Avocado Chicken Salad

This recipe is a healthier version of an old favorite, replacing mayonnaise with avocado in chicken salad. I love avocados and I love chicken salad (though mine is usually full of mayo and bacon!), so when I found this recipe I couldn't wait to try it.

The picture does not do justice to the amazing green color this salad has!

Ingredients:

1-lb chicken breasts
1 tray ice cubes
1 large avocado
3 T diced fresh cilantro
2 T lime juice
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper

*Note: The original recipe called for green onions, which didn't sound good to me. James suggested diced green peppers instead of onions in this recipe, which I think sounds amazing. I will definitely be adding the green peppers next time.

Boil chicken breasts in water until they tear apart easily with a fork (about 20 minutes). Drain chicken breasts in a colander and cover with a tray full of ice to cool quickly. When chicken is cold, remove to a mixing bowl and shred to small pieces with forks or your fingers.

Cut avocado in half and remove pit. Score avocado halves with a knife and remove from peel with a large spoon. At this point I advise to mash the avocado in a separate bowl before adding to chicken; I added the avocado chunks directly to the shredded chicken and it was very difficult to mix the two well.

Add salt, pepper, lime juice and cilantro. Fresh cilantro from the garden is so much better than cilantro from the store that one might almost think it is a different plant. For this recipe I had extremely fresh cilantro from a friend's garden, and I might never be able to eat store-bought cilantro again.

So good!

Mix everything together well. Serve in pitas or on a tasty toasted bread. It tastes great on it's own, but we also tried it on a nice dark German wheat bread with a slice of Havarti cheese and it made an excellent sandwich!

References:
http://becomingbetty.blogspot.com/2011/09/avocado-chicken-salad.html

Cajun Chicken Alfredo

Alfredo sauce is another weakness of mine. Absolutely delicious and chock full of calories, it's something in which I rarely allow myself to indulge. Heavy cream is what makes this food so amazing and yet so bad for you, so I set out to find a recipe that still tastes great but doesn't cause me to gain five pounds overnight. This recipe uses 2% milk instead of cream. It's still not quite healthy, but it tastes like the real thing with a little less guilt.


This recipe is very versatile. I had a craving for Cajun tonight, but if you replace the Cajun spices with salt, pepper, and garlic powder you will have a more traditional alfredo sauce. I also love using shrimp instead of chicken, but unfortunately that is a much more expensive recipe.

It's not very pretty, but it tastes incredible!

Makes 3-4 servings.


Ingredients:


8 oz. fettuccine pasta
Cajun spice mix
3 chicken breasts
2 T butter
2 T coconut oil
1 t minced garlic
3 T flour
2 cups 2% milk
1 cup grated Romano cheese


Required equipment:


Wire whisk
Large cast-iron or stainless steel frying pan - do not use a Teflon or other coated pan for this recipe or you may end up with bits of the non-stick coating in your food from the wire whisk scraping the pan.


Cook pasta according to directions, drain, and set aside.


In a shallow bowl, coat chicken breasts with Cajun spice mix until they are completely covered. Yes, I use a mix - it's so easy, and I am new at cooking Cajun food and have no clue what makes it taste so amazing.

This is the spice mix I use, found at my local grocery store.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon coconut oil in frying pan on medium heat. If you don't own coconut oil, just replace it with the same amount of butter. Add minced garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring often. Add meat to pan, turning every few minutes until chicken breasts are cooked all the way through. When you flip the meat, scrape the bottom of the pan with a spatula so spices and drippings do not stick and burn.

When chicken is cooked all the way through, remove meat to a clean plate, quickly slice into smaller pieces, and return to pan. Mix these smaller chicken pieces with the juices and spices in the pan until coated and cook for a few more minutes. Remove chicken back to plate and cover to keep warm.

Reduce heat to low-medium. Melt 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon coconut oil in pan, mixing with the spices and juices that are left in the pan after cooking the chicken. Add flour in small amounts, stirring constantly with wire whisk until all flour is mixed in. Add milk slowly, still stirring constantly with wire whisk to prevent lumps. You may have to stir fairly vigorously to get rid of the lumps.


When all lumps are gone, continue to stir frequently until mixture is hot but not boiling (a few minutes). When hot, add grated cheese slowly, stirring with whisk until cheese is melted and mixed in. Once all cheese has been added and melted, add at least another tablespoon of Cajun spice mix and stir. Taste the sauce and add more Cajun spices to your liking.


Remove from heat and mix sauce with pasta and chicken. You may need to do this in another container if your frying pan is not big enough.

Ready to eat!

References:
http://www.food.com/recipe/reduced-fat-alfredo-sauce-12365

Spicy Barbecue Chicken Sandwiches

This was a very simple dinner I threw together on a day when I wasn't feeling well due to a sinus headache, but was in the mood to eat great things. As an added bonus, spicy food tends to clear out my sinuses. This sandwich definitely did the trick, and James, who loves spicy food more than anyone I've ever known, said "don't change a thing" about this recipe.

Ingredients:


1 cup barbeque sauce
¼ cup Frank’s Red Hot sauce
¼ cup water
1 lb. frozen chicken breasts or chicken tenders
1 package ranch dressing mix, or 2T homemade ranch mix (see below)
1T butter


Homemade ranch dressing spice mix:
Mix the following ingredients together and store in an airtight container.


5 T dried minced onions
7 teaspoons parsley flakes
4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder


Combine barbeque sauce, hot sauce, water and spices in a bowl and mix well. If you have picky eaters who aren't big on spicy food, you can omit the hot sauce from this step and just let each person add it to his or her own sandwich. Add this mixture and frozen chicken to a slow cooker. If you are having trouble getting the frozen chicken out of the container, run cold water over it until it is easy to separate from the packaging. Don’t forget to wash your hands after handling the raw chicken. Drop the tablespoon of butter on top; don't worry if it is frozen or cold.


Cover and cook on low heat for six hours. Remove lid and use two forks to shred chicken without removing it from the slow cooker. Replace lid and cook on low for one more hour. Serve on toasted buns for best results. Crunchy kettle chips went great with this spicy, soggy sandwich.

References:
http://www.food.com/recipe/crockpot-buffalo-chicken-sandwiches-470965
http://selfreliancebyjamie.blogspot.com/2011/08/tis-seasonings.html

Nonna's Chicken Cacciatore with Polenta and Green Beans

In honor of my Italian grandma's 90th birthday yesterday, today I learned how to make my great-grandmother's (Nonna) chicken cacciatore, polenta, and green beans. Nonna (Margaret) was born just north of Venice, Italy, in 1900, and came to the the United States in 1905. This was a standard meal that she and my grandma Ollie made often.


My birthmother, Mary, getting ingredients ready.



Chicken Cacciatore ("Hunter's chicken")

Ingredients:

8-12 chicken thighs

Olive oil

1/2 white onion (chopped)

1 small bulb of garlic (peeled and chopped)

1 28-oz. can stewed tomatoes

1 8-oz. can tomato sauce

Rosemary, thyme, and sage to taste, or poultry seasoning.

In a hot skillet (400 degrees if you have an electric skillet), add a few tablespoons of olive oil.

About this much...

Add garlic and onion and sauté until soft. Add chicken and brown both sides.

When chicken is browned but not cooked all the way through, add stewed tomatoes and tomato sauce. Add a few tablespoons of chopped fresh rosemary, thyme, and sage, or a few teaspoons of poultry seasoning if you do not have fresh herbs. Reduce heat to low (200 degrees if you are using an electric skillet), cover, and let cook for about 25-45 minutes (25 if you have boneless meat, 45 if there are bones).

While this is cooking, make the polenta and green beans.

Nonna's green beans

Ingredients:

1/2 pound fresh green beans
3 shallots (chopped)
2 T butter
2-3 T olive oil
1/4 t cinnamon
Salt & pepper to taste
1 t tomato paste
1/2 cup water

In a shallow microwaveable dish, add green beans and a 1/2 inch of water and microwave for two minutes. In the meantime, melt butter in a skillet and add olive oil and shallots. Sauté shallots until just starting to brown. Add green beans, cinnamon, and a few dashes of salt and pepper. Turn heat to low and cover, allowing to cook until the green beans are your desired crunchiness. Dissolve tomato paste in the 1/2 cup of water, and add this in the last few minutes of cooking.

Nonna's polenta

Ingredients:

Water
2 cups cornmeal
1 1/2 t salt

Before starting polenta, butter a large, shallow platter in preparation for the end of this recipe when you won't have an extra hand to do it. Nonna used a large wooden platter that did not need to be buttered. A very large wooden cutting board will also work.

Bring 4 1/2 cups water and salt to a boil. While waiting for the water to boil, add 1 1/2 cups cold water to the cornmeal, mixing until there are no lumps. Add this mixture to the boiling water, turn the heat down to low, and stir constantly for 5-20 minutes (depending on the quality of the cornmeal). Tradition dictates that you should be stirring the polenta with a wooden spoon.

When the polenta is very thick, but not thick enough to be pulling away from the sides of the pan, remove from heat and pour immediately onto platter or cutting board. Shape with a spatula or a damp kitchen towel so you have a nice round patty of polenta.

Let cool for 5-10 minutes until the polenta is firm enough to slice easily. Using a sharp knife, cut into slices like a pizza. Use a pie server to remove slices from the platter so they still look pretty.

By this time, the chicken cacciatore and the green beans should be done cooking. Serve the polenta with some of the sauce and tomatoes from the green beans and chicken.

As we were about to sit down to lunch, we realized today that we were eating Nonna's favorite meal on the old chairs from her kitchen. It seemed very appropriate for the occasion.

Nonna's chairs

Buon appetito!