BBQ Chopped Chicken Salad

A few days ago I posted a recipe for Crockpot BBQ Pulled Chicken.  Today's recipe is an excellent way to use the left over chicken from that recipe.  This salad is very close to the BBQ Chicken salad at Paradise Bakery & Cafe, which just happens to be my husband's favorite menu item.  The recipe calls for the salad dressing to be drizzled on top but feel free to toss it into the salad if you prefer.

Printable Recipe

Ingredients
8 Cups Romaine Lettuce, chopped
3 Roma tomatoes, diced
4 green onions, chopped
1 can corn, drained
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups BBQ chicken (such as BBQ pulled chicken)
¼ Cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Ranch dressing

Directions
Place lettuce into separate salad bowls. Layer each with corn, black beans, onions and tomatoes. Place a large scoop of chicken on top of salad and sprinkle cheese. Drizzle desired amount of dressing over salad and serve.

Chicken Parmesan (Lighter)

I mentioned in an earlier post that my goal for this month was to cook healthier meals for my family. This is a slightly lighter version of your typical chicken parmesan.  Broiling the chicken produces a nice crispy crust and the fresh mozzarella is a real nice touch.   I paired this dish with Cacio e Pepe and it was a big hit with the family.  Enjoy!

Printable Recipe

Ingredients
¾ cup whole wheat panko bread crumbs
3 large egg whites
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts,  butterflied and pounded to an even thickness
2 cups low fat marinara sauce, such as Trader Joe's organic tomato & basil
4 oz. fresh mozzarella, cut into 8 even slices
Grated Parmesan Cheese
Olive oil cooking spray

Directions
Preheat broiler with a rack in the middle of the oven, about 18" below the heating element.
 
Add bread crumbs into a shallow dish and season with salt and pepper. Beat the egg whites in a large bowl until foamy.

Season each piece of chicken with salt and pepper. Working with one at a time, dip the chicken cutlets into the egg whites, then place each cutlet in the bread crumbs and coat evenly.  Spray both sides of chicken cutlet with cooking spray and place the cutlet on the baking rack. Repeat until all chicken has been prepared.

Place the cutlets under the broiler and cook until browned on one side, about 6-8 minutes depending on the thickness of the cutlets. Turn the cutlets over and brown the other side.

While chicken is cooking, bring the marinara sauce to a simmer in a saucepan.

When the chicken is done, remove from the broiler and top each piece with several spoonfuls of marinara sauce and 2 slices of mozzarella. Return the baking sheet to the broiler and cook until the mozzarella is melted. Remove from the broiler, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve.

Cacio e Pepe

I must admit, I have no clue how to say the name of this dish and I can barely spell it.  It's a very simple dish that I would describe as Fettuccini Alfredo without cream.  It's hard to believe you can get such great flavors from simple ingredients but it's true.  This recipe was a huge hit and will become a regular addition at our house.  If you don't have egg noodles on hand, you can use fettuccini, linguini, or spaghetti noodles instead.  I paired this with a lighter version of Chicken Parmesan which proved to be a great combination.

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

8 oz package egg noodles, such as Trader Joe's Pappardelle egg pasta

1 Tbsp. unsalted butter

1 Tbsp. cracked and crushed black pepper (not ground)

½ cup Romano cheese, grated

Salt and pepper

Directions

Cook pasta according to the package directions, until al dente.  Drain, reserving ½ cup of the pasta cooking water.

Combine the butter with the pepper in a large skillet over over medium heat and cook, stirring, until the butter is melted and bubbling, about 1 minute. Add the reserved pasta cooking water and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and slowly sprinkle in half of the Romano cheese and whisk until smooth.  Ddd the pasta to the pan, increase the heat to medium and stir gently until a sauce forms and sticks to the pasta. Season with salt and more black pepper to taste.  Serve with remaining Romano cheese.

Crockpot BBQ Pulled Chicken

During the busy work week, I love to use my crockpot to prepare dinner.  This is an easy recipe that you can make into sandwiches, serve with rice or mashed potatoes, or even use in a salad.  If you are not a fan of pulled chicken, you can also just serve the chicken breasts whole instead of shredding them.  As far as the kind of BBQ sauce to use, I used some of the All Purpose BBQ Sauce I recently made, but you can also use Sweet Baby Rays or your favorite store-brought sauce.

Printable Recipe

Ingredients
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup BBQ sauce
¼ cup Italian dressing
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper

Directions
In a small bowl combine BBQ sauce, Italian dressing, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce. Stir until well combined.  Lightly season chicken breast  with salt and pepper and place in crockpot.  Pour sauce over chicken, cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6 hours.  Shred chicken and stir into sauce, cover and let cook in sauce for about 10-15 more minutes. Serve!

Sautéed Spinach

This is a very simple side dish that is quick, easy and healthy.  Honestly there is not too much to it and it cooks in under 5 minutes start to finish.   Enjoy!

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

20 oz. bag baby spinach leaves, rinsed well

1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

8 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

Salt and pepper

Directions

Heat the olive oil with the garlic in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat until the garlic is golden brown.  Add the spinach to the pan, add the lid and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Capellini Pomodoro

January is typically the time when people make resolutions to eat better and workout more.  I usually ease into the year by not vowing to eat better, but rather by trying to cook healthier for the entire family.  I came across this recipe in one of my many cookbooks and altered a few things.  I chose to use refrigerated pasta to make the dish even quicker to prepare.  In tonight's version I left out the red pepper flakes to make it more kid-friendly.  This dish allows me to give the kids the spaghetti they like so much but make it a bit healthier along the way.

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

9 oz refrigerated Angel hair pasta (such as Buitoni)

1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

6 cloves garlic, minced

16 fresh basil leaves, chopped

2 cups very ripe tomatoes, diced

1 oz Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated

Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

Salt and pepper

Directions

Pour olive oil into a large nonstick skillet and add garlic. Place the skillet over medium heat and cook until the garlic begins to brown.  Add half of the fresh basil and the red pepper flakes and cook for about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and cook until the sauce comes to a simmer and all the tomatoes have softened. Add half of the Parmigiano and stir. Turn off the heat and season sauce with salt and pepper.

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, reserving ¼ cup of the pasta cooking water.

Add the pasta and the reserved pasta cooking water to the sauce. Raise the heat to medium-high and toss the pasta with the sauce. Cook until the sauce coats the pasta and the noodles are just cooked. Add the remaining basil and season with more salt and pepper if needed. Serve immediately and top with the remaining Parmigiano when serving.

Chicken Piccata

I'm a big fan of fresh tasting dishes and this one fits that nicely.  The chicken and sauce is nice and light and it pairs well with pasta and a nice salad.  If you are not a fan of capers, you can leave those out (I did to make it more kid friendly).

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

4 boneless,skinless chicken breasts, butterflied
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
¾ cup all-purpose flour, for dredging
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup olive oil
2 lemons (1 juiced, 1 sliced)
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken stock
1 bullion cube

2 tablespoons capers, drained

Directions:

Place pieces of chicken between two pieces of parchment paper and pound until the cutlets are about ¼" thick. Repeat until all the chicken has been pounded thin. Cut the breasts in half to make more reasonable serving sizes.

Place flour in a shallow dish. Season each side of the chicken with salt and pepper and then dredge each cutlet lightly on each side with flour.

Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is nice and hot, brown cutlets a few at a time for 3-5 minutes on each side until golden brown. Note: You will finish cooking the chicken in the oven so your goal is to just brown the outside, not cook through.  Place the browned chicken on a cookie sheet with a rim, or a 13x9 baking dish. 

Once all chicken has been removed from the skillet, turn up the heat and pour the white wine in the pan and boil down for a minute so the alcohol cooks off. Add the lemon juice, chicken stock, bouillon, butter and then, the capers.  Allow the sauce to cook for a minute or two. Pour the sauce over the chicken, place the lemon slices on top, cover with foil and place in a 350°F oven for about 20 minutes.  Serve immediately with pasta.

Super Easy Pork Burritos

This recipe is super easy and since it uses a crockpot to cook the pork, you cook the meat during the day and then finish the meal after work during the week for a quick and easy dinner.  This recipe is also very adaptable and adding different filling ingredients along with the pork allows you to use items you have on hand.  I usually put cilantro lime rice and cheese in the burritos along with the pork and then serve these along with black beans and guacamole.  Enjoy!

Printable Recipe

Ingredients
1 Boneless Pork Loin roast - approx 2 lbs
1 can mild Enchilada sauce
½ cup finely diced onions
1 package tortillas
1 8oz package shredded cheese
Filling ingredients of your choice (Rice, Beans, etc)

Directions
Place pork, onions, and enchilada sauce in a crockpot and cook on low for 6-7 hrs.  Shred pork and reserve cooking liquids.

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Place a small amount of reserved cooking liquid in the bottom of a 13x9 baking dish.  Place shredded meat, small amount of cheese and other filling ingredients of your choice (rice, beans, cilantro, etc) in a tortilla and roll. Place in baking dish and repeat until pan is full.  Cover burritos with more of the reserved cooking liquid and cheese and bake  for about 15 minutes.

Grilled Flank Steak w/ Avocado Cilantro Cream Sauce

Earlier today I went on a search for a new recipe for grilled Flank Steak.  I typically feel that flank steak doesn't need much other than a simple seasoning, appropriate grill time, and cutting against the grain to serve.  This recipe add a lot of flavor with a fairly simple marinade and really nice avocado cilantro sauce. While this recipe as written calls for beer, you can replace that with broth or other liquid of your choosing.

Printable recipe

Ingredients
2 lbs flank steak
½ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 cup light beer
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp chili powder
2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

For the Avocado Cilantro Sauce
1 avocado, peel and seed removed
¼ cup cilantro
2 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp light beer
1 Tbsp lime juice
¼ tsp salt

Directions
Mix all marinade ingredients in a Ziploc bag and mix well.  Add steak and refrigerate for 4-6 hours.

Preheat grill. Remove steak from marinade and pat dry. Grill on a preheated grill until medium rare, about 6-8 minutes per side. Remove from grill, allow to rest for 5 minutes before slicing. While steak is resting, make sauce.

To make the sauce add all the sauce ingredients to a blender or food processor, process on high until smooth.  Add additional oil or beer as needed.