Smoked Turkey and Mandarin Salad

So I took a trip to Pawhuska, OK, to visit the Pioneer Woman’s Mercantile. It was the best trip I’ve had in awhile, and some of the best food I’ve had anywhere in the world. But, after a couple days of chicken fried steak, prune cake, pancakes, lasagna, and every flavor of lemonade and sweet tea under the sun, I know it’s time for a salad.

I was planning on using grilled chicken in this salad, because I thought it would complement the oranges. However, after finding some leftover smoked turkey in my freezer, I decided to see if it worked.

It. Worked. The smokiness added a juxtaposition to the sweetness of the fruit, and it totally elevated a pretty simple dish. However, chicken would be fine if that’s what you have! You could also omit the meat and cheese entirely and make this vegan if you want. Throw in some chickpeas and you’ve got your protein covered. I may even try that!

Also, since apple cider vinegar is the new health miracle out there, I decided to use it in the dressing. I figured it would help detox my body of all the pioneer woman goodness, and frankly, I’m constantly reading stuff that says we should all use it all the time. So congrats, this isn’t only a healthy salad, but it’s a super healthy dressing! I also used olive oil instead of canola, because of all of its fancy healthy magic. Guilt free? Yes.

SMOKED TURKEY AND MANDARIN SALAD:

Ingredients (feeds 5-6):
1/2 pound pulled smoked turkey (or chicken, or chickpeas, or nothing.)
1/2 head iceberg lettuce
1/2 bibb lettuce
1 cans mandarin oranges, drained
1/2 cup sliced green onion
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup goat cheese (or feta)
Dressing:
2 Tbls Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Tbls Honey
1 Tbls Brown Sugar
2 Tbls minced parsley
1 more sliced green onion
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

For the salad, just slice everything and toss in a bowl! I like to do the cheese last so it doesn’t get totally crumbled.

For the dressing, whisk everything together in a tiny bowl, or pour everything into a mason jar and shake it up!

Pour the dressing over the salad and enjoy being healthy!

 

Spiced Cake with Apples and Chocolate Frosting

My father has always loved apple pie, but I simply cannot justify making a pie in place of a birthday cake. His ideal cake would be plain chocolate, but I knew that if I combined these love affairs, he wouldn’t know what hit him!

There are many ways to make this cake easy or fancy. Use canned apple pie filling and frosting in a pinch, or do them both from scratch using your great grandmother Ina’s recipe and pile them onto this delicious cake. Either way, it’ll be a hit for anyone that likes chocolate or apples!

Is a spiced cake a bit weird for May? Absolutely. I don’t care, but if you want to be trendy, pop this out in October or November and it’ll go great with your hot apple cider. It’s also a very satisfactory Thanksgiving dessert for families that aren’t into pie itself.

No matter how you make it or eat it, here’s my recipe:

SPICED CAKE WITH APPLES AND CHOCOLATE FROSTING

For the cake:

• 1½ cups unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 2¼ cups sugar
• 1½ cups whole milk
• 4 egg whites
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 2½ tsp baking powder
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• ½ tsp baking soda

For the rest:

• Apple pie filling (homemade or canned- enough for two pies!)
• Chocolate Frosting
• 3 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon apple pie spice or pumpkin pie spice (really doesn’t matter)

 

To prepare:

Preheat the oven to 350

Using electric beaters or a stand mixer if you’re fancy, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg whites and vanilla extract until well mixed.

In another bowl, mix the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda.

Get the beaters running, and gradually incorporate the dry mixture and milk into the wet ingredients, alternating between scoops of the flour and globs of the milk. Don’t kill yourself by mixing it forever; as soon as there are no flour spots visible, you’re done. It’ll look thick. That means you’re on the right track!

This is a three layer 8 inch cake, so pour the batter into three pans that you’ve sprayed or buttered and topped with parchment paper. Spray the parchment paper again if you’re nervous about turning them out, but I had no trouble. It’s not a delicate angel food cake here.

Bake for 40 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. The cake gets brown (It’s the spices) so don’t freak out! You’re doing it right!

Let em’ cool completely! To turn out, run a butter knife along the sides and flip them over!

For the frosting, take your chocolate frosting and beat in the cinnamon and apple pie spice.

To assemble:
Start with the bottom layer and spread on as much frosting as possible. Then, top with a layer of apple filling! Make sure to get some of the gooey syrup from the filling on there, not just apples.

Keep going! On the top, arrange the apples in a pretty circle. I then used a spoon to drizzle some frosting down the sides, but I like it to be a naked cake because you can see the apples.

Get yourself a slice!