Rosemary Skewered Chicken - Spicy Broccoli Mango Salad - Sara Lee Copy Cat Coffee Cake Recipe with a Twist!

We've got three recipes today that'll knock your socks off! Cyndy made Rosemary Skewered Chicken to make on the grill, Carol made a wonderful Spicy Broccoli - Mango Salad to go with it that will keep you from turning the stove on to make sides. I'm the only nut in the kitchen that decided to turn the oven on to bring you a Sara Lee Copy Cat Coffee Cake with a Twist, it was definitely worth it though! Lets sit down to dinner!

Cyndy made:

Rosemary Skewered Chicken

I originally got the idea for this when I saw a picture of something similar, I think from Tastespotting, not sure. Instead of using chicken breasts and cutting them into cubes, I used Chicken Breast tenders and they worked out perfectly! I've adapted this recipe to our taste and didn't use anything that the original recipe called for other than the Rosemary Sprigs. I used the rosemary sprigs for flavor, and used Tuscan Blend Spice for the marinade along with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and lemon juice and some salt. I left them to marinade in the refrigerator (30 min) while I cut up the onion. I just used Sweet Vidalia onion and some Canned Pineapple chunks in pineapple juice. It was a quick and easy dinner that came together fast. You can use Italian Spice Blend or even your own spice blend. Use your imagination!

Rosemary Skewered Chicken

Adapted from Curtis Stone~ Biggest Loser

Ingredients:

1 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 tbsp Tuscan Spice Blend

juice from 1 whole Lemon

1/2 tsp Kosher salt

1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper

1 clove garlic, minced or smashed

3 small sprigs Rosemary (for marinade)

15 chicken tenders

one small sweet onion (used vidalia) cut into 1 1/2 inch slices

1 small can of pineapple chunks

5 sprigs of Rosemary approx 12 inches long with most of the leaves removed (soak for about 30 min in water so they won't burn on the grill)

Mix the first 6 ingredients, whisking until blended. Add small Rosemary sprigs. Place Chicken tenders in a ziplock bag, pour in mixture and let marinate in refrigerator for about 30 minutes. Remove from marinade and starting with Chicken, skewer pieces on to Rosemary sprigs, next add the onion pineapple, onion, chicken. You want 3 pieces of chicken per skewer. When completed, discard the rest of the marinade and BBQ on the grill until done.

Prior to cooking.

Carol made:

Spicy Broccoli-Mango Salad

HOLY COW is this ever GOOD! I'm telling you, I SO lucked out with this cookbook...this is the 3rd recipe in a row I've made out of it that has been a total winner.

I knew I wanted to try this when I saw the picture of it....with the hot, humid weather we've been having here in MA, salads REALLY have been popular in this house.

This salad is a perfect blend of smooth and sweet from the dressing and mangoes, crunch from the broccoli and a little heat from the sweet-hot pecans.

I could literally make a meal of this...it's THAT addictive.

Oh my gosh...this is a salad that would be a BIG hit at a pot luck- I bet no one else would bring one like it! In fact, we're going to a Labor Day neighborhood get together and I'm going to be bringing this as one of my contributions to the covered dish table.

If you want something a little different on your late summer dinner table, and you have broccoli lovers in the house, this salad is for you!

SPICY BROCCOLI-MANGO SALAD

(Source: Pillsbury Annual Recipes 2006 cookbook)

Cream together the butter and the sugar. Add in the flour and cinnamon and mix until crumbly. Sprinkle over the batter.