Happy Monday!  Hope everyone had a great Father’s Day weekend   We took the boys to see Toy Story 3 Saturday evening and I was a mess, did you guys see it?  Talk about a tear jerker!  I haven’t cried like that in a movie in a long time.  How embarrassing.  We LOVED it, can’t wait to buy it on video

So, I’ve got a great kid friendly snack for you today.  We all love our traditional “puppy chow” or “muddy mix” so I’ve created a Peanut Butter and Jelly version that you guys are going to LOVE!  I’m talking white chocolate, peanut butter and jelly mixed up with honey nut chex cereal and powdered sugar….yum.

Easy, perfect for summer and great for getting the kids in the kitchen to make a midday snack   Hope you all enjoy!

Here’s the line up of ingredients

Oh man, I love this cereal, measure out 9 cups

I used Sarris’s White Chocolate Bloc and chopped it up, but you can also use white chocolate chips

Add you chocolate, peanut butter, jelly and butter into a microwave safe bowl and heat until melted.

perfect, nice and melted.  Now stir until well combined.

Pour your cereal into a giant mixing bowl…

Pour in your melted chocolate mixture…

Give it a big stir

Time to shake it up!!

Yes!  Now munch!

White Chocolate PB&J Muddy Mix

9 Cups Honey Nut Chex (or any chex variety you like)

3/4 Cup chopped white chocolate or white chocolate chips

1/2 Cup creamy peanut butter

1/4 Cup strawberry jam

2 Tablespoons butter

2 Cups powdered sugar

1.  Place chex cereal in a large mixing bowl.  Place chocolate, peanut butter, jam and butter into a microwavable safe bowl and microwave for 1 minute or until melted.  Stir then pour into bowl of cereal.  Mix well then divide mixture into 2 large ziplock bags.  Pour in 1 Cup powdered sugar into each ziplock.  Close bags and shake until cereal is coated.  Pour into a large bowl and serve.

Serves A LOT!

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Have  a great new week, see you soon!

Hi everyone!! The boys and I are in Chicago this week enjoying a fun little event I’ll tell you all about when I get home! We are having a GREAT time in the Windy City!

While I’m away, since Summer is HERE, I thought I’d share 2 of my FAVORITE quinoa salad recipes that are perfect for all of those family parties going on in the summer. These salads are chilled and full of great flavor. Take a look….hope you enjoy!

This is the Chipotle Lime White Bean and Corn Quinoa Salad…..I LOVE this one

It’s got some chipotles and adobe sauce in the dressing, so it’s a tad bit spicy…YUM!

Here’s the Feta Mandarin Asian Quinoa Salad. LOVE it, seriously takes 5 minutes to put together!

Feta Mandarin Asian Quinoa

1 Cup uncooked quinoa

1/4 Cup “Feast from the East” Sesame Dressing from Costco (this is such a great dressing)

1/4 Cup green onions, chopped (the green parts)

1/2 Cup crumbled feta cheese

1/2 Cup red bell pepper, chopped

1/4 Cup fresh chopped cilantro leaves

1. Prepare quinoa according to package directions. Transfer to a large bowl. Mix in dressing, onions, feta, peppers and cilantro. Cover and chill until serving.

8-10 servings

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Chipotle Lime White Bean and Corn Quinoa

1 Cup uncooked quinoa

3 Tablespoons fresh lime juice

3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt with parsley

1 teaspoon adobe sauce (from can of chipotle peppers)

1 can yellow corn, drained

1 can white beans, drain and rinsed

1/2 Cup fresh chopped cilantro leaves, chopped

2 chipotle peppers, chopped

1/2 Cup red bell pepper, chopped

1/4 Cup green onions, chopped (the green parts)

1. Prepare quinoa according to package directions. In a small bowl whisk the lime juice, olive oil, salt, parsley and adobo sauce. Pour into quinoa and mix in corn, beans, cilantro, chipotle peppers, red bell pepper and green onions. Cover and chill until serving.

8-10 servings

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Have a great rest of your week and weekend! See you soon

Hi everyone, happy Monday if that is possible!  We’ve still got a few weeks until Mother’s Day, so to get us ready I am having a Mother’s Day Recipe Extravaganza this week and early next that I am so excited to share with you!  I’ve partnered with my local Whole Foods Market in Tustin (that I am so in love with ) to give you an entire Mother’s Day Menu.  Maria Mugica, the Marketing Supervisor is wonderful and I am thrilled to be working with her.

To start our Menu off, I chose to create an appetizer that will literally knock your socks off!  This is a fancier Picky Palate recipe, but hey, it’s Mother’s Day right?!  I love the freshness of this chicken salad.  The citrus and fennel together are so good, just wait until you taste it.  If you are not a goat cheese fan, you can leave it out or even use feta which would be great.  These little endive boats look adorable on the table and taste even better.  Hope you enjoy this appetizer

Ahhhh, here is my fabulous Whole Foods Store Front!  xoxox

image of store front from google images

Here is a collage of some of the key ingredients in this chicken salad.  I swear, the second I step foot inside Whole Foods my inner wannabe chef comes out.  The produce section alone steals my heart as I look at each and every carefully arranged display.  I mean, the sky is the limit when it comes to creating recipes from Whole Foods.  I love how fresh, organic and beautifully displayed everything is.  I even snapped a picture of the two men in charge of keeping the produce section so lovely!  I told them thank you!!!

Maria was telling me that Whole Foods uses a local CA Organic Chicken Farm, so they know they are getting the best.  A huge thank you to Whole Foods for providing us with such a fabulous place to SHOP!!

After taking the endive leaves apart, place little pieces of goat cheese down then you’ll put your chicken salad over top.  Oh my gosh, if you are a goat cheese fan look out!!  I love this recipe, can you tell?

Citrus Fennel Chicken Salad Endive Boats with Goat Cheese, Asparagus and Pecans

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper

1/4 teaspoon Lawry’s Garlic Salt with Parsley

1/4 teaspoon dry thyme

1 Cup mayonnaise

1 1/2 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard

3 Tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice (about 1/2 an orange)

1/4 Cup fresh chopped fennel

1/4 Cup chopped pecans

2 heads Belgian endive, leaves separated

1/2 Cup crumbled Goat Cheese

1/2 Cup asparagus tops, steamed until fork tender and trimmed

1.  Place chicken, salt, pepper, garlic salt, thyme, mayonnaise, dijon, orange juice, fennel and pecans into a large bowl.  Mix until well combined.

2.  Place endive leaves onto a serving plate.  Place crumbled goat cheese inside each of the leaves then top with chicken salad.  Place asparagus tips onto each endive boat.  Serve immediately or chill until ready to serve.

12 servings

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Hope you all enjoy.  Up next…..Part 2, the Main course   Come back soon!

Good Thursday morning!! Still running around with my family visiting.  We have been quite the tourists.  I am loving all the sunsets we are watching.  I can’t stop taking pictures of the gorgeous views at the beach.  You can tell I haven’t lived in CA for very long

Can’t wait to share this soup with you today.  Hubby and I took the kids to eat at Chili’s last week and ordered this Green Chili lime soup.  We decided to split it and what a mistake, we ended up fighting over the last bite like our 2 boys would do!   I seriously couldn’t stop thinking about it after we got home.  I know I’m weird, but it was so good that I had to get in the kitchen to re-create it.  Lo and Behold, I did it!  No kidding, it tastes nearly identical to the soup we ordered!  It’s a brothy soup which usually isn’t my favorite, but the cilantro lime accented broth, rice and chicken really leave you feeling very satisfied.

Do yourself a favor… cook up a big pot and find yourself in love

Hope you all enjoy, I’m salivating looking at these pics again!

Green Chili Chicken and Lime Soup

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves fresh or roasted garlic, minced (I used a jar of roasted garlic, it was phenomenal!)

80 oz chicken broth, 2 1/2 cartons of the 32 oz

10 oz can rotel tomatoes, mild

7 oz can diced green chilies

4 medium boneless skinless chicken breasts; cooked, shredded and lightly seasoned with salt and pepper

2 1/2 Cups cooked rice of choice, I used basmati

1/4 Cup fresh lime juice

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

Pinches of Kosher salt, fresh cracked black pepper and Lawry’s Garlic Salt with Parsley to taste

1 bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped

Fresh diced avocados, drizzled with lime juice

1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese

Tortilla chips

1.  Place oil into a large dutch oven over medium heat.  Saute onion for 5 minutes then add in garlic; cook for 1 minute.  Stir in chicken broth, tomtoes, green chilies, chicken breast, rice, lime juice and seasonings.  Cook for 5 minutes; taste and season according to your liking.  Right before serving add chopped cilantro.

2.  Serve soup with fresh diced avocado, shredded cheese and crushed chips if desired.  If you can handle the heat, squeeze some Siracha over top, yum!!

10-12 servings

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I’ll leave you with more sunset pictures!!  This time from Crystal Cove Beach a couple nights ago.

Have a great weekend!!  See you all soon

Good Thursday to you!  The week is flying isn’t it?  I didn’t plan on sharing this recipe, and certainly didn’t plan on photographing it, but after having these babies for lunch with my hubby, I knew I had to snap some pictures and share it with you!

A few years ago when I was enjoying cooking competitions, I competed in the Build A Better Burger Competition.   Ever since that event, I have been in love with making fun burgers of all kinds.  The burger I competed with in 2004 actually had feta and sun dried tomatoes in it, which is one of my favorite combinations now!

This turkey burger has minimal ingredients with massive flavor.  My husband was all compliments while inhaling his sliders, and he has no problem telling me his honest opinion!  I found these adorable mini hamburger buns at Trader Joes and seriously love them!  I mean, they really are cute and are the exact shape of regular hamburger buns.  Of course you can always use dinner rolls if you can’t seem to find this product

Hope you all enjoy my little sliders.

Here they are, mini hamburger buns.  Maybe I’ve missed them in the past, but I don’t remember seeing these at Trader Joe’s before.   Glad they have them.

I cooked these burgers right on the stove top in a large skillet.  Was just too lazy to fire up the grill.  By all means, grill them if you’d rather.

If you are a feta fan, beware…you could quite possibly eat many of these

Feta Sun-Dried Tomato Turkey Burger Sliders

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 lb ground turkey

1/2 Cup crumbled feta cheese

1/4 Cup sun-dried tomatoes, jarred in olive oil

1/2 Cup fresh baby spinach leaves, chopped

Pinch of Kosher salt, fresh cracked pepper and Lawry’s Garlic Salt with Parsley

Sun-Dried Tomato Mayonnaise

1 Cup mayonnaise

2 Tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes, packed in olive oil, drained

Baby hamburger buns or dinner rolls, split and warmed

2 Cups fresh baby spinach leaves

1.  Heat oil into a large skillet over medium heat.  Place turkey, feta, sun dried tomato, spinach and seasonings into a mixing bowl.  Mix until just combined.  Form 1/4 Cup little patty’s and place onto a cookie sheet.  Once all are formed, place batches in hot skillet.  Cook for 3-4 minutes per side or until golden brown and cooked through.

2.  Place mayonnaise and tomatoes into a bowl; mix to combine.  Spread over insides of warm rolls.  Layer bottom roll with spinach and the burger.  Close with top roll and eat

Makes about 12 little sliders

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Have a great weekend!!  See you all soon

Happy Friday everyone!  It’s a soggy Friday here in CA, hope it let’s up, we want to go back to Disney tonight!

I couldn’t resist sharing this perfect game day recipe that I posted last year.  These Smokin’ Mozzarella Balls are seriously so incredible, I could quite possibly eat all of these in one serving!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend

Reminders on Picky Palate Giveaways:

Win $100 Visa Giftcard with Eggland’s Best HERE

Win $100 Visa Giftcard with V8 V-Fusion HERE

Win $50 Giftcard from Safeway and it’s family stores for free groceries HERE

Smokin’ Mozzarella Balls

Vegetable oil for frying

8 oz container Fresh Mozzarella “Ciliegine” (cherry tomato size)

1/2 Cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 egg

2 teaspoons adobo sauce from can of chipotle peppers (add more if you like it spicy)

½ Cup Italian Bread Crumbs

¼ Cup Panko Bread Crumbs

¼ Cup fresh grated parmesan cheese

1 Cup of your favorite marinara or pasta sauce, warmed

1. Pour a couple inches of oil into a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to 350 degrees F. with an appropriate thermometer.

2. Drain liquid from mozzarella balls and pat dry with paper towels. Place flour, salt and pepper into medium size bowl. Place egg and adobo sauce into a second bowl; whisk to combine. Place bread crumbs and parmesan cheese into a 3^rd bowl; mix to combine. Roll mozzarella into flour, then into eggs, then press into bread crumb mixture.

3. Carefully place 4-5 coated balls at a time into hot oil. Use a “spider” to constantly move them around in oil. Cook for 30-60 seconds or until golden. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Continue until all have been fried.

4. Place all balls onto a serving plate along with a bowl of marinara sauce. Serve warm.

4 servings

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Oh baby I could go for some of these today!  Happy Football Watching, see you soon for Valentine’s Day Baking!!  Woo Hoo!

Good Thursday!  How exciting we’ve got a nice long weekend coming up. You better believe the boys and I will be hitting up Disney!

Last week for lunch, I decided to put apple slices in my grilled cheese.  I couldn’t imagine it tasting good, but I’ve always heard about the whole apple/cheddar combo being really tasty.  To my surprise, it’s fantastic!  You don’t believe me?  Take 5 minutes and make one for yourself!

Plus, there’s apples inside, so it’s still considered healthy cooking right?!!  I’ll say yes

Toasted Whole Grain Apple Cheddar Panini

2 slices Whole Grain Wheat Bread, lightly buttered on 1 side each (Love the Alpine Valley Loaf from Costco)

1/2 Gala apple, sliced almost paper thin, see pic of apples above

1/4 Cup shredded cheddar cheese, Tillamook works wonders here

Side of Dijon Mustard for dipping

1.  Heat a small skillet or grill pan to get the panini look over medium heat.  Place buttered side of bread #1 down in hot skillet.  Layer bread with half the cheese, the apples then the remaining cheese.  Top with bread #2, buttered side up.  Grill for 1- 1 1/2 minutes per side pressing on sandwich (to get grill marks) until golden brown on each side.  Remove, slice, dip in Dijon and EAT!

1 serving

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Have a terrific LONG Weekend, come back soon for more “healthy” cookin’ over at Picky P!

Good Monday to you!  Hope everyone had a nice weekend

I am in love with this nice chunky bowl of Chicken Noodle Soup!  I know I make a lot of soups and say I love all of them, but this one really is one of my newest favorites.  You’ll have to scroll down and look at the noodles I picked up at Whole Foods for this recipe.  I’ve never seen them before, but if you can get your hands on them, give them a try, you’ll love it!  Tastes like it’s right out of a cafe.

In these winter months, even though it’s not all that cold here in CA, there’s nothing I like better to eat than a nice bowl of hot soup, hope you’ll all enjoy my latest recipe.  We at the entire pot in just a few days.  Enjoy

Found these great noodles @ Whole Foods, they were in the Kosher section.  Really were awesome in this soup.  Any old small noodle will work if you can’t find these.  I really liked the stir fry noodles too.

Chunky Chicken Noodle and Vegetable Soup

3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 medium white onion, finely chopped

5 stalks of celery, chopped

4 large carrots, peeled and sliced

1 Cup sweet peppers, chopped

1 zucchini chopped, 1/2 inch pieces

1 yellow squash chopped 1/2 inch pieces

1 1/2 Cups eggplant, chopped 1/2 inch pieces

5 cloves fresh garlic, minced

48 oz chicken broth (I used 1 full 32 oz size and 1/2 of another)

9 oz small noodles of choice

1 Tablespoon coarse Dijon Mustard

1 teaspoon hot sauce (doesn’t make it spicy, just gives a nice flavor)

2 large chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (lightly seasoned with salt and pepper)

1 Cup fresh parsley, finely chopped

Pinches of Kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper and Lawry’s Garlic Salt to TASTE (this differs for everyone, just season until you like it)

1.  Place oil into a large dutch oven over medium heat.  When hot, saute the onion, celery, carrots, sweet peppers, zucchini, yellow squash and eggplant.  Cook and stir until tender, about 5-7 minutes.  Stir in fresh garlic; mix in for 30 seconds then stir in the broth.  Increase heat until soup just starts to boil.  Stir in noodles and cook for 7-10 minutes or until noodles are cooked through, al dente.  Stir in dijon mustard, hot sauce, chicken, parsley and seasonings to taste.  Reduce heat to low and simmer until ready to serve.

Serves 8-10

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Have a great new week!  Come back soon for more healthy eating

Good Thursday!  This week is flying.  How’s everyone’s healthy eating going so far?  I am so excited to share this healthy salad with you.  I can’t stop eating it.

So on my shopping trip earlier this week I picked up a massive bag of this Bob’s Red Mill Quinoa at Costco.  I was determined to find a tasty recipe for it and I absolutely did.  This recipe is a cold salad that is so refreshing and practically guilt free.  I keep it in the fridge and snack on it throughout the day.  I found that quinoa is so easy to make, 12 minutes and it’s done.  It has the consistency of couscous, but is healthier for you!  It is a win win if you ask me.

Go pick up a bag at any health food store like Whole Foods, Sprouts or Fresh and Easy type stores.  You’ll find that this salad is so yummy!  Let me know if you give it a whirl.

Sesame Mandarin Quinoa Salad

1 Cup uncooked Bob’s Red Mill Organic Whole Grain Quinoa

1/3 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar

1 Tablespoon sugar substitute, like splenda or something similar

2 Tablespoons sesame oil

Pinch of kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper

1/2 Cup sweet peppers, chopped (found a big bag of these at Costco, they are small and very mild.  Great flavor)

1/4 Cup chopped green onions, the green part

1/4 Cup fresh parsley, chopped

1/4 Cup crumbled feta cheese

1 Cup mandarin oranges

1.  Prepare quinoa according to package directions.  Transfer to a large bowl to cool.  In a small bowl whisk the oil, balsamic vinegar, sugar substitute, sesame oil, salt and pepper until well combined.  Pour over cooled quinoa and mix to combine.  Add the sweet peppers, green onions, parsley, feta and mandarin oranges.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

4 servings

Good Monday morning!

Hope everyone had a great Halloween weekend.  Our Halloween night was pretty short and sweet.  My boys got pooped out after about 45 minutes after having spent most the day at their buddys’ Birthday bash.  My skeleton and Fantastic 4 guy were happy with their modest bags of candy.  We went trick or treating in a beautifully decorated neighborhood with some friends.  The weather was perfect, couldn’t have asked for a better night!  Scroll down to see some snapshots of our night

Ok, onto my 2 exciting secret recipes…..I am a Whole Foods junkie and often will leave my grocery shopping experience with a couple of salads from their extravagant deli area.  Talk about selection!  You can get about any type of cuisine you could ever want.  I just love it.  The following two salads are at the top of my list.  After ordering these salads so often, I finally decided I’ve got to make them myself at home and YUM they turned out pretty darn close to the originals!

Take a peek and treat yourself to two fabulous salads this week!!

Whole Foods Mediterranean Couscous Salad….Picky Palate version

1 box Near East couscous, cooked according to package

3/4 Cup red bell pepper, diced

1/2 Cup yellow bell pepper, diced

4 oz container crumbled Feta Cheese

3/4 Cup Kalamata Olives, sliced

1 Tablespoon fresh minced garlic

1/4 Cup extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Pinch of salt and fresh black pepper

1/2 Cup fresh parsley, chopped

1.  Place cooked couscous into a large bowl.  Let cool (put in the fridge to speed up the process).   Add the bell peppers, feta cheese, olives and garlic to the couscous.  Mix to combine.

2.  In a separate bowl whisk the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper until well combined.  Pour over couscous and mix to combine.  Stir in fresh parsley and serve!  Refrigerate leftovers.

4 servings

Whole Foods Broccoli Crunch Salad….Picky Palate version

1 1/2 Cups mayonnaise

3/4 teaspoon brown sugar

2 Tablespoons honey

2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper

1/8 teaspoon paprika

20 Cups broccoli florets (I got the big bag from Costco)

10 strips cooked, crisped bacon (crumbled)

1 Tablespoon fresh minced garlic

1/2 Cup diced red onion

1 1/2 Cups craisins

1 1/2 Cups cashews, coarsely chopped

1.  In a mixing bowl, combine the mayonnaise, brown sugar, honey, vinegar, salt, pepper and paprika until well combined.

2.  Place the broccoli, bacon, garlic, onions, craisins and cashews into a LARGE bowl.  Pour dressing over top and gently mix to combine.

3.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serves 10-12

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Here are my rugrats running around Halloween night.  Was nearly impossible to get them to take pictures!

Have a great new week, see you soon!