Buffalo Chicken Salad

A few days of warm weather has me longing for days that we can be outside. I know some work outside, no matter the weather, my husband included. On the other hand, I choose to stay indoors except when necessary during the bitter cold days.

However, getting my grandson out and letting him play for hours last week was lovely. He is never happier than when he is mowing grass and plowing fields!

The warm weather inspired me to have a picnic. I made Bentley’s favorite, peanut butter and jelly, and some homemade chicken salad for myself.

On this particular day, I was out of several grocery items, so my plain chicken salad became Buffalo Chicken Salad out of necessity. With no mayonnaise, I went for some homemade Ranch dressing instead, which led me to the buffalo sauce and celery, and one thing led to another.

I am a plain chicken salad person. I do not want pickles, eggs, or fruit! I usually like it the way I like it, and that’s it. However, it turned out amazing. Because I ran out of buffalo sauce while preparing it, the salad wasn’t very hot and spicy, making it perfect for Bently.

When making chicken salad of any kind, I prefer to cook my chicken in a slow cooker. It’s fall-off-the-bone tender! Then, place your warm chicken in the bowl of your mixer and mix briefly with your paddle attachment. The chicken will be perfect for chicken salad, or a casserole for that matter!

Now to my newspaper readers, writing articles and sharing my love of cooking with you has been a pleasure! You have graciously allowed me to share my life with you, including graduations, kids moving away from home, marriages, births, deaths, and many other moments. Seasons change, and so do we. Now, my life is leading me down a different path that I must pursue. I will forever be grateful that you welcomed my fumbling words and recipes into your homes. Hopefully, my recipes and stories have brought a few smiles and happy memories as you shared meals with your friends and family. Happy Cooking!

For those of you that access my recipes via the blog.  Please keep coming back.  I will continue to post new recipes and want to thank you for visiting Not Just Sunday Dinner.    

Buffalo Chicken Salad

Course Salad
Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

  • 4 cups cooked, shredded chicken
  • 1/2 cup Ranch dressing
  • 1/3 cup buffalo sauce or to taste
  • 1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
  • 1/3 cup sliced green onions

Instructions

  • In a large bowl, add chicken, dressing, buffalo sauce, celery and onions. Stir to combine. Refrigerate.

Chimichurri Sauce

My husband is of the mindset that a good steak needs no sauce. He spent years perfecting “his” perfect steak, and like many men that I know, he’s pretty proud of a steak cooked to perfection.

I will admit that he’s changed me over the years. I went from a well-done kind of gal who now prefers medium-rare to medium.

We were recently at our daughter Savannah’s house when they decided to grill steaks. They were doing a fine job planning and preparing dinner, so I enjoyed being catered to for a while!

Savannah has just recently started to enjoy steaks again. She ate steak as a child, but around those teenage years, she stopped and opted for other proteins. That was how it was until just last year when a friend had her over for dinner and had steak. It was served with a chimichurri sauce, and she’s been hooked ever since.

Unfamiliar with chimichurri myself, she made it to serve with our steaks that evening. The fresh, herby, garlicky, tangy sauce blew me away. How did I go all these years without chimichurri in my life?

I have made it twice since coming home. So far, I have enjoyed this incredible concoction with grilled chicken and with scrambled eggs the next morning!

Since it is new to me, I have only tried it on these handful of items. However, I have been reading about it, and it can be served with any grilled protein.

This recipe makes approximately one cup. Make it at least 5 to 10 minutes ahead of time, but you can make it up to 2 hours ahead. It can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours, or freeze any leftover sauce in ice cube trays. Once frozen, pop the cubes into a ziplock bag and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator. Do no microwave.

Chimichurri Sauce

Course Side Dish
Servings 1 cup
Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
  • 1/2 cup fresh parsley
  • 1/2 large white onion diced
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar (or freshly squeezed lemon juice)

Instructions

  • In a blender or food processor, add the cilantro, parsley, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, oil and vinegar. Pulse a few times, until finely minced. Do not over process into a paste.
  • Pour into a bowl, cover and let stand at least 5 to 10 minutes before serving. If you have time make ahead and let it stand for about 2 hours before serving.
  • Can be refrigerated up to 24 hours.

Zuppa Toscana

When I was growing up, every Southern lady subscribed to the beloved Southern Living magazine. My mom was one of them. I remember her reading others, too: Woman’s Day, Good Housekeeping, and Better Homes and Gardens, to name a few. But Southern Living was the holy grail!  

One of the first things I did after marrying was subscribe to Southern Living! They always had great decorating tips, and their recipes were the best.

If you subscribed to the magazine, the Southern Living Cookbook was mailed to you every year. It contained every recipe that had been in every issue all year. You could choose to purchase the book or send it back. If you come into my house today and walk down the hall, you will notice a bookcase and know I never sent one back!

Living in the digital world that we do, I could find everything I needed on the internet, so I stopped getting magazines years ago.

Then, when my mom passed away two years ago, she had an active Southern Living subscription. I changed the name and address to mine and started getting it in the mail again.

It took me some time, but now I love getting the magazine in my mailbox every month! Just seeing it in the mailbox fills me with joy. And there’s just something about holding it and reading words on a page rather than holding my phone or tablet and scrolling that feels so right.

Today’s recipe for Zuppa Toscana isn’t out of Southern Living. Still, it could not be more timely with the cold temperatures this week. I love soups and stews any time of the year, but they are incredibly comforting in the wintertime.

The creamy broth with Italian sausage and chock full of veggies is terrific! Substitute spinach for kale if you prefer, and leave out the mushrooms and zucchini if you want your soup to be more like the one served at Olive Garden. This version contains cauliflower instead of potatoes, but you can switch that out, too.

Zuppa Toscana

Course Soup
Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 medium onion chopped
  • 8 ounce baby Bella mushrooms sliced or chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 pound bulk Italian sausage
  • pinch red pepper flakes
  • 8 cups chicken broth
  • 4 cups cauliflower florets cut bite-size
  • 1 medium zucchini 1/2-inch dice
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 2 cups fresh kale chopped

Instructions

  • In a large Dutch oven, over medium heat, heat the oil.
  • Add onions and mushrooms, salt and pepper. Saute, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent. Add garlic and cook another minute, stirring.
  • Add Italian sauce and red pepper flakes to the pot. Cook, breaking up sausage with a spoon and stirring occasionally, until sausage is no longer pink.
  • Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil.
  • Reduce heat and add cauliflower and cook until tender, about 30 minutes.
  • Add zucchini and cook about 10 minutes.
  • Stir in the cream and kale and cook an additional 15 minutes.
  • Taste for seasoning. Serve.

Notes

Store leftovers in refrigerator for up to 1 week.  Reheat on the stovetop.  

Katie’s Sheet Pan Fajitas

Do you make resolutions for the new year? I have some goals, but do I categorize them as New Year’s resolutions? No really. When I do, I always fail. It’s a trend that I see repeating in my life.

I recently read an article discussing New Year’s resolutions. As it turns out, a lot of people make them! Only 22% keep them through January and February, but that number falls significantly afterward. Only 1% made it a year.

My list of things to focus on always begins with diet, exercise, and decluttering my house. Like the resolution setters of the survey, I do good for a few months. Old habits slowly creep back into my lifestyle, and I end up right back where I was.

What’s the answer? As I researched this topic, I found that a diary is an excellent way to keep yourself on track. If you slip up, you can look back to see any triggers you can identify.

Another suggestion was to set goals or resolutions together. Having friends working through the same issues can help you stay on track.

A third idea was to break your larger goals down into smaller, more manageable tasks. This could make it easier to stay motivated and progress over time rather than overwhelmed by large goals that seem impossible to achieve.

Eating healthy is a matter of planning on my part. I usually do okay if I take the time to make a menu. It’s those meals that I have no plan for when my choices do not work in my favor. So, my number one goal is to make a menu every week.

Katie’s fajitas are so easy, healthy, and fast that they may often find their way onto my menu. This Tex-Mex meal was on the table with just a few ingredients in very little time. I liked adding the freshness of lime juice and serving it with fresh cilantro, homemade salsa, and guacamole.

This could be served with flour tortillas, corn tortillas, or rice. If you have a goal of healthy meals, rice cauliflower would be a great option.

I’ve picked up my dairy and plan to start small. And I will keep the word “resolution” out of my vocabulary this year. Happy New Year, Y’all!

Katie's Sheet Pan Fajitas

Course Main Course
Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken cut into thin slices
  • 1 (1-oz. pkt.) Kinder's Fajita Blend seasoning or 1/4 cup taco seasoning
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 lime juiced
  • 1/2 large red onion sliced thin
  • 1 red bell pepper seeded and sliced thin
  • 1 green bell pepper seeded and sliced thin
  • 1-2 small zucchini seeds removed and cut to match the size of bell peppers
  • salsa, guacamole, avocados, cheese, pico de gallo, tortillas, rice or riced cauliflower options for serving

Instructions

  • In a large bowl, which the taco seasoning, oil and lime juice together. Add chicken cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for one hour.
  • Remove chicken from refrigerator. Preheat oven to 350℉. Spray two large sheet pans with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
  • At the end of one of the sheet pans, add the vegetables. Add chicken to the other end and to the second pan. Do not overcrowd the pan!
  • Bake until the chicken is cooked through and veggies are tender crisp.
  • Serve as desired with tortillas or in a bowl.

Instant Pot Egg Bites

Do you remember back in November when I told you how much I was enjoying decorating for Christmas? Well, y’all, I had way too much fun! I had Christmas decorations in every room of our house. It is small but felt ginormous when I had to take everything down! I have finally finished in the house but still have outside to finish! Ugh!

While packing all the containers back into Greg’s building, I went through some boxes that had not even made it into the house this year and finally felt I could remove so much of it from my life! It felt great! I wish I could do that with much more.

My mother saved things for sentimental reasons, and I never thought I was like that. But looking through a box of the kid’s elementary school ornaments, I may be. Saving one or two should be sufficient.
I will never be a minimalist, but eliminating some would be good.

If you have read my articles more than a few times, you have read about my goals to organize, clean out, and declutter. It’s an endless goal! I could use a professional organizer!

When my mother passed away two years ago, I brought home containers of things that I did not have a purpose for. Everything happened so fast, though; I feared regretting my decision to let things go. Today, they are still stored precisely the way they were when I pulled out of my mother’s driveway. That could be a sign it’s okay to let them go.

Even though I will not have a New Year’s “resolution,” I still want to change some things. I am proud of my progress with old Christmas decorations and will try to continue on that path.

My daughter is great about doing meal prep. My daughter-in-law is great at making weekly menus and sticking to them. I was much better at all this when I was younger, raising kids and running from school to practice and here and there. You would think it would be just the opposite!

I have started with these egg bites. If you like Starbucks egg bites, you will love this recipe. I can prepare the egg bites on Sunday afternoon and pop them in the fridge for the week. These egg bites are one of a few things I prepare using my Instant Pot. I am sure a professional would tell me to ditch the Instant Pot, but I love doing a handful of things in it, mostly egg dishes, so I choose to keep it.

I use the Instant Pot Egg Bites Pan to prepare these. They are the perfect size; you can prepare seven in one pan and stack pans in the cooker if you want to double this recipe. It is crucial to chop ingredients small.
There are a few variations of the recipe below. Substitute jalapenos for the bell peppers if you prefer. Leftover veggies and steak work great in the egg bites; broccoli is one of my favorites.

These egg bites are delicious and filling. They are good to pop in the microwave and eat on the run. I like to cool them thoroughly, then place two into a snack-size bag before refrigerating.

Instant Pot Egg Bites

Course Breakfast
Author Amye Melton

Equipment

  • Instant Pot

Ingredients

Basic Egg Bite Recipe

  • 4 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup cottage cheese
  • 1 pinch kosher salt
  • black pepper to taste
  • 1/4 cup cheese of choice shredded
  • 1/3 cup any vegetable or meat options

Sausage and Cheese OR Ham and Cheese

  • 1/4 cup cooked and drained sausage, chopped or chopped ham, chopped
  • 1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Bacon and Cheese

  • 1/4 cup Real Bacon Bits chopped a bit
  • 1/4 cup shredded Gruyere Swiss cheese 

Mushroom & Cheese

  • 1/4 cup sauteed mushrooms chopped
  • 1/4 cup shredded cheese of choice

Greek

  • 2 tablespoons chopped red bell pepper
  • 2 tablespoons chopped spinach
  • pinch onion powder
  • 1/4 cup crumbled Feta cheese

Chorizo, Red Pepper and Cheese

  • 2 tablespoons cooked and drained chorizo chopped
  • 2 tablespoons chopped red bell pepper
  • pinch onion powder optional
  • 1/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Instructions

  • Pour the eggs into a blender, add cottage cheese, salt, pepper and cheese. Blend until well combined. Tap the blender on the counter a few times to remove air bubbles.
  • Pour evenly into the egg bite pan. Divide desired fillings into each cup and use a chopstick to stir them around a bit. The cup should be about 3/4 full.
  • Cover the egg bite pan with aluminum foil.
  • Pour 1 1/2 cups water into the bottom of the instant pot and place the metal rack inside the pot. Carefully place the egg bite pan on the rack. (Stacking if you prepared a double batch.)
  • Place the lid on the Instant Pot and make sure the vent is sealed. Cool on high pressure for 9 minutes. Once cooked, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes.
  • Remove egg bites pan from the pot, let stand a few minutes before removing from pan.

Notes

Can be stored in the refrigerator for one week. Reheat in microwave at 50% power for 60 seconds.