Beth’s Fresh Spring Rolls

Need a healthy meal option after binge-eating turkey, mashed taters and pumpkin pie?  This one will satisfy!  My aunt Beth (aka. Beffers) and I have been buddies since I was a little tike – and booooooy can she cook.  She shared this recipe with me and it’s a total keeper.

I have to admit; the first time I made these they were a bit of a bomb-out.  Lesson learned:  you have to make them fresh and eat them right away.  There’s none of that “make ahead of time and refrigerate” business.  Also, don’t over-wet the paper towel…you’ll see.

Also, another shredded chicken recipe.  Everyone has a version!  This time I cheated again and used a rotisserie chicken from the store – shredded.  I’ve used Beth’s chicken recipe before and it’s good!  Suit yourself.

Can’t wait for you to try this fresh goodness!

Shredded Chicken Ingredients:
Bag of Frozen Chicken Breasts
Garlic Paste
Garlic Salt
Bottle of Herdez Salsa Verde

1. In baking dish, rub garlic paste on frozen chicken breasts and sprinkle with garlic salt.
2. Pour entire bottle of Herdez Salsa Verde over chicken.
3. Cover baking dish with foil and bake in oven at 350 degrees for 2 hours.

Spring Roll Ingredients:
Shredded Chicken
Rice Paper Wraps (found in international isle of grocery store)
Broccoli/slaw mix
Cilantro
Avocado slices
Chopped peanuts
Rice noodles (Optional.  I didn’t use.)
Bangkok Padang Peanut Sauce (by House of Tsang) – This used as dipping sauce REALLY makes it.  YUM!  And isn’t too many calories.

Spring Roll Ingredients

1. Microwave water in round pie dish (Hot enough to soften the rice paper, but not burn your hands!!)
2. Lay out a damp paper towel for assembling (Drench paper towel in water and fully wring out.  Too moist of towel will make your rice paper soggy…)
3. Make assembly line of ingredients – (Shredded chicken, broccoli/slaw mix, cilantro, avocado slices, chopped peanuts, etc)
4. Moisten rice disk in warm water until pliable and lay on damp paper towel
5. In the middle, place all above ingredients
6. Close up both sides and then roll shut like a burrito
7. Place finished roll on another damp paper towel until you’re ready to eat (They don’t keep too long – eat within the next half hour.  After a few hours the rice paper dries up and gets rubbery.)
8. Dip in Bangkok Padang Peanut Sauce.  I sometimes mix that with a little soy—it is very low cal too.

Spring Roll Ingredients on Rice Paper - Ready to wrap up!

Spring Rolls & Peanut Sauce - Ready to eat!

GREAT bite!!

Zach-o-meter: Zach had a heck-of-a fun time making these.  I made an assembly line of ingredients for a build-your-own style dinner and it was a total hit.  He had a blast and was VERY impressed with how fresh and light this dinner is.

Be creative with this one.  It would also be FAB with shrimp and mango!

Better Than Cole Slaw

I despise cole slaw.  Never get it at BBQ joints and was a total skeptic the first time my mom fixed this dish.  Her cole slaw isn’t the traditional watery-mayo flavorless slaw you’re picturing.  It’s full of yummy ingredients and is mixed with poppy seed dressing.  I’ve never met anyone who didn’t love this salad/slaw.  Try it out…it’s a mixture of crazy looking ingredients, but trust Pris on this one…

Better Than Cole Slaw Ingredients:
1 package of mixed cole slaw w/ carrots (I used 2 packages – I think they were smaller than the one my mom uses.)
1 small box of raisins (I used golden raisins)
½ cup of dried cranberries
1 cut up apple chopped/cubed
1 small can of mandarin oranges drained
1 bundle of green onions chopped
½ cup of sliced almonds
1 small can of sliced black olives drained
Brianna’s Poppy Seed dressing (Key Ingredient!)

**UPDATE NOTE:  Okay this is totally embarrassing, but my mom has informed me that not alllllll of these ingredients necessarily go together.  They were a list of options to mix and match.  HA!  Oops.  I took the liberty of throwing them all in to one batch, and I thought it was pretty darn good, but you can make your own combo!

Cole Slaw Ingredients

Cole Slaw with Dressing - Before Tossing

1. Mix all ingredients together and toss with Brianna’s Poppy Seed dressing or your favorite poppy seed dressing.
2. Add half the bottle first and toss the salad. Then add more dressing to your liking.

I made this salad a couple of hours before dinner was served because it’s better after the flavors have had a chance to marry a bit.  It’s also great left over and is just so darn pretty on the plate!  It’s also a perfect partner for a BBQ dish – light and healthy tasting.

Better Than Cole Slaw Served

Zach-o-meter: He has always loved this salad and said I even make it as well as my mom does.  Alllllright!  Victory!  We had Zach’s brother, Greg, and our buddy Frank over for dinner too…and they gave it 2 thumbs up!

Better than Cole Slaw - Up Close and Personal...

Smoked BBQ Brisket Dinner

My parent’s gave Zach, my husband (still crazy to say), a smoker cooker as a wedding shower gift.  Not just any smoker – an Old Smokey smoker cooker.  We broke it out for the first time this last Sunday for some football-watching fun and by-golly he’s already a pro!

He was all pumped about brisket so obviously I had to come up with the perfect sides.  Luckily, this is a pretty standard dinner at the Darling household so I went to a trusty recipe source – my momma, Pris.  I made her Better Than Cold Slaw, Deviled Eggs and Baked Beans (Bush’s, not Pris’s).  I’ll share those recipes next, but let Z-Man take the floor for his BBQ…

Smoked BBQ Brisket Ingredients:
Old Smokey Smoker Cooker
5 lbs of Beef Brisket (at least 8 oz per person)
BBQ Rub (we used Buc-ee’s)
BBQ Sauce (optional – we used Salt Lick Spicy)

1. Apply BBQ rub on brisket – both sides.  Don’t be shy.  This should be done 24 hours before smoking to allow the flavor to soak in to the meat.
2. Place the brisket – fat side down – in the smoker cooker.
3. Cook on low (medium-low) for 10 – 12 hours.
4. Every 4 hours – brush on BBQ sauce with basting brush.
5. Slice and grub!!

Z's Choppin' Block - BBQ Beef Brisket

BBQ Brisket, Cold Slaw, Baked Beans & Deviled Eggs!

Landon-o-meter: Zach did a KILLER job with this beef.  He sliced the BBQ thin and it was DEVINE with Salt Lick Spicy BBQ sauce.  Moist, smokey and flavorful.  GO Z-man!