Honey Vinaigrette Grilled Chicken

I'm happy to be joining the Secret Recipe Club again this month.  What's the Secret Recipe Club?  Basically, it's a once-a-month blog hop party for food bloggers where participants are assigned another member's blog to secretly spend time perusing, pick a recipe, make it, write a blog post about it, and then everyone reveals their secret by publishing their posts at the same time.

My assigned blog - A Pretty Life in the Suburbs by Jo-Anna, a wife and mother of 3 living in Canada. Wow, I am so impressed with Jo-Anna's blog - she's got a little bit of everything - cooking, baking, decorating, crafting, housekeeping, organizing... and it's all documented with fabulous photographs and a great sense of humor.  And did I mention Jo-Anna's blog is just over a year old and she already has 390 published posts - this girl is amazing!

On to the recipe - thinking I had another week to prepare this post, I had originally chosen a yeast bread which required an overnight rest in the fridge before baking, but a reminder email late last night contradicted my failing memory and I realized my post was due in a few hours - Yikes!  I quickly changed my recipe selection to Jo-Anna's Honey Vinaigrette.  Of course it's great used as a dressing on salad, but I thought it would make an excellent marinade for chicken as well.  Yummo, I was right - the honey pairs perfectly with chicken!  The vinaigrette went together in a matter of minutes; then I marinated my chicken for about an hour before grilling on my stove top.  The house smelled divine!!  I saved some yummy chicken to have on my salad for lunch this afternoon, sliced thin and drizzled with some reserved vinaigrette.  Great recipe Jo-Anna!

Honey Vinaigrette

makes 1/2 cup

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

• 2 tablespoons honey

• 1 tablespoon grainy mustard (I used 1/2 grainy, 1/2 Dijon)

• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Place ingredients in a jar and shake.

2. Pour onto salad greens and toss.

Note

• Alternately, you can use as a marinade for chicken breasts.  Simply put uncooked chicken in a zipper bag and pour enough marinade to cover; close bag and rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour (reserve some vinaigrette to drizzle over the cooked chicken).  Preheat oven to 350F.  Heat a grill pan on the stove top.  Remove chicken from bag and discard used marinade.  Place chicken breasts, top side down, on the pan; cooking until you get nice grill marks before turning over.  Immediately after turning, place the pan into preheated oven until chicken is reaches about 160F (about 10 minute).  Remove chicken from the oven and rest for 5 minutes before eating (the temp of the chicken will continue to rise during the rest period - it should reach 165F).  Enjoy!

Ham and Cauliflower Macaroni and Cheese

Welcome to my first submission to the Crazy Cooking Challenge hosted by Tina from Mom's Crazy Cooking.

• What is it? A monthly blog hop.

• This month's challenge? Search blogs for macaroni and cheese recipes, chose one, make it, and blog about it.

• The purpose? To highlight other blogs and have fun meeting new bloggers along the way.

• How can you participate? Visit the links below and vote for your favorite!

So, who likes homemade Mac and Cheese?  More like who doesn't, right?  I know, I love it.  Especially when it includes meat and veggies because that means I only have to make one dish for dinner.  As far as I'm concerned, that makes this the ultimate mac and cheese.

Okay, so I started with a recipe for cauliflower mac and cheese that I found on a wonderful blog called Chocolate and Carrots by Caroline - the recipe is one Caroline adapted from another blog.  I adapted it yet again to accommodate my family's preferences and it was a hit with everyone, even my picky teen who doesn't like anything I cook.  Maybe you'll give it a try and make a few adaptations of your own.  Enjoy!

Ham and Cauliflower Macaroni and Cheese

makes one 9x13 casserole

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 head cauliflower, chopped (cooked in salted water until tender)

• 1 pound elbow macaroni (cooked in salted water until al dente)

• 4 tablespoons butter

• 4 tablespoons flour

• 4 cups milk, plus 1/2 cup morefor pureeing cauliflower

• 2 cups grated cheddar cheese (7 ounces)

• 12 ounces cooked diced ham

• 1 teaspoon dry mustard powder (or 1 teaspoon prepared mustard)

• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs

• 2 tablespoons butter, cut into small cubes

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Butter a 9x13 casserole pan; set aside.

3. Puree cooked cauliflower and 1/2 cup milk in a food processor until smooth; set aside.

4. In a large, heavy-bottomed stock pot, melt 4 tablespoons butter over med-hi heat.

5. Add flour and whisk to combine; continue cooking while stirring constantly for about 2 minutes.

6. Add 4 cups milk, mustard, salt and pepper; boil for 2 full minutes or until thick; whisking constantly.

7. Turn off heat and whisk in cauliflower puree and cheddar cheese until smooth.

8. Fold in cooked pasta and diced ham; pour into prepared casserole dish.

9. Sprinkle top evenly with bread crumbs and dot with 2 tablespoons cubed butter.

10. Bake uncovered for 1 hour until hot and bubbly.

11. If needed, place under broiler for 1-2 minutes to brown.

12. Rest for 10 minutes before serving (will be soft).

Note

• To cut square servings as shown, allow to cool for at least an hour.