Cruddy Little Kitchen

Lumpy Chicken Salad 2 to 2.5 cups cooled rotisserie chicken, pulled off the bone and chopped into 1/2" dice 3/4 cup light mayonnaise 3 to 4 Tbsp Dijon mustard 2 to 3 Tbsp light Italian dressing 1/2 cup small diced celery 1/3 cup red grapes halved (quartered if they're very big) 1/4 to 1/3 cup chopped pecans 1/3 cup Honeycrisp apple, peeled and 1/2" diced scant 1/4 cup green onion, greens sliced diagonally Salt & pepper to taste Optional: diced red pepper, dill pickle relish Combine the ingredients, chill for 2-3 hours, serve. Delicious and easy! My friend Erik reminded me today that it's too dang hot to cook in the kitchen right now, and he is absolutely right. When July takes over the Cruddy Little Kitchen, I take the toaster oven outside to the porch for anything that needs to be baked. I run an ugly orange extension cord out there and use electric tape to try to make sure nothing gets electrocuted if a thunderstorm blows the rain sideways toward the toaster ove...

Melon Salad 3 cups watermelon balls (or chunks) 3 cups cantaloupe balls (or chunks) 3 Tbsp chopped fresh basil 3 Tbsp chopped fresh mint 1/3 cup fresh or bottled lemon juice 1/3 cup simple syrup Combine the melon chunks in a bowl.  In a food processor or blender, combine the basil, mint, lemon juice, and simple syrup.  (To make simple syrup, boil together equal amounts of water and sugar, and allow that to cool. Very important! Do not add hot simple syrup to the blender; it'll cook the basil and turn it black, which is not appetizing at all.) Blend/process the basil, mint, lemon juice, and cool simple syrup for a minute until thoroughly combined. The dressing will have lovely little green flecks all through it. Pour over the melon balls, stir to combine. Refrigerate for several hours so that the dressing thoroughly soaks into the melon. (The cantaloupe takes longer to soak it in; otherwise, you could serve this salad the moment you make it.) I can't tell you how much we love t...

Cucumber Sandwiches 1 8-oz pkg cream cheese, softened ¼ cup mayonnaise ¼ tsp garlic powder ¼ tsp onion salt 1 dash Worcestershire sauce 1 loaf sliced bread, crusts removed Lemon Pepper seasoning 1 cucumber, peeled intermittently and sliced Peel the cucumber prettily (skipping some strips of green), and slice thinly. Place cucumber slices in one layer on paper towels. Cover with more paper towels and press lightly. Allow the cucumber slices to drain for 10 minutes. In the meantime, mix cream cheese, mayo, garlic powder, onion salt, and Worcestershire sauce in a small bowl. Spread this mixture on one side of every slice of bread. After the cucumber slices have drained, place slices on one piece of bread. Sprinkle Lemon Pepper mixture on top of cucumber slices, then cover with another cream-cheesed piece of bread. At this point, you can cut up the sandwiches however you like. You can cut off the crusts if you want to. You can cut the sandwiches into four triangles or four squares, or you ...