Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad

Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad

Summer time is dwindling to a bittersweet end, and I find myself trying to make as many summery meals as possible before it's over. I have a special place for summer in my heart. All throughout high school and college I was a lifeguard during the summer. Any job that pays to lay around the pool all day sounded like a dream job to me. Now that I'm older I try and stay out of the sun. Without my daily trips to the pool or working in the yard (mosquitos have been bad), I have had time on my hands to work on new recipes.

We have a Chicken Salad Chick down the way from our house and we are slightly addicted. I have their rewards app on my phone because we rack up enough points on a regular basis to get a pound for free when guests come into town. It reminds me of a local grocery store I grew up with in Florida that made their own chicken salad. It was a prized possession if you brought their chicken salad in your lunch that day. Everyone wanted to trade you or at least have a small bite of your meal. 

When a meal is that good, you remember it. Every last detail of it - the flavor, the consistency, the smell. Like a chicken salad-possessed zombie, I started walking around our grocery store guessing the ingredients that composed that chicken salad I loved so long ago. Slivered almonds, chunky celery, lemon....I was on a roll. As I do with most mayonnaise and sour cream based recipes, I decided to throw some greek yogurt into the mix and see how it would taste. Turns out, it came together pretty perfectly. Enjoy this chicken salad recipe with crunchy bacon and lettuce on a toasted croissant. We used dill havarti as the cheese, which you can find at most deli sections in your local grocery store.

Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad

Preparation: 25 min

                  Cook Time: 0 min  Total Time: 25 min                       

Ingredients

        

          2 tsp fresh chopped parsley

          4 chicken breasts, butterflied

          3 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

          8 oz plain greek yogurt

          1/3 cup olive oil mayonnaise

          2 celery stalks, diced

          4 green onion stalks, chopped

          1/4 cup slivered onions

          1 tsp garlic powder

          1 tsp onion powder

          1 tsp salt

          Pepper to taste

Instructions

        

          In a large pot, place your chicken breasts and fill the pot with water. Bring to a boil on medium/high 

          heat. Keep the water at a rolling boil until the chicken is cooked through (about 10-15 minutes). 

          Remove the chicken from the water and place on a cutting board. Cut half the chicken into cubes 

          and cut the other half into a fine dice. This is to create texture in your chicken salad. Add the chicken 

          into a large bowl and allow to cool. Dice your celery and green onion and add to the bowl. Chop your 

          parsley until it is fine. Add your chopped parsley, almonds, greek yogurt, mayo, lemon juice and spices to 

          the bowl and mix. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill (about 2 hours). I serve mine 

          with lettuce, avocado, havarti cheese and crunchy bacon on a toasted croissant. 

          

Houston

Houston, Texas

My husband has a convention every year in Houston, TX and I get to come along for the ride. We made the mistake of staying 20 minutes away from the convention center last year. This year we were more prepared finally having a little better knowledge of the area. After doing some online research, we found this vintage gem right in the heart of downtown Houston. The building is 91 years old. Some people think it to be haunted, but we didn't have any encounters with spirits checking in to our room. The rooftop pool, fitness center, and complimentary cookie hour are just a few of the nice accouterments to staying at this centrally-located hotel. It is also walking distance to several fantastic restaurants, bars and the convention center.

Where We Stayed:

Magnolia Hotel

Source

Source

Source

Dining Guide

The first night, before dinner we went to Kata Robata, a sushi restaurant, for Happy Hour! They have half off all wines by the glass for their happy hour, and boy was I excited!! They have a wonderful wine list. I was a little disappointed that we didn't stay for dinner because every plate served around us looked better than the last. Kata Robata is a slick spot to take clients to impress, a first date, or a friend from out of town. ;)

Source - Travel & Leisure Magazine

Having a glass of Thralls 2014 pinot noir from the Russian River Valley.

For dinner, we walked a block down the road to El Tiempo, where we met up with two friends of ours that are locals. We let them order for us and we were not disappointed! They ordered us a pound of the fajita chicken. It's served on a silver, oven-like pedestal. It deserves a pedestal. Paired with their "Barry" butter sauce on the side, homemade flour tortillas that melt in your mouth, and mouth-watering mexican rice and beans, I think it should be nominated for Oprah's favorite things.

Source

Source - Houston Chronicle

(I didn't get any good photos of El Tiempo because it was so dark!)

Dinner - Night 2

Osso & Kristalla is a new restaurant in downtown Houston. Luckily, it was walking distance from our hotel and has a fantastic happy hour. This Italian-flair restaurant boasts of wood fired pizzas, fresh pasta dishes, and a great Italian wine selection along with several limoncello cocktails. 

Our waiter was such a good sport about being in photos!

Hey hubs!!

High ceilings, cartoon wallpaper, and butcher block table tops are just a few of the quirky/quaint features of this restaurant. This restaurant is full of natural light, which makes it a great spot for food bloggers and instagram foodies alike to take pictures of their food. All of the images here were taken with my iPhone! Can I get these windows in my house?

Men and women working nearby began congregating in the bar area once happy hour was in session. I don't blame them considering you can grab a beer for right around $3.00 and an appetizer for $5.00!

I've been on a limoncello kick, which you know if you've been following my blog. Our waiter suggested the bartender's new cocktail creation, the Limoncello Mule. Served with fresh mint leaves, limoncello, vodka and soda, this drink is a great summer refresher that cleans the palate with each sip and gets you ready for your next bite.

For dinner I was torn between options. With so many mouth-watering options it was hard to pick just one! 

I narrowed it down to three options and let our waiter decide. He brought me the Margherita pizza and told the chef to add prosciutto! I was in pizza heaven! They use fresh buffalo mozzarella, large basil leaves, cherry tomatoes and a secret marinara sauce to make the best slice of 'za I've had since we visited NYC.

I'm still craving this pizza since we left.

We aren't huge dessert eaters/orderers, but the dessert menu at Osso & Kristalla spoke to us. I love Italian desserts. Tiramisu is one of my favorites and they had it on their small menu! I couldn't wait to order it... until my husband stopped me and said "Honey, I really don't want that." I was shut down. By my own husband. My tiramisu dreams were crushed. Garrett wanted the cheesecake. I'm not a big fan of cheesecake. As we bantered back and forth on what to get, the waiter offered us a truce option. He suggested we order their layered, decadent chocolate cake with chocolate mousse layers and a chocolate ganache icing. Before he was finished with his sentence, we agreed to the idea. 

The plate was licked clean. I mean, look at this. I'm happy I even got to snap this picture before Garrett scooped up a fourth of it on his spoon. 

I slept like a baby as soon as we got back to our hotel. Good food = good sleep.

Day 3 - Lunch

My husband got to Houston a few hours before me on our first day because I was heading to the airport from Nashville. He scoped out the area around our hotel and found the one restaurant he knew had my name written all over it - Local Foods. 

I am a sandwich girl. I recently met someone who told me she hated sandwiches, and I honestly found myself getting defensive. How could someone hate sandwiches? There's so much to like!

When Garrett found this spot, he knew I would be in love. The setting has a modern-groovy feel to it. It's like the designer found some of the decor from a 70's night club and the other half from a Scandinavian home store. Cue the disco music.

Right when you walk in, there are splashes of blue everywhere you look. Accented with marble tables and pieces that look handmade, it's hard to rest your eyes on just one spot. 

I love these funky light fixtures that look like 1950's hair dryers!!

 The bar stools remind me of champagne corks with the cage still on. Maybe I just drink too much wine.

How fun are these bright green barstools on the opposite side of the bar? 

The best thing about these sandwiches is that they are BIG. The hubs was a college football player and he barely managed a comfortable grip on this bad boy. That's important when your man has a big appetite. Let's just say I never get to go to tapas bars.

We ordered the Crunchy Chicken Sandwich, which we were told was the most popular item on the menu. Layers of fresh shaved chicken are stacked on a pretzel bun with ranch dressing, potato chips, house-made pickles, and lots and lots of dill. You get a choice of two sides with your sandwich. We both went with the potato salad and the pesto orzo salad. We weren't disappointed.

Next time you have a trip planned to Houston, please stop by a few of these spots and tell me your feedback!

Rosemary Bread

Rosemary Bread

My friends have finally broken me down to share this recipe. My secret recipe is out!

I started making this bread five years ago when I first moved to Atlanta. I was definitely trying to impress my now husband, Garrett by showing him I could cook more than just spaghetti. I think between this recipe and my roast leg of lamb, I sealed the deal and got a pretty great man out of it. My neighbors at our apartment would stop in unexpectedly all the time to visit with us. I don't know if they had a sixth sense as to when I was making this bread, but it seemed like we were never alone when a batch of this was in the oven.

Rosemary bread feels like you're eating a bite of history. I can imagine families hundreds of years ago sitting around the table eating this bread and feeling joy with each warm bite. 

I usually think of this bread as a fall recipe, but with all of the gorgeous tomatoes I've collected over the last few weeks, I thought it would make a great base for a caprese bruschetta with fresh mozzarella.

Usually I serve this bread plain as an appetizer with an olive oil infusion I've created at the time. I like taking small jars and putting various herbs and spices to have a lot of quick options to use for my meal that night. My favorite combination for this bread is a small amount of balsamic vinaigrette, cracked black pepper and flaked salt. It's simple and extremely satisfying. If it ain't broke don't fix it, right?

Rosemary Bread

Preparation: 2.5 hours

                  Cook Time: 20-30 min  Total Time: 3 hours                       

Ingredients

        

          3 tsp fresh chopped rosemary + 1/2 tsp to top the bread

          2 cups all purpose flour

          1 pack active dry yeast

          1 1/2 tsp sugar

          1 cup water

          2 tsp flaked salt + 1 tsp to dust the top of the bread (or regular salt if you don't have flaked)

          Olive oil to top 

Instructions

        

          Dissolve yeast in the warm water with sugar and let it do it's thing. In a separate bowl, mix your flour, 

          salt and chopped rosemary. When your yeast is ready (about 2-3 minutes) add it to the bowl of dry 

          ingredients. Mix until blended. The dough should be sticky.

          Cover the dough bowl with a damp cloth and let it rise for 1 hour. If you used your Kitchenaid mixer, lift 

          the paddle and cover your bowl with a damp cloth and let sit an hour. 

           Remove the dough and place it on an oiled cookie sheet. Form the dough into a circle and cover with oil. 

           Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it sit another hour.

           Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Remove the plastic wrap from the bread and brush a little more 

           olive oil on top with your fingers. Bake at 425 for 10 minutes. Remove the bread from the oven and 

           lower the temperature to 375. Top the bread with chopped rosemary and flaked salt. Place back in the 

           oven for 15 minutes.

          Let your bread cool for 5-7 minutes and then cut and serve. Mix a plate of olive oil, balsamic 

          vinaigrette and cracked pepper as a quick dip. Enjoy!  

How to: Create the Perfect Gift Basket

Create the Perfect Gift Basket

It's that time in our lives where many of our friends are buying their very first home together. It seems I've been stuck in a rut with what to give our friends, and it's always a bottle of wine. Our friends of course always welcome the bottle with appreciative open arms. 

We are celebrating two months of married bliss this month. While writing our thank you letters, I began reflecting on some of the gifts we were given. Many of the presents were from our registry, and  several were not. It got me thinking about how nice a simple gesture of gift-giving brings such long-lasting joy to people - or at least to me. I've taken the 5 Love Languages quiz, and as you might guess, gift-giving ranked pretty high on my list.

Here are a few chic ideas from fellow bloggers that inspired me:

The Polished and Pink Basket 

{ for Spring, Bridal Shower, etc. }

Girly and practical, this basket is a home run styled by Camille Styles.

The Foodie Farmer's Market Basket 

{ for Fall, Housewarming, etc. }

Colorful and delicious, I love the mini jars of olives and pop of red from the ranunculus.

 Source

The Every Girl Basket 

{ for Summer, Bad Breakup, Welcome to the Neighborhood, etc. }

Julie Blanner does it again with this simple and beautiful basket of goodies that would make any girl squeal with joy to receive!

Little House of Chic's Basket

{ for Foodies, Cooks, and Summer gifts }

I just love heirloom tomatoes! They are not only beautiful, but very tasty! Terrain has been one of my new favorite wine finds under $10. You don't have to spend a fortune to make a meaningful, great-looking gift basket. These tomatoes are from our local farmer's market. I paired these items with fresh lavender for a bath, satchel, or to make lavender ice cream. The honey is orange blossom from Bee Cause. I packaged my homemade rosemary bread in a plastic bag and tied it off to keep it fresh. What's more endearing than something homemade as the icing on top?

Make your own:

Basket / Filler / Wine / Container for Lavender / Honey / Bread

Homemade Green Goddess Salad Dressing

Homemade Green Goddess Salad Dressing

Is there anything better than fresh, homemade salad dressing?

 If you have never made your own dressing, you need to start. It's a little luxury that takes so little time! I've been on a kick recently to make foods from scratch that I usually get from the grocery store. I've been working on homemade breads, pastas, and dressings. I've very weight conscious and have always been somewhat fearful of carbs. Shockingly enough, since making my own breads and pastas, I've lost weight! Hallelujah! I could not believe it.

We have been working in the yard a lot recently. With the summer being so rainy this year, we have seen a ton of growth. I have the dreaded black thumb. It's a shame because I love buying plants. Poor things didn't have chance when I brought them home. The last two months, my plants have been flourishing. Thanks to mother nature, my ferns and herbs are huge now! I guess a little water doesn't hurt, right?

Since I have a bounty of herbs now, I thought that it would only make sense to use them in my kitchen for a new recipe. I was at Panera Bread the other day and tasted their green goddess salad. I'm not usually a fan of green goddess dressing from the store, but this really hit the spot! It tasted so fresh and herb-forward with a large amount of basil. I found myself craving more all week.

Garrett and I love fish. Growing up in Florida, we had so much fresh fish available and my mother never wanted to cook it. She claimed it made the house smell too badly and she didn't know how to cook it well. Why cook it at home when the restaurants cook it for the same price? Not a bad point, I thought. Now living in Georgia, I buy my fish from local grocers where I know it's fresh. 

I brought home salmon and decided I was sick of the normal pairings I make with it. That's where this green goddess dressing was born! I grabbed a heap of herbs from my garden and popped them in my food processor with a little greek yogurt (I have a problem, I know) and mayonnaise. For a kick, I added fresh lemon juice and a lot of garlic. We served it with blackened salmon off the grill, avocado and ciabatta bread. Mmmmm.

Green Goddess Dressing

Preparation: 10 min

                  Cook Time: 0 min  Total Time: 10 min                       

Ingredients

        

          2 tbsp fresh chopped basil

          2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley

          2 tbsp fresh chopped chives

          3-4 tsp lemon juice

          8 oz plain greek yogurt

          1/4 cup olive oil mayonnaise

          2 tsp chopped garlic

          Salt & Pepper to taste

Instructions

        

          Mix your herbs in a food processor until well chopped. Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse until 

          well blended. Use immediately or store for up to 5 days in an air-tight container.

Entryway Update

Quick & Inexpensive

Entryway Update

I've been trying to make our house more functional recently. A house can be beautifully decorated, but not practical for it's residents. Pinterest has so many stunning homes that provide inspiration but I've realized not all the decor would work for our home. We are in desparate need for more storage space. 

With both of us working out of our home, we have to split our closet spaces between personal items, cleaning items and business items. It has been a huge adjustment. I find myself sacrificing personal space for our businesses all of the time. 

Before:

Our entryway has been a space in our home that has left me scratching my head. It's a small space with two windows adjacent to the door. I love the idea of making it into a mini mudroom, but the windows and doggy dining station have been getting in the way of that dream. 

We needed a spot to put keys, jackets, bags and dog items. I was walking the aisles of Target this weekend hoping for something that would provide inspiration. With our home being a rental, I needed a quick fix that was inexpensive and removable. I found these pretty brushed gold hooks and instantly decided to buy them and see if they would work for the space. I got lucky because they only had three left in stock!

I took down our chalkboard and moved it to the kitchen to repurpose it as a menu board. After measuring the wall, I decided on the placement of our new hooks. It only took me about 20 minutes to create this simple but drastic update to our entry. 

More storage space!!

 After:

Here's how I did it.

Begin by measuring the full length of the wall you want to hang your hooks on. I wanted them to be centered on the wall, so I measured 12 inches from the left and the right of the wall and made a mark. After those marks were measured out, I moved my measuring tape and measured from mark to mark to find the center and made an additional x. Following that, I took my hooks and placed each one on the wall where the mark was, tracing the inside of each hole on the wall. To make sure my new marks were level, I used my laser level to create a line down the entire wall so that each hook hole was level with the next.

From there, because each hook holds up to 35 lbs, I decided an anchor wasn't necessary. I began drilling each hook into the wall with the help of my husband.

I love the simple new look of this space. 

For more DIY tips and tricks, follow me on instagram and subscribe to my blog!

Limoncello Spritzer

Sip, sip, hooray! For the love of all things refreshing and bright, I've whipped up some delicious and easy limoncello cocktails. This yummy treat is a perfect porch sipping additional to all of your summer get-togethers.

Whether you're hosting a backyard BBQ or a bubbly brunch, this recipe is sure to please all taste buds - including the guys! My trick to bringing it all together? Having a bowl filled to the rim with fresh, fragrant lemons! Your guests will be so impressed with this gorgeous display next to their bubbly cocktail, they may just think you made the limoncello from scratch! 

Limoncello Spritzer

Preparation: 10 min

                     Total Time: 10 min                        

Ingredients

          1 oz limoncello

          3/4 flute prosecco or brut Champagne

          Fine sugar for rim

          Lemon twist or mint sprig for garnish

Instructions

           

          Rub the rind of the lemon over the rim of the glass to wet. Place your sugar on a plate or in a bowl and 

          place the rim of the glass face down into the sugar to coat, twisting if needed. Add your limoncello to 

          the bottom of the champagne flute. Top with champagne until the glass is full. Garnish with your lemon 

          twist.