Yummy Grape Salad

2 pounds red grapes
2 pounds green grapes

You can use seedless black grapes as well and do whatever mixture of grapes in whatever amounts you want. Wash grapes, de-stem, rinse and pat dry.

8 oz soften cream cheese
8 oz sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
Not quite 1/2 cup sugar

Mix together until cream cheese, sour cream, vanilla and sugar until smooth and then fold into grapes. I usually do this in a separate bowl from the one I am going to serve in because it makes the bowl mess. I then transfer the mixture into the bowl I am going to serve in and top it with this topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecan
Sprinkle mixture on top when ready to serve.

"Guiltless" Alfredo Sauce

Alright ladies, I'm not sure I consider anything with a cup of parmesan cheese guiltless, but compared to other alfredo recipes out there, this one really is not so bad. And it's delicious. And you can whip it up in like 10 minutes, literally. Here's the deal:

Posted By sara (of Our Best Bites)

Ingredients:
2 C low-fat milk (I used fat free)
1/3 C (3 oz) low fat cream cheese
2 T flour
1 t salt
1 T butter
3 garlic cloves
1 C grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

Place milk, cream cheese, flour, and salt in a blender and blend until smooth. In a non-stick sauce pan, melt butter on med-high heat and add garlic. Let the garlic saute for about 30 seconds, you don’t want to burn it.

Then add milk mixture to the pan. Stir constantly for about 3 or 4 minutes or until it just comes to a simmer. Keep stirring and let it cook for a few minutes more. It should be much thicker now.

When it’s nice and thickened remove the pan from the heat. Add the cheese, stir it up and then cover immediately. Let stand for at least 10 minutes before using. It will continue to thicken upon standing. Also, if you have leftovers in the fridge, the sauce will thicken almost into a solid. Just re-heat and add a little milk and it will be back to normal again.

Note: At the recommendation of Sara (the blogger herself), I used this sauce to make an Asain pizza tonight. Yum! I used the leftovers from the Asian BBQ chicken, mixed some of the marinade from the chicken (that I had reserved before marinating, since I had planned for this round two meal) with the alfredo sauce (only used about 1/3 of the alfredo and eyeballed the marinade). One the pizza went the Asian alfredo, mozzeralla cheese, Asian BBQ chicken, cilantro, and thin sliced red onion. It was a hit! Ben's family makes pizza every Sunday and they have a pretty killer thin crust dough recipe. If you want it, let me know and I'll pass it along. Happy eating!

Asian Slaw

(Recipe courtesy Dave Lieberman, from the Food Network)

Note: I served this with Asian BBQ chicken and coconut rice and it was delicious and so EASY! It would also be outstanding on salmon tacos (maybe with a ginger pineapple glaze or something).

Ingredients

1 bunch (6 large) scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced (greens and whites)

2 (16-ounce) bags coleslaw mix or 1 (16-ounce) bag each of shredded green and shredded red cabbage (I used bagged regular slaw, mixed it with julienned carrots, but you could also just mix your own with regular cabbage and napa cabbage)

½ cup cilantro, chopped (this is my own addition)

1 small red onion, thinly sliced (I used just two slices of red onion, rather than a full red onion... between this and the green onion it was plenty oniony)

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger (from about a 1-inch piece)

2 tablespoons white vinegar

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar (added more like 3-4 Tbl to add more sweetness)

2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil

2 teaspoons sesame seeds, optional (left these out)

1 teaspoon salt

20 grinds black pepper

Directions

Rough up the scallion slices a little with your fingers so all the little layers of the scallion whites separate. Toss the coleslaw mix or both kinds of cabbage, the red onion and scallions together in a large bowl until everything is thoroughly mixed. You can make the slaw up to this point up to a day in advance as long as you keep it refrigerated. Before serving, simply bring the slaw back to room temperature, make the dressing and toss.

Stir the remaining ingredients together in a small bowl until blended, then pour over the vegetables. Serve within 1 hour of dressing or the cabbage will get wilty and sad. (I ate this for round two the next day, and while it was a little wilty, it was still super delicious.)

Asian BBQ Chicken

Posted By sara (from Our Best Bites)

Note… I combined this with a recipe of coconut jasmine rice and Asian slaw. Delicious!

Asian BBQ Chicken
Adapted from Cooking Light

1/4 C packed brown sugar


1/4 C soy sauce


2 T lime juice (about 1 lime)
 (I did lemon/lime since I doubled it and only had one lime on hand

1/4 t cayenne pepper


1/4 t curry powder


3-4 garlic cloves, minced


1 t grated fresh ginger


8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (I used about 3 large chicken breasts)

Combine everything but the chicken in a small bowl. Whisk to dissolve brown sugar. Place marinade and chicken in a zip-lock bag. Pop that bag in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours, or longer if you have it (even overnight)

Preheat a grill (or an indoor grill pan or broiler). Spray cooking surface with cooking spray and place chicken on it to cook. Cook for 5-10 minutes on each side depending on the thickness. (I broiled it in a baking dish.) Optional: garnish with sliced green onions

*Tip: When I make this I usually make 1 1/2 times the marinade (I doubled it). I reserve some of the marinade before adding the chicken and then use it in the last few minutes of grilling, or just brush it on after for extra flavor.

Coconut Rice

(From OurBestBites.com)

Note: I served this with Asian BBQ chicken and Asian slaw and it was terrific! Make this meal soon!

2 c. white or Jasmine rice (I used Jasmine)

1 can coconut milk (I used lite coconut milk and it was great)

2 c. water

1 tsp. Kosher salt

Splash of white vinegar (optional, but it helps with the texture) (use it)

2-3 tsp. white sugar (I might have used a little more than this... who counts)

Handful of chopped green onions, plus chopped green onion tops for garnish (we're using the whole animal here...)

Black pepper to taste

Combine rice, coconut milk, water, salt, vinegar, and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil Turn heat to low and cover for 20 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Allow to stand 5 minutes. Add green onions, black pepper (if desired), and additional salt if necessary. Serve with any Asian or tropical-inspired food.

(I also think this rice would be good if you stirred in shredded coconut or crushed pineapple or something after cooking. Btw, that's also when I stirred in the green onion.)