Buffalo Chicken Salad

while at work today i was browsing the typical blogs and came upon this recipe on the pw website and i literally could not stop thinking about it all day.  i feel ridiculous admitting that, but it's truth.  so at 439 i headed to walmart for some ingredients.  i decided i couldnt live without it.  

i had some chicken breasts in the freezer from a previous shopping trip. 

 i put them in scalding water as soon as i got home. 

then i got impatient.  so as soon as i could separate them, i added 

one whole breast to a pan with a small amount of olive oil

then i was getting really impatient.  so i covered the chicken to quicken up this whole process.

 if you look really closely at this picture you can see the stack of smoke rising from the pan.

 i thought it was gonna blow.

but it didnt.  phew.

but even the lid wasn't cutting it.  so, i intervened with the knife.  this finally did the trick!  

the chicken browned in no time then!  surface area is key.

once the chicken is no longer pink anywhere, reduce the heat to low 

and add some buffalo sauce-enough to evenly coat each chicken sliver.  

cover and let it simmer for a couple of minutes. 

in the meantime, prepare the salad toppings.

now those of you who know me know that i detest ranch.

but when you have ranch dressing and bleu cheese crumbles, the

ranch instantly tastes like blue cheese dressing.

go figure!

and of course you'll need some lettuce to put all of those goods on!

i recommend romaine or iceburg for that extra crunch.

then you wanna layer the lettuce with chicken, plenty of ranch, and 

tonsssssss of blue cheese crumbles.  

this salad was awesome!  everything i has been waiting for alll day!

it was super spicy though so extra ranch on the side would not be a bad thing!

you know, if you like that stuff.  

i cleansed the palate with a couple scoops of oikos vanilla greek yogurt, 

some homemade granola, and a little honey.  perfection!

i tell you what though, after all that i was so full i thought i'd explode.

so, i watched wheel of fortune (priorities) and then went for a little stroll.

im feeling much better  :)

can you spot the cutest wallybird in the bunch?

that's right. maire was in "hansel and gretel" this wekeend and she 

was none other than a pesky wallybird!

granola

hi there!

this is my first recipe post in a while so get excited!!  and TRUST me, it is an impeccable one  ;)

i was eating a parfait for dinner last night with greek yogurt, some store bought granola, flax seed, and honey, when i suddenly had a great epiphany.  "hey, you should make your own granola for a change."  and so then i did.

you should forreal try it though.  you will need a few simple ingredients:  4 c oats, 1/4-1/2 c pecans, 1/4 c slivered almonds, 1/4 cup dried fruit of your choice, spoonful of flaxseed, a dash of salt, 1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/3 c veg or canola oil, 1/4 c honey, and 1/2 c brown sugar

first measure out 4 c oats and pour into large mixing bowl

next add 1/4 c pecans

decide 1/4 c pecans just is not enough, and add another 1/4 c

add 1/4 c almonds.  and maybe a sprinkle or two more.....

holy crap.  okay has anyone discovered these dried blueberries before?  

i decided to purchase them instead of cranberries at the store yesterday.  

seriously one of my better life decisions.  soo yummy!!!

so add a quarter cup of those (or your favorite dried fruit)

add a dash of salt, a spoonful of flaxseed, and give it a good stir

in a pan on medium high heat, pour 1/3 c oil

1/4 c honey

and add the 1/2 c light brown sugar

let the mixture boil, stirring a few times to prevent burning.

pour this mixture over the granola mixture and stir until all of the granola is coated.

spray a pan with non stick cooking spray.

then dump the granola mixture in and spread evenly.

bake at 325 for 25-30 minutes stirring occasionally.

remove the pan from the oven and allow the granola to cool completely.

it will harden once cool.  

break/crumble the granola (i found it was much easier to use my fingers than a spatula)

into bite size pieces/chunks and store in a ziploc bag/other air tight container.

i can't even begin to describe how delicious this is.  the brown sugar/cinnamon

combo is incredible.  best part is:  this is such a healthy alternative to store bought granola

with extra oils and other additives.  

seriously so good.

im sorry my lame photography skills don't showcase this very well.

because it's the bom.  dot com.

you wanna know what else is the bom. dot com?

my bf.

check him out.

omg.omg.omg.omg.omg.

k im done.

you ready.

don't look at me.  

just him.

pretty much the best night ever.  of my entire 22 years and 2 months and 1 day.
now go bake some granola or something.