Recipe for Homemade Southwestern Chicken Pot Pie-Secret Recipe Club

This recipe is courtesy of Lynne at Café Lynnylu, my SecretRecipe Club assignment for February.  Lynne is a photographer and lives in Savannah, Georgia.  She attended school at the University of Georgia.  I think I was meant to have Lynne’s blog as I also attended the University of Georgia and lived just south of Savannah on St. Simons Island growing up-my Mom, brother, and niece all live there still.  Small world, huh?

Recipe for Cilantro Lime Pesto Roasted Chicken

I love all the fun pesto concoctions you can find these days!  Different nuts, different herbs...  I have my standby pesto recipe that I adore but I found a locally produced cilantro, lime, macadamia nut pesto here on Maui and wow is it good!  I had a nice organic free range chicken in the fridge and tried the pesto out in my usual roasted chicken recipe.  This was a flavorful, easy dish. 

This roasted chicken technique turns out perfect every time.  I did, however, almost drop this one transferring it from the pan to the cutting board.  Hence the torn up skin where I clamped down with the tongs!  Never fear, the chicken made it to the table just fine!

Recipe for Curried Chicken and Rice Casserole

We have a great Indian restaurant on Maui and enjoy getting together with a bunch of friends to go stuff ourselves on curries, naan, tandoori meat, lentil dishes.....   If it's just the two of us craving Indian flavors, I'll throw together an easy curry.  This recipe is an adaptation of a wild rice and chicken casserole I used to make when my kids were small.

Recipe for Another Summer Super Salad Inspiration

We enjoyed the last summer super salad so much that I've pretty much added it to the weekly rotation.  This version has refreshing and juicy watermelon mingling with blueberries, feta and mint, a simple vinaigrette and a summer staple-grilled chicken.  Once again, Mr. ELEB did his magic on the grill and contributed perfectly cooked chicken breasts.  A quick vinaigrette whipped together in the blender, a toss together of the watermelon, blueberries, feta and mint, and dinner was on the table in just about 30 minutes.

Recipe for Summer Super Salad Inspiration

Aloha all,
I'm starting to get caught back up from being away for so long!  Hope your summer is going well and you're enjoying some lovely fresh summer produce.  Last week, I was really in the mood for a salad of some type for dinner.  It was a hot, muggy day and my brain was just feeling lethargic-ever get like that?

Recipe for Quick and Easy Chicken Piccata-Secret Recipe Club

I was a little nervous when I got Barbara Bakes for my assignment for this month's Secret Recipe Club.  We'd just finished off the amazing Armenian Coffee Cake I made and really didn't want or need to have anything else tempting in the house for a while.  


I needn't have feared though.  Barbara has, in addition to all her mouth watering baked goods, a great selection of savory dishes.  Her chicken piccata recipe got my attention right away since it is a "quick and easy" recipe and one of our favorite chicken dishes to order at a restaurant. However, I'd never made it at home, which won't be an issue now I have her recipe in my files!


Barbara, like many of us, started her blog to share her favorite family recipes and her adventures in the kitchen. She also enjoys the Daring Bakers recipes as I do (where the Coffee Cake came from!).

Recipe for Thai Chicken Enchiladas

Like you probably do, I keep a folder of recipes to try.  Sometimes I get to them within the month, sometimes never, and sometimes like this recipe, I make it the next day!

Recipe for Curried Chicken with Peanuts

As I recently mentioned, we've been eating a fair number of Asian themed meals lately.  They are quick to put together-usually from stuff on hand.  They are also tasty and healthy.  So I find it's hard to go wrong!  Take this recipe for example. Tender chicken, salty peanuts, a subtle curry/coconut milk background and a little pop from the green peas stirred in at the end.  Simple and pretty perfect!

Recipe for Chicken Curry

I've been cooking a fair number of Asian themed meals: stir fries, curries etc. This recipe is based on one that a group of us used to make on the weekends in the dorm back in the 70's.  We were poor and had very little in the way of utensils.  We cooked on an illegal hot plate and used inexpensive canned chicken.  We sure didn't have access or means to acquire fresh herbs or coconut milk. And the only seasoning we had was Martha's curry powder her family sent her from India.   But we turned out a mean chicken curry.  The whole floor of the dorm smelled lovely and we ate well! So here's to the girls on the 12th floor!

Recipe for Chicken Cordon Bleu Bites

Now here's a fun little appetizer. While these take a bit of effort to make, they are sure to please.  We ate these (along with lots of other goodies) at a friend's football party.  Unfortunately, the team we were all pulling for lost (San Francisco 49ers) but these are a winner!  


I named these little goodies after a favorite chicken dish-chicken stuffed with ham and Swiss cheese.  These are actually "inside out" in some respects since the bacon is on the outside!

Recipe for General Tso's Chicken

Have you found the terribly addicting website "Pinterest"?   If not, I suggest one of two things:  If you're a visual person and have some time every day to dawdle and browse around a really fun website, check it out.  If you're a super busy person who already wastes too much time on-line, stay away!  Seriously though, it is a great place to see all sorts of things from food and recipes, to ideas for decorating, funny pictures and sayings and so much more.  I found the inspiration for this recipe there.

Recipe for Greek Chicken with Tzatziki-Win a Trip to Greece!

I hope that photo makes your mouth water...mine is and it is only 8 am here as I'm typing this!  Of course, if you are still stuffed from Thanksgiving and really can't think about food, just save this and check it out later! 


If you look up at the top of the page, you'll see the statement about what my blog is all about:  "Celebrating the delights of good healthy food and special treats! Sharing recipes, information and experiences."  That pretty much sums up my and Mr. ELEB's philosophy on good living and living a healthy life.  Everything in moderation.  Most of the time we eat healthy.  He runs, I bike.  We moved to Maui so we could enjoy the outdoors every day of the year.


And, part of good living is enjoying a splurge now and then...like this weekend that we enjoyed at the Kapalua Food and Wine Festival or this chocolate torte.  But most of the time, we try to stick to the healthier side of life.


Today's recipe fits in the "good healthy food" category and, always a bonus, it tastes fantastic!  

Recipe for Cheesy Chicken Penne Pasta. Secret Recipe Club!

It's that time again!  I'm really enjoying the opportunity to participate in the Secret Recipe Club.  It is a collection of bloggers who secretly pick a recipe from another's blog and cook and post about it.  Not only is it fun to spook around on someone else's blog but it is also a treat to see who had your blog for the month and what they picked to cook.

Recipe for Light Version of King Ranch Casserole

Maybe this should be called "Princess Ranch Casserole" because it is probably less than half the fat and calories of the classic recipe.  No canned soups, full fat milk, or sour cream, and a modest amount of low fat cheese.  Still delicious though!

Recipe for Slow Cooker Russian Chicken

Do you remember growing up that there were several recipes that your Mom, Grandma, Aunt, or friend's Mom used to make all the time?  The perennial favorites, they showed up in Junior League Cookbooks, at potlucks, or church suppers.  I think we know more about nutrition now but back in the day, many of these weren't exactly "clean eating" or "whole food".  This is one of those for me, a sweet chicken recipe that I've tried to make a little healthier.

Recipe for Slow Cooker Indian Spiced Lentils and Chicken

I haven't used my slow cooker for a while but it's been hectic lately, catching up from my trip back to Atlanta to meet Miss E. (my first grandchild) and planning for our upcoming vacation (Ireland, Scotland, and England).  So, a perfect time to pull it out.  I love plopping all the ingredients in the crock, turning it on and not thinking about it until it is time to serve.  Continuing on my Indian flavors kick, this comfort food recipe hit the spot.

Recipe for Chicken with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

Kalyn’s Kitchen was one of the first food blogs I started reading on a regular basis.  Kalyn has great healthy and flavorful recipes which tend to adhere to the South Beach Diet principles.  Even if you aren’t dieting, there are some amazing recipes on the site. 

This chicken recipe uses Kalyn’s recipe for roasted red pepper dip with feta and mint as the sauce for baked chicken thighs (you could also use breasts).  It’s fabulous as a dip and great as a cooking sauce.

Recipe for Chicken Vindaloo

Indian dishes are something we really enjoy eating.  How about you?  I've been trying to cook more Indian recipes at home and with that in mind, I bought some Vindaloo Spice Mix at Penzey's when I was at their retail location in Menlo Park last month.


This probably wouldn't be considered a traditional dish which most references say includes potatoes, not beans or tomatoes, but I wanted a one-pot dish, didn't want potatoes, and had green beans to use.  I used the directions on the Penzey's package for general guidance and then went my own way!


If you want to mix your own spice from scratch, here is an ingredient list I found on e-How.  In Penzey's mix: coriander, garlic, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, mustard, cayenne pepper, jalapeno, cardamom, turmeric, black pepper, cloves.

Recipe for "Sate" Roasted Chicken

This is one moist and delicious chicken, if I do say so myself, and I do!  Another experiment with some of the Penzey's spices I picked up on a recent trip to the mainland [and no, Penzey's isn't sponsoring these posts : -)]. This roasted chicken is slathered in a slurry of olive oil and Indonesian Sate seasoning (that's their spelling). I roasted it following my favorite "not just for special occasions" method.  It's foolproof.  The meat is so moist and the Sate seasoning was fantastic.


So, you might be wondering "what's in that Sate seasoning Susie Bee?"  Here is the list of ingredients:  

Slow Cooker Shredded Barbeque Chicken for a Crowd

The slow cooker is a treat to have when preparing food for a large crowd.  My slow cooker is quite the beast so it came in handy last week when we hosted a crowd to watch the final round of the Master's.  In honor of the Master's I served some Southern inspired dishes.  Here's one.