The Cheese is Sad...

Or maybe it's just blue! I've been eyeing this Blue Cheese Walnut Cole Slaw for a while now. We had lunch for dinner and I decided it would work perfect with a buffalo chicken panini. The cole slaw was amazing and super easy to throw together. For the panini (since I know people will ask) I just sauteed up chicken and put it between 2 pieces of bread with mozzarella cheese, blue cheese crumbles and a generous helping of bar-b-que sauce. Then I toasted on the panini maker and it was ready! Very easy dinner :-)

Blue Cheese Walnut Cole Slaw

1 head Napa or Savoy Cabbage, shredded
1 shallot, sliced super thin
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 t white sugar (I used honey instead)
1 t white vinegar
1/4 cup candied walnuts, chopped
1 cup blue cheese crumbles
salt and pepper

Combine the mayo, sugar and vinegar. Season generously with pepper and a touch of salt.

Pour the mixture over the shredded cabbage and shallots. Toss to coat. Add the walnuts and blue cheese. Gently incorporate. Let rest for at least 15 minutes and serve.

More chicken...

We really like chicken at our house...can you tell? Anyway, this is a really simple chicken salad with a very tasty/tangy dressing I came up with. We had it for dinner with soup but it would be a great salad for lunch as well. With no mayo it makes great left overs to take to work.

Cranberry Chicken Salad w/ Ginger Sage Dressing

3 chicken breasts, baked & diced (I season mine with poultry seasoning & garlic salt)

1 cup pecans, toasted & roughly chopped

1 cup cranberries, dried

Combine all ingredients and toss with dressing.

Ginger Sage Dressing

3/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1 T Dijon mustard

1 T honey

2 T dried sage

2 T minced ginger

1 1/2 t cinnamon

Salt & pepper

Wisk all ingredients together and toss with Chicken mixture. Serve over romaine lettuce.

Enjoy!

A Balanced Meal

These are three of my old standby recipes that are all excellent. Each are good on their own but tonight I made them together for the full meal deal effect. All three are also healthy and easy to make. Definitely crowd pleasers.

Chicken Tenders

1lb chicken tenders
1/4 cup dijon mustard
1 T honey
1 T olive oil
11/2 cups panko
1 T dried basil
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix dijon, honey and olive oil in large bowl. Season chicken with salt & pepper. Add all tenders to the dijon mixture and toss to coat. On a large plate combine panko & basil and season with salt & pepper. Dredge each chicken tender in the panko mixture. Arrange all coated tenders on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Serve immediately.


Orzo Salad
For this one I use the Harvest Blend from Trader Joes that includes orzo, quinua, couscous & garbanzo beans. Plain orzo will work just fine too. You could also add diced chicken to this salad to make it main course.

2 cups harvest blend
2 cups chopped fresh spinach
1 cup chopped fresh basil
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 can artichoke hearts, roughly chopped
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 T dijon mustard
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 T honey
salt and pepper


Cook orzo or harvest blend per directions. Once cooked add 2 T olive oil to the cooked pasta to prevent sticking. Add chopped spinach, basil, tomatoes & artichoke hearts. Add Parmesan and salt & pepper to taste.

Whisk dijon, vinegar, olive oil and honey in a bowl until combined. Pour over pasta and toss to combine.

Can be served immediately warm or refrigerate up to 24 hours and serve chilled.


Roasted Balsamic Sweet Potatoes
These are from the April 2007 issue of Bon Appetit

4 large red skinned sweet potatoes (yams), peeled and cut into cubes
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
4 T brown sugar
1 T butter
1 T olive oil
2 t salt

Preheat oven to 400°F. In large skillet over medium heat, bring balsamic vinegar and brown sugar to boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat and simmer until vinegar thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Add butter & olive oil and salt and stir until butter melts. Add potato pieces to skillet; toss to coat. Season potatoes with freshly ground black pepper. Spread potatoes evenly on rimmed baking sheet. Bake until potatoes are tender and golden, stirring occasionally, about 40 minutes. Transfer potatoes to large platter or bowl and serve.


Enjoy!

Chop Chop

I was craving one of those chopped salads that so many restaurants serve these days. The kind that has a lot of different textures and flavors all wrapped up in a crispy, fresh salad...Yum! After rummaging through my fridge and pantry this is what I came up with. It was very tasty and I can't wait to eat the leftovers!

Chop Chop Salad

1 head ice burg lettuce, finely chopped
2 pears, peeled and diced
1 cup crumbled blue cheese
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced
Dijon Vinaigrette- recipe below

Mix all ingredients together in large bowl and toss with the vinaigrette. Serve immediately.

Dijon Vinaigrette

1 garlic clove
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup cider vinegar
2 T dijon mustard
3 T honey

Blend all ingredients in a food processor or blender until combined and dressing is creamy.

Toss with Chop Chop Salad