BLT with Avocado Salad

Credit: Jen Cochran
Recipe:
- 1 Red Bell Pepper
- 1 Yellow Bell Pepper
- 1 Salad Tomato
- 1 Avocado
- 1 head of Red Leaf Lettuce
- 1 Romaine Heart Lettuce
- 1/2 lb of thick sliced bacon, chopped

Dressing
- 2 Tbsp Dijon
- 3 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/3 cup of olive oil

Croutons
- 4 slices of whole wheat bread
- fresh grated Romano cheese to coat
- Olive oil to coat
- salt and pepper to taste
- Garlic, minced, to taste (I used 1 clove)

Put 1/2 pound of bacon (about 6-8 slices) in freezer for 15 mins... it's easier to cut when slightly chilled. Slice bacon. Drizzle a little bit of olive oil into a pan and cook bacon until crispy. While bacon is cooking, follow instructions below. When fully cooked, remove bacon and set to side on to cool and drain grease.

Slice bread in cubes. Put in a bowl or zip lock bag. Add olive oil to make moist, but not completely dampen. You just want enough to help seasoning stick and make bread brown. Add cheese, salt, pepper, and garlic. Mix thoroughly. Lay on a greased cookie sheet or an oven mat in a single layer. Cook until desired crispiness in the oven at 350 degrees. I cooked ours about 20 mins.

Dice bell peppers, tomato, avocado, and clean and pull apart lettuce. In your serving bowl, whisk together dressing ingredients: Dijon, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and olive oil.

Add lettuce to dressing and mix well. Next top with bell peppers, avocado, and bacon. Serve croutons on the side. And enjoy! This meal came together so fast and was a much healthier alternative to the traditional BLT, as it has mayo and we would've had much more bread.

Extras
- Keep dressing, bell peppers, tomato, and avocado to the side if you think you will have extra for leftovers so your lettuce doesn't get soggy.
- I'm not a huge fan of having salad as the main course. This salad was hearty enough that I found it satisfying as a meal.
- More pics:

Pulled BBQ Chicken

**These are our dear friends Steve and Sandra with our son. Their visit from Holland was the reason for the open house. I'm working on a food pic. Until then, enjoy these faces I love oh so much!!**
Credit: This is a Jen Cochran original. I made this up for an open house party and everyone loved it.
Recipe:

- 1 box of chicken broth (I believe it is 4 cups)
- water (see instructions below)
- 10 whole peppercorns
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 lbs frozen raw boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- Durkee Grill Creations St. Louis Style Chicken & Rib Rub to taste
- Weber Beer Can Chicken Seasoning to taste
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
3 Tbsp of olive oil

Place the chicken in the slow cooker. Sprinkle with peppercorns, salt, and bay leaves. Pour chicken broth over top of everything. Add water so liquid comes to the top of the chicken. I use a 7 quart slow cooker. Cook on high 5 hours or low for 8 hours. Making the chicken is definitely a step you can do in advance.

Once the chicken is cooked, carefully remove the chicken from the slow cooker and let it rest a few minutes (I'm guessing here, 15 mins or so. It's not really a deal breaker if it is longer). While the chicken is cooking, I strain the liquid from the slow cooker into a container.

The chicken is so tender you can now use two forks to pull the chicken apart and shred it. Place the chicken back into the slow cooker. I seasoned the chicken with Durkee Grill Creations St. Louis Style Chicken & Rib Rub and Weber Beer Can Chicken Seasoning.

I did this on a whim preparing for 70ish people. So, I apologize I don't have exact measurements. I'd say just give it a good coating. Stir the chicken and add more so it is noticeable there is seasoning throughout. I added more salt and pepper to taste, as well. I love garlic, so I also added 3 minced cloves of garlic. I then added about 3 Tbsp of olive oil, and mixed it all together. Olive oil wakes up dry seasonings to release full flavor.

I knew my chicken was going to be sitting for a few hours in the slow cooker since it was for an open house (eat all day environment). In efforts to make the meat moist, I added a cup of the broth I drained from the slow cooker earlier. **Side Note: I put the rest in a plastic container and used in quinoa, etc in place of store bought chicken broth.** I then added a bottle (18 oz) of Sweet Baby Rays Original BBQ Sauce. **Side Note: pic captured is a different flavor than original, but wanted you to have a visual. The bottle I used is long gone.**

This made it a bit soupy, but it was perfect at dinner time a few hours later. If you're eating right away, I recommend adding the BBQ sauce first and then adding the chicken both as needed to get the texture you want.

That's it. Slap it on a bun and call it a day. We really enjoy it on a whole wheat bun topped with a vinaigrette cole slaw. Yum! Yum! Yum!

Extras:
- If you don't like biting into garlic chunks, smash open 3 garlic cloves and put them in w/ the raw chicken. Then you can strain the cloves out.
- Use the BBQ sauce you love. The sauce listed above is what the boys brought home. So, I used it. I use different ones often.
- I normally look at the ingredients in prepackaged seasonings and then just make my own. These were a gift at some point. So, I just used them. Feel free to play with the seasonings to your liking.
- I think everyone likes this so much due to the tenderness of slow cooking the chicken and the layering of the flavors. Adding flavor at each step really takes it up a notch.
- This makes a lot of chicken. You can make this recipe as is and freeze what you don't eat for later, or cutting it in half would probably make for a nice family of 4 dinner.