Cilantro Lime Chicken Chopped Salad

May 6, 2013 by · 2 Comments

Cilantro Lime Chicken Chopped Salad

One of my favorite weeknight time savers lately is to cook a chicken on the weekend and then divide the meat (and broth) between two easy meals through the week.  While chicken and dumplings or enchiladas are always family favorites, sometimes I like to lighten things up with a chicken salad.

This salad is originally from Your Homebased Mom and I knew I would like it when she said it was from the Nordstrom Cafe.  I have only eaten there once, but I remember my lunch being sooo good.  The real star of this salad is the dressing.  On another day we combined the dressing with some mayo and Greek yogurt and poured it over some chicken in a wrap.  I love the taste of chipotles especially when they are combined with lime, honey and cilantro.  This was super flavorful and just spot on.

Here is a yummy recipe for Herb Roasted Chicken.  Another easy way to cook a chicken is to place the cleaned chicken in a dutch oven.  Cover with water and simmer for about an hour and a half or until the chicken easily pulls apart.  Let the chicken cool slightly and then place in the refrigerator for a few hours.  When you are ready to use the chicken and broth you can skim the fat off the top and then shred the chicken.  I usually make dumplings or chicken and noodles with the chicken and the broth.  You can also cook the chicken like this with some veggies in the water for a little extra flavor.  This is just how I like to do it.  Doesn’t get much easier and it tastes delicious:-)

Some other  great recipes from BWL if you need to use up leftover chicken:

Chicken and Brown Rice Bowls with Chipotle Cream Sauce

Chicken and Refried Bean Enchiladas

Chicken and Dumpling Casserole

Mexican Chicken Tortilla Soup

Mexican Spicy Chicken Pizza

Source:  Adapted from Your Homebased Mom

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Cilantro Lime Chicken Chopped Salad
 
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Ingredients
  • 1 cup cilantro
  • 2 -3 tsp chipotle chilies in adobo sauce, chopped small (depending on how spicy you want the dressing)
  • ⅓ cup rice vinegar
  • ¼ cup fresh squeezed lime juice
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • 2 tsp honey
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¾ cup canola oil
  • For Salad (Enough for the amount of salads you will be serving)
  • Chopped Romaine and Iceberg Lettuce
  • Pinto Beans – drained and rinsed
  • Roasted and shredded chicken
  • Shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese
  • Crushed Tortilla Chips (we used baked blue corn chips)
  • Chopped Tomato
  • Frozen corn – thawed

Instructions
  1. To prepare dressing roughly chop cilantro. Puree chilies in food processor and then add vinegar, lime juice, garlic, honey and salt. Blend and then slowly add the oil to to make an emulsion. Add cilantro and pulse until combined.
  2. Prepare salad and then toss with the dressing. Enjoy!

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Trinidadian Chicken Curry

March 24, 2013 by · 4 Comments

Trinidadian Chicken Curry

This is definitely one of my favorite meals I have ever made.  It is pretty, too.  Turmeric is a beautiful spice.

Ella, in all of her photo styling wisdom, told me that I should take more over-the-top shots of my food.  I kind of like this picture, but I need to figure out how to maneuver my tripod that way because I have a hard time staying still when I am looking straight down.

Jim wanted Indian food and I suggested that I would make it for dinner last night.  I sent Taylor on a Google search for a good Indian dish and she went straight to Pioneer Woman (of course?.)  Taylor loves PW so this wasn’t actually a big surprise.  I was surprised, however, that she found so many Indian inspired dishes on there.

This dish stood out to me because the pictures looked mouth-watering and I had almost everything to make it.  The marinade for this chicken is almost like pico de gallo and I just couldn’t pinpoint how that would taste when cooked with the curry slurry.  The girls happened to both be away at dinner time so we decided to use the HOT curry powder to give it some real heat.

Although Trinidad is nowhere near India, the cuisine is heavily inspired by Indian cooking.  Apparently, under the influence of the British, Indian immigrants came over to the Caribbean as indentured servants in the 1800′s.  Over time, they adapted their family recipes based on the food that they could find in the Caribbean.  That explains why this Trinidadian dish tastes very much like something you would get at your favorite Indian restaurant.

There are many different types of curry powders out there.  It’s a bit confusing really as to which kind you want to use when.  Curry is not a spice by itself, it is a mixture of spices such as red pepper, fenugreek, cumin, turmeric and coriander.  This mixture can vary from region to region (probably depending on availability and individual/regional preferences.)  The curry powder that we buy mass-produced in the US is very different from something you would get in India or Thailand.  Trinidad has its own blends that you can buy.  I bought my curry powder at my local Indian grocery store (great place to buy inexpensive spices.)  This blend was a HOT Madras curry powder.  It was flavorful and pretty spicy, but not overpowering.  With all of that being said, there really isn’t anything wrong with the curry powder we can buy at our grocery stores here in the US, but for a dish like this if you can get your hands on Indian or even Trinidadian curry powder your dish will taste that much more authentic.

Although I wouldn’t call this a weeknight meal it isn’t super-fussy or over-complicated.  I had almost everything in my pantry and I didn’t have a long list of ingredients to buy (which is very often a determining factor for whether I will make something or not.)  Yet, the flavor was unlike anything that has ever come out of my kitchen.  It tasted like it came from an Indian (or Trinidadian) restaurant!

Of course, I also have to point out that this dish is pretty darn healthy for you – especially if you eat it over brown basmati rice like we did.  I pressure cooked some green beans in a little beef broth and that went perfectly with the curry.  Since you remove the skin and fat from the chicken there is very little fat except for the vegetable oil you add at the beginning.  Between the tomatoes and spices you get lots of good vitamins and antioxidants.  One more reason to add this wonderful dish to your menu.  Just watch your portion size:-)

This is the type of food you want to sneak at 10:30 at night (I didn’t mainly because I was asleep by then) because dinner was just that good. Awesome find, Taylor:-)  If you are looking for a dish that you can make at home that is pretty easy to prepare and tastes as authentic as something you could get at a restaurant, you should try this one soon.  Enjoy!

For some other recipes that use curry blends on BWL you can try these recipes, too!

Crockpot Thai Chicken Curry

Thai Coconut Chicken Noodle Soup

Thai Inspired Curried Chicken Salad

Source : The Pioneer Woman Cooks (with some very slight adaptations of my own)

Trinidadian Chicken Curry
 
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Ingredients
  • 1 Whole Chicken cut-up – skin removed
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
  • 1 tomato – quartered
  • 1 onion – halved
  • 1 handful cilantro
  • 8 cloves garlic
  • 2 tablespoons curry powder
  • 2 teaspoons turmeric
  • 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • Optional – juice of half a lemon, coconut milk, extra cilantro

Instructions
  1. Sprinkle salt on chicken and add mustard. Toss to thoroughly coat the chicken.
  2. In the bowl of your food processor chop the tomatoes, half the onion, garlic and cilantro
  3. Pour the vegetable mixture over the chicken and let marinate for 2 hours
  4. When the chicken has finished marinating make the slurry by combining the curry powder, turmeric and ¾ cups of water.
  5. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Pour the slurry into the skillet and let cook for about 5-6 minutes. The slurry will turn a dark brown color and thicken. Stir constantly so the mixture does not burn. If you need to add a little more water you can, but you want to end up with a nice brown slurry that is quite thick, but not completely dried out.
  6. Slice the other half of the onion and add to the slurry. Let it cook for several minutes over medium heat.
  7. When your slurry is finished and onions are slightly cooked, add the chicken and turn the pieces to coat in the sauce. Spread out in the skillet so none of the chicken pieces are touching. Cook, slightly covered, turning the chicken every 5 minutes or so, adding more water (alternating with some coconut milk if you like) as necessary. You do not want the sauce to dry out. Your chicken will cook for about 25 minutes and when finished you will have a nice thick sauce. If you feel like your chicken isn’t cooking quickly enough you can turn the heat up a little bit. Just make sure it doesn’t burn and your sauce doesn’t dry out. You of course want the chicken to be completely cooked at the end and times may vary.
  8. I added the lemon at the end and you will want to taste to see if you need to season with additional salt and pepper. Garnish with cilantro if desired.
  9. We served this over brown Basmati rice with pressure cooked green beans.
  10. Enjoy!

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Chicken and Brown Rice Bowls with Chipotle Cream Sauce

March 20, 2013 by · 2 Comments

Chicken and Rice Bowls with Chipotle Cream sauce

We have had a can of chipotle chilies in our pantry that we have been meaning to use for the last few weeks. I was a little hesitant to add it to anything because I thought it might be a little spicy for the girls. They are learning to appreciate some heat in food, but chipotles can be really spicy!

Jim said he wanted to put together some rice bowls one afternoon for lunch and I thought the best way to use the chipotles was to put them into a sauce so we could add them to our bowls only.

Wow, this sauce added so much flavor to this dish.  The bowls are yummy by themselves, but with the smoky, spicy creamy sauce they were out of this world!

I didn’t always love brown rice and it is sometimes kind of a pain to make because it takes forever to cook.  Definitely not your mom’s minute rice:-).  However, I was visiting Beaverton, Oregon a few years ago for work and I tried the rice bowls at a place called Cafe Yumm! (holy good food) and the rice was absolutely amazing.  I found out that it was brown Jasmine rice.

For a while I couldn’t find brown Jasmine rice near me, but now I think you can find it at many grocery stores.  I buy it in large bags at my beloved Asian supermarket in Cary for about 9 bucks.  It cooks quicker than normal brown rice and it honestly tastes very much like white rice.  The girls don’t usually like brown rice and they will eat Jasmine brown rice without noticing.  So there you have it:-)  I know Jasmine rice is an Asian rice, but it still works A-OK with any type of dish.

These bowls are so flavorful and you can pack them with lots of nutrition.  Be a little careful of putting too much rice in your bowl if you are watching calories.  Brown rice is a good carb, but it still packs a ton of calories – 1/4 cup has 190 calories so try to stick to that.  I wouldn’t worry too much about it, but just watch your portion sizes.   It’s easy to pile a huge amount of rice in the bottom of a bowl – I know:-).

Enjoy these bowls and definitely make this sauce.  If you have extra chipotles just throw them (along with the sauce) in a plastic bag and freeze for the next time a craving for this comes along….and it will come along, I promise!

Chicken and Brown Rice Bowls with Chipotle Cream Sauce
 
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Ingredients
  • ¼ Cup Greek Yogurt
  • ¼ Cup Light Mayonnaise
  • 1-2 chipotle chilies with 2 teaspoons sauce (depending on how spicy you like things)
  • juice of half a lime
  • Dash of salt, pepper and garlic powder
  • 2 Grilled Chicken Breasts
  • 1 Avocado
  • 2 Green Onions chopped
  • ½ cup black beans
  • Salsa
  • Sea Salt
  • Jasmine Brown Rice – enough for 4 servings
  • Optional: Cilantro and shredded cheese, Baked Crumbled Tortilla Chips, chopped tomato

Instructions
  1. In the bowl of a food processor mix the yogurt, mayo, chipotles with sauce, lime juice and salt and pepper. Mix until thoroughly combined. You can also throw a little of the cilantro in this sauce for some extra flavor.
  2. Between four bowls divide the rice, chicken avocado, onions and beans. Top with the salsa, chipotle cream sauce and any optional topping you may choose. I like to mash my avocado right in the bowl as I don’t like chunks and it coats the rice really well. Give each bowl a few cracks of sea salt.
  3. I personally don’t think you need any cheese in these bowls, but the kids like to have some and they can afford the calories:-).

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Chicken and Refried Bean Enchiladas

March 11, 2013 by · 2 Comments

Chicken and Refried Bean Enchiladas

I’m not completely sure if these are enchiladas because they don’t have a sauce on them.  They aren’t burritos because they aren’t completely enclosed.  They certainly aren’t tacos and even though I use fajita shells they are far from fajitas.  So I am going to call them enchiladas and if you would like to add some enchilada sauce, then go for it.

Can I tell you my pet peeve about burritos?  I can’t stand it when they (certain burrito-serving restaurants) stuff a burrito with rice.  I feel like the rice is just unnecessary calories and you already have plenty of carbs from the tortilla.   Plus I don’t like the taste of the rice wrapped up in a tortilla shell.  Just give me the meat, veggies, cheese and beans and keep your stinkin’ rice:-).  Oh, and give me some cilantro, too – and lots of it!

These chicken and refried bean “enchiladas” are so good and so simple.  I love the creamy filling and you can eat them with any toppings your heart desires.

I have two Trader Joe’s shout-outs with this recipe.  First of all, their refried pinto beans are awesome and that is what I usually make these with.  Second shout out is for their red and green jarred salsas.  Not only are the inexpensive, but they are the best tasting jarred salsas I have ever found.  No extra preservatives or thickening agents to make them taste funny.  They taste super fresh – just like a salsa you would get with your chips at your favorite Mexican restaurant.  Yum!

Enjoy!

Chicken and Refried Bean Enchiladas
 
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Ingredients
  • 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts – cooked and shredded
  • 1 can of fat-free refried beans (I love Trader Joe’s)
  • 3 cups of shredded Colby-Jack Cheese
  • 1 cup of restaurant-style salsa (I also like TJ’s jarred red salsa for this because it isn’t chunky)
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 10 flour tortilla shells – Fajita Size
  • 2 Green Onions – white and green parts sliced
  • Chopped Cilantro
  • Extra Salsa for serving

Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9X13 pan with cooking spray.
  2. Combine shredded chicken, refried beans, 1½ cups of cheese, salsa, salt and garlic powder in a bowl. Place filling down the middle of each tortilla and roll up. Place stuffed tortillas seam side down in your casserole dish.
  3. Once all tortillas are stuffed place any remaining chicken and bean mixture along the sides of the dish. Cover the shells with the remaining cheese.
  4. Bake in oven covered with foil for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 5 minutes. or until cheese is bubbly. Remove from oven and sprinkle with green onion and cilantro. Serve with additional salsa or your favorite toppings.
  5. Enjoy!

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Chicken and Dumpling Casserole

October 15, 2012 by · 3 Comments

Chicken and Dumpling Casserole - Taste of Home

Here is an easy recipe that your entire family will love – at least mine did. I would probably call this chicken and biscuit casserole because now that I live down south I think of dumplings as little flat noodles. Either way, this is going into my fall rotation. It makes enough for leftovers, too.

You could easily add some more veggies. I love peas so I didn’t add any, but you could certainly add some carrots or green beans or broccoli. If you add enough extra vegetables you have a casserole that is a complete meal – score!

Enjoy!

Source: Taste of Home

Chicken and Dumpling Casserole
 
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Ingredients
  • ½ cup chopped onion
  • ½ cup chopped celery
  • ¼ cup butter, cubed
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 1 package (10 ounces) frozen green peas
  • 4 cups cubed cooked chicken
  • DUMPLINGS:
  • 2 cups biscuit/baking mix
  • 2 teaspoons dried basil
  • ⅔ cup 2% milk

Instructions
  1. Saute onion and celery in butter until tender. Add garlic and cook 1 minute longer. Stir in the flour, sugar, salt, basil and pepper until blended. Add broth and bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened; reduce heat.
  2. Add peas and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in chicken. Pour into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish.
  3. To make the dumplings combine the baking mix and basil. Stir in milk with a fork until moistened. Drop by tablespoonfuls into 12 mounds over chicken mixture. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30 minutes. Cover and bake 10 minutes longer or until a toothpick inserted in a dumpling comes out clean.

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