Southwest Chicken Salad

     So I love eating salads in the summer.  A lot of times guys don't think they are filling enough, but Paul is a huge fan of this Southwest Chicken Salad. You would pay 8-10 bucks for this in a restaurant, and this tastes just as good (if not better:))  Another reason I love salads, is you can do all the prep work throughout the day and you aren't in a major rush right before dinner. I get all of the ingredients ready and put in them in individual containers in the fridge then grab them out to assemble the salad.

 

 Southwest Chicken Salad  

• Chopped romaine lettuce

I never buy pre-cut, I always chop it myself. A little more time consuming, but way cheaper and the lettuce lasts a lot longer. 

• 1 can black beans

Open 1 can of black beans, rinse and drain.  Season with a little garlic powder, chili powder and cumin.

• Sweet Corn

Take one slice of onion and chop it real small.  Sauté onion in a little olive oil and add 1 and 1/2 cups of frozen corn (I like sweet petite corn or white corn).  Season with a little salt and pepper and a pinch of sugar to bring out the sweetness of the corn.

•  Chicken

This is a great meal to make after a grilling night.  I love having leftover BBQ chicken that I can just chop up and use for this salad.  You could also use rotisserie chicken, or I normally roast mine.  To roast, rub chicken breasts with olive oil and generously sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Put on cookie sheet in a oven pre-heated to 425 degrees.  Cook until juices run clear or meat thermometer reads 165 degrees. Shred or cube. 2 Chicken breasts is plenty for my family.
 

• Diced avocado (season with a little salt and pepper)
• Diced tomatoes
• Cheese (What ever type you like, grated or cubed.)  
• Tortilla Strips or Corn Chips
• Green Onions
• Serve with Ranch Dressing.  I am kind of a salad dressing snob, so I prefer to do homemade ranch or a cilantro lime ranch (aka Cafe' Rio salad dressing)  The quality of dressing really makes a huge difference. 
• Drizzle with BBQ sauce. 
• Serve with a fresh lime to squeeze over top. 

 

     Obviously, all of these ingredients are optional, so make it how you like!  You wouldn't think, this would really be a great meal for kids, but my kids really enjoy it.  They are finally to the age that they like it all together as a salad, but for younger kids, they probably will just like all of the ingredients separately on a plate with dressing to dip :)

 

I served this tonight with cinnamon cornbread.  (I posted that I little while ago)

 

It might sound like a lot of work, but again, if you do little bits throughout the day, it doesn't take much time at all. 

 

Enjoy!

 

Heidi

Chicken Tortellini with Broccoli

 

 

So we had quite the crowd at the lemonade stand the other day and we had to rush off to a T-ball game without eating a decent dinner.  So when we got home, I went for my quickest, easiest meal that I make when I'm in a time crunch.  Rather than turning to a box of Mac and Cheese, I turn to this.  It literally takes about the same amount of time and tastes a whole lot better.  Here you go!

 

Chicken Tortellini and Broccoli

• 1 20 oz. pkg of Buitoni Herb Chicken Tortellini
• 1 crown of broccoli
• 1/4 cup chopped sundried tomatoes
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• juice from 1/2 of a lemon
• 1/2 cup chicken broth (I prefer low sodium, you can always add salt if needed)
• fresh parmesan
• green onions (optional)

 

Chop a crown of broccoli into bite size pieces and rinse.  Put about and inch of water in the bottom of a large skillet and bring to a boil.  Once at a boil, dump in the broccoli and put the lid on.  Steam for about 1 minute and then drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process.  Set aside.

Using the same pan, bring some water to a boil to cook your tortellini. Once boiling, dump in the package and boil for roughly 2 minutes or until floating.  The package says 7-9 minutes but they would be total mush. Drain the pasta and set aside. 

In this same large skillet, start sautéing about 1/4 cup chopped sundried tomatoes in about 3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil.  Once they are soft, add 2-3 cloves minced garlic.  Garlic cooks very quickly, so in about 30 seconds add 1/2 cup of chicken broth before the garlic burns.  Squeeze the juice from one half of a lemon into the pan (watch for seeds) then put in your steamed broccoli.  Let that cook for a minute to flavor the broccoli, then add your tortellini.  Mix to coat tortellini and cook for a minute to heat everything back up. 

Serve in a bowl and top with fresh parmesan.  (I add green onions too, because I think everything should be topped with green onions.

There isn't a ton of sauce to put on top, most of the liquid gets soaked up so there is a ton of flavor. But if it is too dry for you, you could add a little more chicken stock.

Now I could just throw in a fattening jar of Alfredo sauce, but this feels so much lighter and tastes better in my opinion.  My kids love it (minus the sundried tomatoes, but they are easy to pick out.)

Enjoy!

 

Heidi

Chicken Caesar Sandwiches

    

 
These Chicken Caesar Salad Sandwiches were a hit tonight. They got an "awesome" from Crew and a "wonderful" from Kate. A little more filling than a salad, but still tastes light and fresh.

      First, I took a homemade buns from when I made bread on Thursday and toasted them in the oven with a little fresh Parmesan. This kind of acts as your crouton. Then, I put a layer of thinly sliced roasted chicken on the bun. I tossed some romaine lettuce with the best Caesar dressing ever (Brianna's Asiago Caesar) and put on top of the chicken. (tomatoes optional)

That's it! A quick, easy and delicious summer meal.

Enjoy!

Heidi

Chicken Tostadas

One of our favorite, light, summer meals. Shredded Chicken, diced tomatoes, diced avocado and diced onions ( I prefer green onions). Drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper and mix together. Put on top of a corn tostada with a thin layer of sour cream. So easy and delicious!

Enjoy!

Heidi