Chicken Entree Salad with Potatoes and Lemon Vinaigrette

I've been enjoying dinner salads a lot these past few weeks. I love how simple they are to put together and how flavorful they can be with the right ingredients. This salad came together by chance: I was curious to have potatoes on salad after trying them at work (and reading about them here) so in they went, then I had extra tomatoes, leftover salad dressing from earlier in the week, and cheese in the fridge! Subsequently, I ate this for at least one more dinner...don't tell anyone my secret.
The juicy chicken paired well with the slight tartness from the vinaigrette and meatiness from the potatoes, keeping me coming back bite after bite. I think this salad would be lovely with green beans or chopped asparagus when tomatoes aren't in season.

Chicken Entree Salad with Potatoes and Lemon Vinaigrette

Ingredients

• 2 C salad greens
• 2 chicken thighs or 1 chicken breast, cooked and sliced
• 3-4 baby yukon potatoes, cooked whole and quartered
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1-2 tbsp lemon vinaigrette, or to taste
• Grated Parmesan or Romano cheese, optional

Method

1. Plate your salad greens with baby yukons and cut tomatoes, then layer the sliced chicken on top.
2. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad, then grate cheese over, if desired.

The beauty of this recipe is ingredients for this salad can be made ahead of time and refrigerated, or made fresh right beforehand. As such, this salad is just as good served with warm chicken and potatoes as it is cold.

Pin It

Perfectly Baked Chicken

I'm a big fan of baked chicken, cooking it at least twice a week it seems. I like chicken breasts and thighs and find these to be quite versatile, serving it plain, on a salad, or on top of rice in a rice bowl style meal. Cooking it at such frequency means I know exactly how long to cook it for to get perfect results.

My local grocery store offers free dry rubs for any meat you purchase, so I like to get various seasonings applied in store; the added benefit of this is if the rub is salted, the chicken will remain extra moist. When I get plain chicken breasts, sometimes I like to pre-season with salt and pepper and other times I wait until right before cooking, it just depends on how organized I am the night before.

Baked chicken on it's own is not very pretty to look at in, so no photo this time.

Perfectly Baked Chicken

Ingredients

• Chicken breast(s) or thigh(s)
• Salt and pepper
• Dry seasonings, optional

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, place the chicken in a glass baking dish, making sure not to overcrowd the pan.
2. Generously season the chicken to your liking, optionally adding dry seasonings as you like (curry powder, dried herbs, etc).
3. For chicken breasts: bake chicken for 30-35 minutes, checking at the 30 minute mark. The chicken should be moderately firm to the touch and cooked through on the inside with clear juices when cut.
4. For chicken thighs: bake chicken for 45-50 minutes. The chicken will be slightly firm to the touch and cooked through with clear juices when cut.

Play around with the cooking times if you're not getting the exact results you desire. Once you find the sweet spot for cooking times, I think you'll find this method easy enough for no fuss weeknight dinner!

Pin It

Baked Cilantro Chicken

I really love baking chicken breasts because it is extremely easy and yields rather consistent results. While I often get chicken breasts with a dry rub applied at the meat counter at the store, sometimes it's nice to break out and try something new!

I can't quite remember how I found this recipe originally, perhaps Pinterest, but I love the fish sauce in it! The salty flavor pairs well with the cilantro, and while it sounds weird to mix fish sauce with with chicken, I don't think you taste the fish at all. Try it out for yourself, I think you might be surprised.

Baked Cilantro Chicken

Adapted from Artsie-Foodie.com

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 cup cilantro
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp cooking oil

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor until well blended.
3. Put chicken breasts into an oven safe dish, then pour the marinade over. Let marinate for 10-15 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees while you wait. After chicken has marinated, bake for 25-35 minutes, until chicken is just cooked through.

Pin It

try something new!

Last weekend I went out on a culinary limb and made a brussel sprout salad, inspired by this recipe from 101 Cookbooks. I have never really been a fan of brussel sprouts (though I do like them roasted and tossed with salty pancetta and balsamic vinegar), but I admit, these looked like they could be a winner.

I shredded the brussel sprouts and tossed them with a lemon vinaigrette similar to Heidi's. It made for a perfect light lunch paired with leftover roast chicken and bell pepper sticks.

With the said roast chicken, I also made chicken stock from the carcass. Very Martha Stewart of me, I know. But oh, wow, is that stuff good.

Chicken Stock

1 chicken carcass

1 onion, quartered

1 carrot, roughly chopped

zest of one orange

couple sprigs thyme

8 cups water

Place all ingredients in a large pot over medium high heat until boiling. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover slightly. Cook for up to 4 hours, adding more water as necessary. Strain and refrigerate until ready to use.

My stock gelatinized, so you may want to heat before using.

A couple of days ago, I made a nice tofu and spinach soup with my stock--so good! To make, bring the stock to a boil, add a handful of spinach, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook until spinach is wilted. While this is cooking, cube some silken tofu and place into a soup bowl. Pour stock/spinach over tofu and serve.

Pin It

Moroccan Chicken with Tomatoes and Zucchini

This next recipe is from Robin Miller's cookbook. I got it at the library and really enjoyed it for its easy, yummy recipes. The recipe is great for fall when zucchini is in season. The dish tastes very nice over basmati rice to make a meal.

Moroccan Chicken with Tomatoes and Zucchini

Ingredients

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/4 lbs chicken breasts, diced into 2 inch pieces
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp cardamom
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 14 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 medium zucchini, diced

Method

1. Heat a skillet over medium high heat, add oil and cook garlic for 60 seconds. Be sure not to burn!
2. Add the chicken and brown well on all sides. Next, add the spices and cook for another 60 seconds or so.
3. Add the tomatoes and zucchini and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, 5 minutes or so. Season with salt and pepper.

Pin It