Robin Patchen's Blog, page 5

Skinnier Gourmet Chicken Salad

Amanda likes mayonnaise as much as the next girl, but everyone’s got to cut calories sometimes. Here’s Amanda’s recipe for chicken salad. Feel free to add your own twist.

Ingredients:

2 split chicken breasts (fairly large), bone in and skin on

1 large can crushed pineapple, well drained

20 red grapes, washed and sliced in half

3 to 5 celery sticks, washed and chopped

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1/4 cup (approximately) plain greek yogurt

1/4 cup (approximately) mayonnaise

salt, pepper, poultry seasoning if you have it

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Wash each chicken breast, pat dry with a paper towel, then sprinkle them with salt and pepper on both sides. Place skin side up on the baking dish and bake about 45 minutes at 325 until cooked through. Don’t overcook it. When it’s cool, remove skin and bones. Chop chicken and place in a large bowl.

Add pineapple, grapes, celery, and almonds and stir. Add yogurt first. Start with 1/4 cup, but you might need a little more. Make sure the mixture is coated. Then add mayonnaise to bind it together. Add seasonings to taste and mix well.

Serve on sandwich size croissants or toast. (Amanda serves it with croissants when she’s having company, but she prefers low calorie wheat bread when it’s just her.) This makes enough for a lot of sandwiches.

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The Balancing Act: Flexibility, Fact, and Fiction

I’m pleased to be interviewed at Quid Pro Quills today by my dear friend, Jericha Kingston. Here’s an excerpt:

QPQ: Hi, Robin! Thank you for sharing your wisdom and wit today.

RP: My pleasure. Though you say wisdom and wit, I think foolishness and folly, but maybe I can fake my way through.

QPQ: I have no doubt you’ll do fine! First, how do you do it? You’re a wife, a mom, and a writer. How do you balance those roles?

RP: It helps that my kids are teenagers, so while they still require a lot of emotional effort and prayer (a LOT of prayer!), I don’t have to tie their shoes and button their shirts anymore. And since I quit home schooling them a few years back, I don’t have to teach them, either. So I have more time on my hands.

I also guard my time very carefully, to the degree that some might call it hoarding. I have learned to never say yes to an opportunity without praying about it first. I believe the Lord has given me a few tasks—caring for my family, writing, editing, and a couple of volunteering commitments—and He wants me to focus on those. He wants me to do those well, to improve on those always, to reach for excellence in those few areas. When I take time away from those, even for something good, there’d better be a good reason.

Stop by Quid Pro Quill to read the rest.

Cinnamon Coffee Cake

Mark Johnson doesn’t like to be called a hero, not even when I’m referring to his role in Finding Amanda, even though between his years of service in Afghanistan and his recent adventures in the novel, the term applies. But today, attempting to cook a cake for Mother’s Day, he certainly doesn’t feel like a hero.

 

But Sophie and Madi insisted they try, so he called his mother-in-law and found a recipe that, in her words, “Even Mark couldn’t screw up.” And to give Amanda a break, he’s even posting on the blog. Happy Mother’s Day, Amanda.

 

Cake ingredients:

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

1 yellow cake mix

1 3.4 oz. box vanilla instant pudding

3/4 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup water

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

Glaze:

1-1/4 cup powdered sugar

2 Tbsp. milk

1/2 tsp vanilla

 

Preheat oven to 350 and spray a Bundt pan with Pam. You’re supposed to grease and flower it, but Mark didn’t bother with that, and it turned out just fine.

Mix the brown sugar, cinnamon, and pecans and set them aside.

Throw the cake mix, pudding, veggie oil, water, and vanilla into the mixer. Then add the eggs one at a time. (That’s how Mark’s always seen Amanda do it, so that’s how he did it.)

Put a little bit of the cinnamon/nut mixture at the bottom of the pan–just a little. Then add about 1/3 of the batter, then about half of what’s left of the cinnamon/nut mixture. Then pour another 1/3 of the cake batter on top, then layer the rest of the cinnamon/nut mixture. Then spread the rest of the cake batter on top.

Bake 58 to 60 minutes. Let it cool on a rack for a little while. While it’s cooling, mix the sugar, milk, and vanilla. When the cake is cool, run a knife around the edge and then turn it onto a serving dish. Then pour the icing over the top.

Amanda was very impressed.

 

To see more of Amanda’s favorite recipes, sign up for my newsletter list. The sign-up form is in the top right corner. When you confirm, you’ll receive the e-cookbook, Amanda’s Favorite Recipes.

Grilled Chicken & Bowtie Pasta

One of my family’s favorite recipes is featured at Sharon Srock’s blog today. Stop by for the complete recipe. Here are the ingredients.

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, grilled

12 oz. bowtie pasta, cooked according to package directions

1 c. grated Parmesan

1 c. chopped pecans or walnuts

1 c. chopped sundried tomatoes

½ c. extra virgin olive oil

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

1 tsp. dried basil

Stop by Sharon’s Srock’s blog for the rest of the recipe.

Recharging my Inspirational Batteries

I’m blessed to be blogging over at Ink from an Earthen Vessel today about recharging my emotional batteries. Here’s an excerpt:

 

I went for a walk this afternoon. Not the kind of thing I generally do these days. Too busy, don’t you know, writing and editing and marketing my latest release. Not to mention taking care of my teenagers, my husband, and my house. Not time for nonsense like dropping everything in the middle of a workday to wander alone in the park.

But I learned something recently, and as I slogged through this afternoon, it came back to me.

I had the privilege of hearing Allen Arnold speak at the Mt. Hermon Christian Writers Conference in March. He taught on how to write not for God, but with Him.

 

Read the rest over at Ink from an Earthen Vessel.

“While My Soldier Serves” Author Interview

I’m so pleased to interview Edie Melson at Quid Pro Quills today. Edie’s written a book of prayers designed for the loved ones of those serving. Here’s an excerpt:

 

QPQ: Edie, why was it so important for you to write this book?

Edie: I struggled with fear while our son was deployed. Often the worst times were when I was awakened with horrible nightmares. I’d make my way downstairs and sit in the recliner, clutching my Bible and trying to pray. So often the prayers wouldn’t come. I longed for a book like this to give me a jumping off point for my own prayers.

 

Whether you’ve a loved one serving or not, our soldiers need our prayers. Visit Quid Pro Quills to read the rest of the interview & enter to win a copy of While My Soldier Serves. And then go buy the book and pray the prayers, would you?

Amanda’s Super Simple Salsa

Cinco de Mayo is still more than a week away, but Mark’s been hinting about having a Mexican dinner all weekend. Amanda isn’t prepared to create her annual Mexican feast just yet, but she did relent and agree to make her famous (and famously easy) salsa. She developed the recipe after visiting Chili’s, and it’s very similar.

 

 

Ingredients:

1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, drained

2 10-ounce cans Rotel, drained

1 small onion, halved and peeled

1/4 to 1/2 jalapeno, seeds and membranes removed (use rubber gloves!)

3 tsp garlic salt

2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp sugar

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a blender. Start with a small amount of jalapeno. You can always add more. Blend until ingredients are chopped and mixed. Add more jalapeno to taste.

 

Amanda (And Mark’s) Boston Marathon Granola

Did you know the Boston Marathon is the world’s oldest annual marathon? Mark’s dad always took him when he was a kid, and when he and Amanda moved to the Boston area, he made it an annual outing for the Johnson family.

A few years ago, Amanda made granola for the first time, hoping to feed her little girls a healthy snack to hold them off until after the race. The snack was a hit, except Mark–the grown up kid–wasn’t crazy about the dried cranberries. So last year, when Amanda took a phone call, Mark hijacked the recipe and added his own special twist. This year, Amanda’s allowing each member of her family to make their own special variation.

 

Ingredients:

3 cups old fashioned oats

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup dried fruit (or something else)*

1/4 cup chopped nuts or seeds*

Mix the oats, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. In a separate bowl, mix honey, oil, vanilla until blended. Then with clean hands, combine the dry and wet ingredients, then spread them on a cookie sheet. Bake at 300 degrees for about 15 minutes. Take out, stir, and bake another 5 to 10 minutes until granola is lightly browned. After you take the granola out, stir often to keep the granola from sticking to the pan.

When mixture cools, add dried fruit and nuts/seeds.*

Experiment with your own variations of the recipe, and enjoy Patriot’s Day!

Sophie and Amanda shared the granola with chopped, salted almonds.

 

 

Madi loves the cranberries and walnuts.

 

 

 

Mark, the grown up little kids, threw M&Ms in his.

 

 

 

 

Amanda Johnson, her husband Mark, and their two daughters, Sophie and Madi, are the main characters in Finding Amanda. As a chef, Amanda loves to share her favorite recipes. For more information about Finding Amanda, check out my Latest Releases.  To download a copy of Amanda’s Favorite Recipes, subscribe to my newsletter. 

Paying off the Love Debt

I’m blogging at Quid Pro Quills today. Here’s an excerpt:

It’s been a rough couple of months at the Patchen household.

We had to have our shower re-tiled, because it was leaking, and mold was beginning to form. As long as we were doing the shower, we figured we’d go ahead do the floors, and getting new floors led to new vanities, countertops, sinks, cabinet doors, and light fixtures. It’s the old “If you give a mouse a cookie…” approach to home improvement.

What do home improvement and the love debt have in common? Stop by Quid Pro Quills to find out.

 

When God’s Plan Comes Together

I’m blogging over at Quid Pro Quills today on my journey to becoming an author, editor, and writing coach. Here’s an excerpt:

This week, I’ve been ruminating on how I became a writer, editor, and writing instructor. If you’d known me 30 years ago, you’d be shocked, too. Not that I didn’t always want to be a writer—I did. But I had pretty low self-esteem back in high school, so I didn’t think I had the talent to do it. Instead, I had other (I thought easier) plans. Here’s a little rundown of my plans and their results since college.

Read the rest of the story at Quid Pro Quills. And then share yours–I love to hear what God’s doing in people’s lives.