Light Monkey Bread

In coming up with a new Christmas breakfast idea, I decided to try (healthy) monkey bread..in addition to my Breakfast Casserole.  I found a recipe I was interested in trying in Cooking Light.  This recipe looks somewhat long and complicated, but it's actually fairly simple and quick (minus letting the dough rise part).  I'm also warning you that it will go quickly, so make two batches (or be prepared to make it again, and again).  I made my second batch on New Year's Day and it was gone just as quickly.

Ingredients:
Bread Ingredients:
3 Cups All-Purpose flour 

• 1 Cup Whole-Wheat flour 
• 1 Tsp. Sea Salt
• 1 Package Yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
• 1 Cup Skim Milk, Warm (120° to 130°)
• 1/4 Cup Orange Juice, Warm (120° to 130°)
• 1/4 Cup Honey
• 2 Tbsp. Butter, Softened
• Cooking spray
• 1/2 Cup White Sugar
• 1/2 cup Brown Sugar, Packed
• 2 Tsp. Ground Cinnamon
• 3 Tbsp. Skim Milk
• 2 Tbsp. Butter, Softened
• 
  • Glaze Ingredients:
  • 1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar
  • 2 Tbsp. Skim Milk
  • 1 Tsp. Vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Combine flours, salt, and yeast with your Kitchenaid (or regular mixer) until combined. Slowly mix in the milk, juice, honey, and 2 tablespoons butter; mix dough at medium speed 5-7 minutes or until smooth and elastic. It gets pretty tough to mix, so feel free to stop after a few minutes and do some heavy kneading/folding of the dough by hand.
2. Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat. Cover and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in size (I turn my oven on to 300 or so degrees, cover bowl with plastic wrap, and set bowl on top of stove so it gets just warm enough). 

• 3. Combine white sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining 3 tablespoons milk and 2 tablespoons butter.
• 4. Knead/fold dough a couple times and divide into 8 equal portions (I split it into two, then split those into two, then those all into two). Working with one portion at a time, roll into a (roughly) 8-inch rope. Cut or tear  8 equal pieces, shaping each piece into a 1-inch ball (does NOT need to be perfect, I just tear into roughly same size pieces and do a quick ball shape--not perfect at all). 
• 5. Coat each ball in milk/butter mixture, then roll in sugar/cinnamon mixture. Place balls in a large Bundt pan coated with cooking spray. Repeat procedure with remaining 7 dough ropes. Sprinkle any remaining sugar mixture over dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place, 1 hour or until almost doubled in size again.
• 6.  Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until golden. Cool 5 minutes. Place a plate upside down on top of bread; invert onto plate. 
• 7. Combine glaze ingredients (powdered sugar, milk, cream cheese, and vanilla) in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle over bread and enjoy!

The bread is best served warm (in my opinion), so microwave your serving for 20 or so seconds, just until warm (too long and the balls will get hard and stale).

Yum.  

Best-Ever Sugar Cookies

It's Holiday time!  That means time for me to go crazy making homemade candy (Cream-Filled Truffles, Chocolate Caramels), cookies, and other goodies (like my Hot Chocolate with Peppermint Chocolate Marshmallow Sticks).  I swear, if I ever quit my day job, it will be to open a place where I get to make these treats all of the time.

These sugar cookies have received rave reviews from anyone who eats them and after a little bit of tweaking, I finally think I have them just perfect.  This recipe yields about 60 cut-out cookies, which is just right for me to give some as gifts and leave some at home for us to nibble on.  The longest part of this process is the frosting, but it's fun (I cheesily blast Holiday tunes while I frost) and I look forward to a couple years from now when my son, Maxwell, can help me (instead of me frosting them while he naps).

I will admit that I wouldn't try to tweak the recipe to be healthier (shocking that I would say that, I realize), by adding whole wheat/less butter/other sweeteners or whatever, because I've been trying it for awhile and my results yield a mediocre cookie (using whole wheat flour) with less than stellar reviews.  So, enjoy this treat in moderation.

The frosting/icing recipe is found here (along with how to make Chocolate Sugar Cookies):

Ingredients:
1 1/2 Cups Butter, Softened
2 Cups White Sugar
4 Eggs
2 Tsp. Vanilla Extract (the real thing is better than imitation!)
4 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour (plus more for rolling out the dough)
2 Tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Sea Salt

Directions:
1.  In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth.  Beat in eggs, one at a time.  Mix in the vanilla.

2.  Mix in the flour, sea salt, and baking powder (you might want to stir in the last cup by hand).
3.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
4.  Roll out dough (working with 1/3 the batter at a time) onto a floured surface.  Roll out the dough to 1/4" to 1/2" thickness.  Cut into shapes with cookie cutters.  Reroll scraps 2-3 more times and cut shapes into that (eventually dough will get too stiff and flour-y, so discard scraps after 2-3 re-rolls).
5.  Place cookies 1" apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake for 7-9 minutes, or until lightly browned on the bottom.  Transfer to wire rack to cool.

Serve plain or frost and decorate as desired (directions found here).

Enjoy!

Some Menorahs for my Jewish friends. 

Some Personalized Christmas Stocking Cookies

Snicker Bar Cookies

In the spirit of using leftover (Halloween, or otherwise) candy to make bars or cookies, I decided to use up more of our leftover candy and make some Snickers Bar Cookies (if you're interested, see the recipe for Reese's Peanut Butter Blondie Bars here).
So, these awesome little morsels use Snickers candy bars with peanut butter cookie wrapped around them.  Then you drizzle a little chocolate icing on top and wa-la, a sweet treat.  Everything in moderation.  I won't put extra fats or sugars in most recipes, but I will always still post recipes for sweets.  I definitely enjoy unhealthy treats, but I believe a healthy lifestyle includes giving in to chocolate (and other sweets) every once in awhile.  Plus, you can always a modify a recipe by using light butter, agave (or other natural sweeteners), whole wheat flour (instead of all all-purpose), etc.   I hope you enjoy these!

Ingredients:

1/2 - 1 Package of Snickers Mini Snack Size Candy Bars (depending on how you cut them, see Directions #1).
3/4 Cup Light Butter (1 1/2 Sticks)
3/4 Cup Peanut Butter (I used organic and crunchy, but you can do whatever type you prefer)
1/4 Cup White Sugar
1/4 Cup Agave Nectar (or just use 1/2 Cup total White Sugar)
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
1 Cup All-Purpose Flour
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Sea Salt

Icing Ingredients:
1/4 Cup Cocoa Powder
1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar
1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1/2 -1 Tbsp. Milk

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cut candy bars in half or into fourths (I cut them into 4 pieces).
2.  Cream together the butter, peanut butter, and sugars.  Add in the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla.
3.  Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.  Slowly mix the dry ingredients in with the wet mixture (about 1 cup at a time).  Don't overmix, just until well-combined.

4.  Take a spoonful of dough and wrap around a piece of Snickers, roughly in a ball shape, completely covering the candy bar piece.  Place onto baking sheet about 2-3" apart.
5.  Bake for 10-12 minutes.  Cool on wire rack.

Icing Directions:
1.  Combine the icing ingredients (cocoa, powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk) in a small bowl.
2.  Drizzle over the cooled cookies.

Let dry and Enjoy!

Classic Homemade Pumpkin Pie

Happy (belated) Halloween everyone!  I wanted to make a pumpkin pie as a celebration for my son's first Halloween this past week.  He was dressed up as a toothless vampire, which was totally adorable by the way.  This recipe is inspired from memory from my Mom and Grandma and from various other recipes, such as this one on All Recipes. This is a truly homemade pie though and perfect for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, holiday dinners, and well, just because.

Ingredients:

Pie Crust
1 1/4 Cups (Organic) All-Purpose Flour (plus extra for floured surface/rolling out dough)
1/2 tsp. Sea Salt
1/2 tsp. Sugar
1/2 Cup (1 stick, 8 Tbsp) Unsalted Butter, Cold
4-6 Tbsp. Cold Water

Pie Filling
(some of the ingredients shown on the right)

2 Cups Fresh Pumpkin Puree or 1-15 ounce Can
1/2 Cup Light Brown Sugar
1/3 Cup White Sugar or Agave Nectar (as sugar substitute)
1/2 tsp. Sea Salt
2 Eggs (or Egg Whites/Substitute for lower cholesterol/calories)
2 tsp. Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Nutmeg
1/4 tsp. Ground Cloves
1 tsp. Ginger
1/4 tsp. Allspice
1 1/2 Cups Evaporated Milk (Fat-Free)

(Note: you can substitute 4 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice--sold in stores--instead of all the spices separated out if you desire).

Directions:

Pie Crust
1.  Combine the flour, salt, and sugar in a small bowl or food processor.
2.  Using a food processor or blender, combine flour mixture and half the butter.  Mix for just 30 seconds.  Add second half of butter and mix for another 30 seconds.
3.  Add 3-4 Tbsp. Ice water, just enough so it's not too crumbly.
4.  On floured surface (or right there in the bowl--that's what I did), put dough into small disk.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 min to 1 hour.

5.  Once dough is chilled, remove from refrigerator and place onto floured surface.  Roll out with floured rolling pin to roughly a 12" circle, about 1/8" thick.  Make sure dough is not sticking to surface (add more flour underneath, if it is).  You can instead put the dough between two pieces of wax/parchment paper (sprinkle flour on it as well) and roll it out that way.  Much easier and cleaner (that's what I did--see photo).
6.  Place dough on top of 9" pie dish or tin.  Remove excess dough hanging over pan, or fold under itself.  Make indentations on the crust if you desire, with your finger or fork.  Next step is for the filling, below.

Pie

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  To get your pumpkin puree, take a small-medium sized sugar pumpkin and cut in half (top and bottom).  This is by far the hardest part of the whole recipe, because these suckers are firm--if you get your pumpkin in half--way to go.  (I stick a knife in, wiggle/saw it for a bit, then pull it out and re-stick a few inches away until I was able to pull it apart).  Scrape out pulp and seeds (keep your seeds to bake Pumpkin Seeds).  Place cut side down on a foil-lined baking sheet.  Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 30 minutes (until skin is dimpling and pumpkin is soft).

2.  Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees.
3.  In your kitchenaid, or other blender, mix together the brown and white (or agave nectar) sugars, salt, and pumpkin spices.  Add in the eggs, one at a time.
4.  Slowly mix in the pumpkin puree and milk.  Make sure thoroughly combined, about 2-3 minutes.

5.  Pour pie filling into pie crust (a trick to prevent spills is to pull the rack of the oven out a bit and set the pie crust on it...then pour the filling in).  Bake at 425 for 15 minutes.  After 15 minutes, reduce heat to 350 and bake for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
6.  Cool for 1-2 hours.

Top with whipped cream (optional) and enjoy!

Reese's Peanut Butter Blondie Bars

The day after Halloween, I stared into our still-heaping bowl of Halloween candy and decided to make some blondie bars featuring some of the candy.  Although the bars are a quick and easy sweet treat, I'm not sure it was a good idea to make them (because I keep eating them).  I used Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, but blondie bars are pretty versatile and you could use a variety of other types of candy (Snickers, Milky Way, M&Ms, and the list goes on).

Ingredients:
1 to 1 1/2 Cups Peanut Butter Cups, broke into pieces (I used 6 regular size cups broken up)
1 Cup All-Purpose Flour (could do half whole wheat flour to make a bit healthier)
1/2 tsp. Sea Salt
1/2 Cup (8 Tbsp.) Light Butter, softened
1/2 Cup Light Brown Sugar, packed
1/3 Cup White Sugar (or Agave nectar)
1 Egg
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 8x8 glass baking dish with cooking spray (or line with parchment paper with 1" overhang).
2.  Mix together the butter and sugars until well-combined.  Add in the egg and vanilla extract and continue mixing.
3. Slowly mix in the flour and salt.
4.  By hand, stir in half of the peanut butter cup pieces.
5.  Spread batter into baking dish.  Sprinkle remaining peanut butter cup pieces on top.  Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Chai Tart & Tartletts

It is clearly fall now with the brisk, chilly air, the leaves beginning to fall, football, and Halloween coming up soon.  Fall is definitely a favorite season of mine.  With it, comes exciting food changes too.  I had an amazing Pumpkin Pie Chai Tea the other day at Mayorga Coffee and decided I needed to not only make a similar recipe at home--you can find the recipe for Pumpkin Pie Chai Tea (or latte) here.
Then, I realized I also had to make it in a pie (or a tart or tartlett).  Not only is this dish absolutely amazing in terms of deliciousness, but it's a great home air-freshener too (bake this and your place will smell awesomely like fall should smell). .
Note that I included photos of both a tart (large pie size) and tartletts (approx 6" across).  You could also make mini-tartletts...just modify your cooking times (the smaller they are, the less time they need to cook).

Ingredients:

Pumpkin Chai Filling
2 Cups Chai Tea, Strongly Brewed (I used 4 bags, steeped about 5-7 minutes)
8 Ounces Cream Cheese, Softened (Reduced or Non-Fat)
1/2 Cup Agave Nectar (or could just use White Sugar if you prefer)
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
1 Egg
2 Egg Yolks
2/3 Cup Pumpkin Puree (Fresh or faster route and do canned)
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

Shortbread Crust
3/4 Cup Butter, Softened (1 1/2 sticks, Organic, of course)
1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1/2 Cup All-Purpose (organic) Flour
1/2 Cup Rice (organic) Flour
1/4 tsp. Salt

Directions:

Pumpkin Filling
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Put brewed Chai tea in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.  Bring a boil and reduce to 4-5 Tbsp.  Set aside and cool.
2. In a mixing bowl, cream together agave nectar and cream cheese.  Add sour cream and mix well.  Add eggs/yolks in, one at a time.
3.  Add pumpkin, salt, vanilla, and Chai tea reduction.  Stir together.

4.  Pour into tart pan lined with shortbread crust.
5.  Bake at 350 about 45-55 minutes, or just until set for large tart.  For tartletts, bake about 35-45 minutes, or until set (25-35 minutes for mini-tartletts).


Shortbread Crust
1.  Cream together the butter and powdered sugar.  Add in vanilla.
2.  Slowly add in the flour and salt, just until combined.
3.  Cover in plastic and set in refrigerator for about an hour.
4.  Once dough is back to room temperature, roll to 1/4" thickness and mold to tart pan.
5.  Bake once filled with Pumpkin Chai Filling.

Enjoy! Sprinkle with pumpkin pie seasoning, nutmeg, or cinnamon.  Top with whipped cream or chocolate shavings.  Best enjoyed on a chilly night, snuggled up, with a mug of pumpkin pie chai tea. :)

Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies

Looking for a yummy cookie?  Try a twist on a traditional chocolate chip by using pudding.  Adding pudding mix gives the cookies a lot of texture and form (look great aesthetically), in addition, great flavor.  My Mom makes A-M-A-Z-I-N-G Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies, and here is my version of them.  We are going to some friends' house tomorrow night and I needed a dessert option that can sit in the car all day, because I don't have time to come home (in a cooler though, just in case it gets super-hot).  Cookies are a perfect solution...and who doesn't love a good cookie?  I hope you enjoy them!

Ingredients:
1 3/4 Cup All-Purpose Organic Flour
3/4 Cup Whole-Wheat Organic Flour
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Sea Salt
1 Cup Organic Butter, Softened (2 Sticks)
1/4 Cup White Sugar
3/4 Cup Brown Sugar, Packed
1 Pkg. (4 oz) Instant Vanilla Pudding

1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

2 Eggs
1 Pkg. (12 oz.) Chocolate Chips

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.  Combine flours, soda, and salt in a mixing bowl.  Set aside.
3.  Using your kitchenaid, or another mixer, beat together the butter, sugars, and vanilla pudding until fluffy.  Mix in the vanilla extract and eggs, one at a time.

4.  Slowly beat in the flour mixture, just until well-combined.
5.  By hand, stir in the chocolate chips (and nuts, if you choose to).
6.  Drop by heaping teaspoonful onto ungreased cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart.  Bake for 8-10 minutes.

Cool and Enjoy!

Mini Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies

I wanted to make a sweet dessert using the classically delicious combination of peanut butter and chocolate.  I have a couple other recipes featuring this classic combination, including my: Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies, Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups, and Chocolate Peanut Butter Cereal Bars.  So, naturally it's time to make a brownie version.  I adapted a recipe I found on For the Love of Cooking, and the results are absolutely perfect.

Ingredients:
3/4 Cup (1 1/2 Sticks) Butter
1 Cup White Sugar
1/3 Cup Brown Sugar
3/4 Cup Cocoa Powder
1/2 tsp. Salt
3 Eggs
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 Cup Whole-Wheat Flour
1/4 Cup All-Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1 1/2 Cups Peanut Butter Chips

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8x8 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2.  In a mixing bowl (or Kitchenaid), combine the butter, sugar, cocoa and salt.  Mix in vanilla.  Mix in eggs, one at a time.
3.  When the batter looks smooth and shiny, slowly mix in the flour until it's combined thoroughly.
4.  Stir in the peanut butter chips. Pour batter into the baking dish.
5.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Cool and cut into small bite-size brownies.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Banana Oatmeal Bars

I seem to have ended up with more brown, ripe bananas and needed a recipe to utilize them (couldn't stand to throw them all out).  I could have made Banana Bread or Banana Walnut Muffins, but wanted to try something else.  I decided on yummy chocolate banana oatmeal bars.  This recipe incorporates a number of healthy ingredients (reminder: be sure to use organic if you can!), including heart-healthy oatmeal, potassium-rich bananas, and whole-wheat flour.  The chocolate chips (ok, and sugar and butter) add a little decadence, for a sweet treat you can enjoy knowing it's also sort of good for you.  :)  I hope you enjoy them as much as we did!


Ingredients:
1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 Cup All-Purpose Flour
2 Cups Quick Oats
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Cinnamon
3/4 Cup Butter, Softened (1 1/2 Sticks)
1/2 Cup White Sugar
3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
2 tsp. Vanilla Extract

2 Eggs

1 1/4 Cup Ripe Bananas, Mashed (about 3 Large Bananas)
1 1/4 Cup Semi-Sweet or Milk Chocolate Chips

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Spray a 9x13 (or 9" square for thicker bars) baking dish with cooking spray (I use butter flavored).
2.  Stir together the first six ingredients (whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, oats, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon) in a large bowl.  Set aside.

3.  Using a blender, or in your Kitchenaid, mix together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar.  Add in the vanilla and eggs, and continue mixing.  Mix in the bananas until well combined.
4.  Slowly mix in (about a cup at a time) the dry ingredients, just until combined.  Don't overmix.
5.  Stir in by hand the chocolate chips.  Spread mixture into baking dish.
6.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
7.  Cool and cut into bars.

Enjoy!

White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

I am definitely enjoying having some snacks around the house now that I'm living with a little baby and like quick snacks to grab.  Some of my favorite cookies are my Oatmeal Chocolate-Chip Raisin Cookies and I've made them a couple of times since my son was born (7 weeks ago already!).  I decided to try a different twist on oatmeal cookies.  This time, I've made them with white chocolate chips, dried cranberries, and oatmeal.   These cookies are even healthy, made with organic ingredients including fiber-rich cholesterol-lowering oatmeal, vitamin C and antioxidant-packed cranberries, and heart-healthy whole wheat flour.  Yum.


Ingredients:
1 Cup Butter, Softened
3/4 Cup Brown Sugar, Packed
1/2 Cup White Sugar
2 Large Eggs
2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 1/4 Cup All-Purpose Flour
3/4 Cup Whole-Wheat Flour

1 tsp. Cinnamon 

1 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Baking Soda

2 3/4 Cups Quick-Cooking Oats

1 Cup Dried Cranberries
1 Cup White Chocolate Chips

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.  In a large bowl (or your Kitchenaid mixer if you have one), cream together the butter and brown and white sugars until smooth and creamy.  Beat the eggs in, one at a time, then add in the vanilla. 
3.  In a separate bowl, combine the whole-wheat and all-purpose flours with the baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.  A half-cup at a time, slowly beat in to the mixture. 
4. Stir in by hand the oats, white chocolate chips, and cranberries. 
5.  Drop by the heaping spoonful onto baking sheets about 2 inches apart.

6.  Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until lightly browned.  Transfer to wire cooling rack.

Enjoy!

Asian Chicken Salad

I was in the mood for something Asian-flavored with peanut sauce (I love peanut sauce and well, all things peanut butter), so decided to try to perfect a Asian Chicken Salad.  Using a combination of chopped peanuts and a soy and vinegar dressing with peanut butter, it has just the right amount of peanut flavor.  I added a little bit of Sriracha sauce, to give it a little kick.  Feel free to add more of it for more spice, but what I added was just enough to give a little flavor (but wasn't spicy at all).

The result is a colorful chicken salad packed with a lot of flavor.  And you can't ignore the nutritional benefits of this salad.  Cabbage is loaded with Vitamins A, B, C, E, and K, fiber, folate, and low in calories.  Bell peppers are loaded with Vitamins A & C and antioxidants and carrots provide carotenoids and Vitamins A, K, and C.

If you want to go vegetarian, you can simply leave out the chicken.  You can also use any type of cabbage you'd like--green is most popular, but I used red cabbage (has more antioxidants and basically, is prettier)  in this recipe.


Ingredients:
Salad:
6-8 Cups Red Cabbage, Shredded (1 head cabbage)
2 Red Bell Peppers, Cut Into Strips
3/4 Cup Carrots, Shredded
3/4 Cup Peanuts, Chopped
1 Bunch Cilantro, Chopped (roughly 1/2 cup)
1 lb. Chicken Breasts, Cooked and Cubed


Dressing:
1/4 Peanut, Olive, or Canola Oil
1 tsp. Sugar (or Agave Nectar or Honey)
3 tsp. Ginger
1 Tbsp. Minced Garlic
1/4 Cup Low-Sodium Soy Sauce
3 Tbsp. Rice Vinegar (could sub Apple Cider Vinegar)
2 Tbsp. Peanut Butter
1 tsp. Sriracha sauce (to add a bit of spice)

Directions:
1. In a large salad bowl, stir together all the vegetables (cabbage, bell peppers, and carrots), peanuts, and the chicken.  Stir to combine well.
2.  In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients.
3.  Pour the dressing over the salad and toss or stir well to coat.

Garnish with chow mein noodles, toasted slivered almonds, chopped green onions, or mandarin oranges if you desire!  To make it a vegetarian meal, just leave out the chicken.

Enjoy!