Chicken
This is a great summer salad! I know at this point in the winter we are all ready for a fresh salad! This salad has a couple steps but I would highly suggest DOUBLING the recipe for the sugared pecans as they are so tasty, we could not stop eating them!
I added chicken to this recipe and used the same chicken marinade and cooking method I did in the Thai chicken salad.
It made a wonderful lunch!!!
INGREDIENTS
Fresh baby spinach
Sliced strawberries
Fresh blackberries
Sugared pecans (recipe below)
Creamy poppy seed dressing (recipe below)
SUGARED PECANS
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups pecan halves
1/4 cup white sugar
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the pecans and stir to coat well.Sauté the pecans until they are fragrant, about one or two minutes. Sprinkle with sugar and continue stirring as the sugar melts and coats the nuts. This should take about five minutes. Remove from heat and place the pecans on parchment paper. Let cool and store in an airtight container.
POPPYSEED DRESSING
3/4 cup mayo
1/4 cup milk (I used 1%)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons of poppy seeds
1/2 teaspoon of dry mustard
pinch of salt
Combine all ingredients and whisk until smooth. Transfer to a mason jar or other container and store in the fridge for up to one week.
Enjoy!
Slightly adapted from barefeetinthekitchen.com
This recipe is fantastic! I made this for the first time about a week ago and cannot wait to make it again, but the next time I will be making a roasted vegetable version. I think this would be a great summer dish with all of the fresh vegetables out of the garden!
INGREDIENTS
16 oz of bow tie pasta (or any shape you like)
1 stick of unsalted butter
32 oz low sodium chicken broth
2 cups cherry tomatoes (halved)
2 cups fresh spinach
olive oil
salt
pepper
Parmesan cheese
2-3 chicken breasts
DIRECTIONS
Melt butter in large stock pot on medium heat. Once the butter is melted continue to cook until it turns a caramel brown color. Add your pasta and cook stirring constantly for one minute. Add chicken broth and stir. Reduce to a simmer, continue on simmer until liquid is absorbed by the pasta, stirring occasionally.
While pasta is simmering in chicken broth add one tablespoon of oil to a large skillet on medium heat. Cut chicken into bite sized pieces season with salt and pepper. Add chicken to skillet and cook until done. Remove chicken from skillet and set aside covering with foil to keep warm. Add tomatoes to the skillet sauté until soft. Add the spinach to the tomatoes and cook until the spinach is wilted. Once the chicken broth is absorbed into the pasta, toss the tomatoes/spinach along with the chicken into the pot, stir to combine. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve.
Enjoy!
This is a quick and easy weeknight dinner. I found this recipe and slightly adapted it from wineandglue.com. I also doubled the recipe. This is the kind of dish that is easy to grab and go.
INGREDIENTS
2 tubes of Pillsbury crescent rolls (or sheets if you can find them)
10.8 ounces of mixed frozen vegetables ( I used Birds Eye corn, carrots, green beans and peas)
1 can Campbell’s cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup of cheddar cheese
1/2 cup of Monterey Jack cheese
8 ounces of cream cheese
1 rotisserie chicken (shredded )
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Roll out both of the crescent roll dough onto two cookie sheets that are slightly sprayed with with non stick spray.
Mix the rest of the ingredients into a medium size bowl.
Spread half of the mixture down the middle of each of the crescent roll dough leaving room on both ends as well as both sides.
Using a serrated knife slice about 1/2 inch from the long side of the dough towards the middle doing this about 6 or 7 times on both sides. do not slice the short ends of the dough.
Take both sides of the short end of the dough and bring it up over the chicken mixture then alternate braiding the dough on the sides over the chicken mixture forming what looks like a braid.
Do this with both loaves.
Bake for 18-20 minutes depending on your oven. Let rest for ten minutes before slicing.
Enjoy!
This is one of the quickest and easiest lunch or dinner recipes. It can be made in just minutes using rotisserie chicken or rotisserie turkey breast from your grocer. This is a favorite and can be changed up slightly using sauerkraut (drained) instead of the coleslaw.
INGREDIENTS
Roasted turkey breast or rotisserie chicken (shredded)
Coleslaw or sauerkraut
Thousand island dressing
Pepperidge Farm swirl bread
Butter
DIRECTIONS
Butter one side of one of the pieces of bread and place butter side down in a panini press or skillet. Add as much or little as you like of thousand island dressing, add chicken or turkey, add coleslaw or sauerkraut, add the second piece of bread buttering the outside of the bread and place the top of the panini press down or use a heavy skillet on top of your pan pressing the sandwich down. Cook until golden on both sides turning once if using a pan.
NOTES
When using sauerkraut, drain well. I make a simple coleslaw mix using a shredded bag from my grocery store, slice one green apple and mix with your favorite coleslaw dressing. I also add a good amount of fresh cracked pepper.
Enjoy!
The title says it all! This is hands down our favorite salad! BIG FLAVOR!
This salad does take some time for the chicken marinade, chopping, dressing AND a peanut sauce! All of that for just one salad! It is well worth the effort!
CHICKEN MARINADE
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 Tablespoons of rice vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 clove of garlic
1/2 bunch of cilantro
1 lime, juiced
salt
pepper
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
SALAD
2 Hearts of romaine, chopped
2 or 3 handfuls of already made coleslaw mix
1 cucumber (peeled and chopped)
1 red bell pepper
5 scallions
1/2 bunch of cilantro
1 cup salted peanuts
DRESSING
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup Thai sweet chili sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon sugar
salt
pepper
PEANUT SAUCE
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
4 Table spoons reduced sodium soy sauce
2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup water
DIRECTIONS
In a ziploc bag , combine all the ingredients for the chicken marinade. Mush it around, then let marinate in the fridge for at least 4 hours. Cook chicken on the grill until done or bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Allow the chicken to cool slightly and cut into bite size pieces.
Combine the salad ingredients in a large bowl.
Mix dressing ingredients together .
Mix peanut sauce ingredients together
To build salad individually, place salad ingredients in a bowl , add some of the dressing and mix. Add chicken and drizzle with peanut sauce.
Notes: I like to make the dressing and peanut sauce in medium size mason jars mixing well.
Add water to the peanut sauce cautiously , you want to be able to drizzle it over the chicken. If you make this after the peanut sauce has been in the refrigerator warm in the microwave slightly to drizzle easier.
Recipe adapted from wwwtasteandtell.com
