD and Julie Stephenson.

I attended the UW Writer’s Institute last weekend in Madison (for more on that, you can visit my journey to young adult authorship here) and had the pleasure of meeting the friendly staff of local Little Creek Press in Mineral Point, WI. When I saw this cookbook, my foodie brain kicked into gear. I wanted to land this beauty in the hands of one of our readers!

We’ve touched on the art of toddler food in a few other posts before. As hard as we try, it can be difficult to get healthy foods into the fingers of those finicky toddlers. Written by two moms who care about their kids’ nutrition, Super Snacks for Super Kids began as an initiative to bring in donations for the authors’ school wellness committee. With the help of Little Creek Press, these super moms have raised over $30,000 for their school’s program. All proceeds go to the Mineral Point School District Wellness committee.

In the book, you will find a collection of simple snack recipes packed with the nutrition your kids need to feel energized throughout the day. It’s divided into six sections: Snacks for Focus, Snacks for After School, Snacks for Play, Snacks for After Play, Snacks for A Crowd, and Staples. Each section contains recipes specifically designed to meet kids’ nutritional needs for their various activities.

The recipes in this book involve products that are easy to find and conform to our modern-day time constraints. You will also find tips for choosing the best foods and navigating your way through the grocery store to find the best choices for your wee ones. The book is not just good to read, but filled with beautiful photography, it is lovely to page through.

Authors Julie Stephensen and Sarah Fox also provide a way for you to create a fundraiser using their product. Check out the information on their site to learn how Super Snacks for Super Kids can be a healthy alternative to selling cookies!

So now, it is your chance to win a copy! You have until Thursday, April 25 at 11 pm CST to leave a comment on our blog about your kid’s (or nephew, niece, grandkids, friend’s kid, neighbor) favorite healthy treat! One entry per person. The winner will be announced on Friday, April 26.

You must be 18 and live in the continental United States to enter.

Thanks for entering!

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Filed under Giveaway

Tagged as cookbook giveaway, giveaway, little creek press, Super Snacks for Super Kids

by Anne | April 11, 2013 · 9:54 am

Salted Caramel Cupcakes

Salted Caramel is all the rage these days. I honestly had never really tried the combo but after hearing about it over and over again I decided to go for it. I made a basic vanilla cake very similar to Katie’s Lemon Cupcake recipe except I added caramel creamer instead of lemon and played around with the icing until I got it just right. One bite of these salted caramel cupcakes and I instantly figured out what all the fuss was about.

Seriously, the addition of salt is genius. It makes all of the flavors pop. I was somewhat hesitant to add sea salt on top of the cupcakes, but once I did and gave it a try I was hooked.

Salted Caramel cupcakes

Caramel Cupcakes
1 1/2 Cups self-rising flour
1 1/2 Cups all purpose flour
1 Cup Butter
2 Cups sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
4 eggs
2/3 Cup Caramel Coffee Creamer (you could use half and half if you don’t have the creamer)
1/3 cup Half and Half

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 standard sized muffin tins with 24 liners. Combine flours together and whisk. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition, then the vanilla. Add the flour in 3 batches, alternating with the the half and half and creamer as you go. Spoon the mixture evenly into the lined muffin tin. Bake for 15-17 minutes. Let cool.

Salted Caramel Frosting
1 cup softened butter
1 cup caramel topping
6-8 cups powdered sugar
3-6 Tbsp milk

cupcake topping
1/2 cup caramel topping for drizzle
Sea Salt

Blend the butter and caramel topping together until creamy. Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, adding small amounts of milk as you go in order to reach the right consistency. Beat until creamy. Frost the cooled cupcakes. Drizzle with caramel and top with a pinch of sea salt.

2 Comments

Filed under Cook, Treats

Tagged as salted caramel cupcake

Avocado Cashew Chicken Salad

Simple Roasted Vegetables

Baked Fish Tacos with Creamy Tomatillo Salsa

Wisconsin Sports Awards: Modern Sports Dessert Table

And the winner is…

{GIVEAWAY}: Super Snacks for Super Kids cookbook

Salted Caramel Cupcakes

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