Amazing salad: pear, gorgonzola and chicken with berry vinaigrette

I just made this for the first time tonight with leftover chicken, and it is absolutely delicious! The dressing especially is awesome - can't beat 2 ingredients! The whole recipe is really fast, easy and nutritious too.

Pear, gorgonzola and chicken salad with berry vinaigrette*
Serves 2 for a main dish - easy to halve, double or triple

4-5 cups lettuce of choice (we had romaine and baby spinach)
1 c. cooked, sliced chicken
1/2 pear, thinly sliced (eat the rest for a snack!)
2 T. crumbled gorgonzola cheese
2 T. nuts (we had almonds)
Black pepper
1.5 T berry jam (we had blackberry)
1.5 T. balsamic vinegar

In individual bowls, layer lettuce, chicken, pear, gorgonzola and nuts. Sprinkle with pepper.
Combine jam and balsamic vinegar in a small microwave-save bowl and microwave for 10 seconds; combine with a fork or small whisk. Top salad with dressing and enjoy!

* This recipe was heavily inspired by Susannah Locketti's Endive and Pear Salad in Food Network magazine.

Anniversary (or any special occasion) dinner – Steak w/ blue cheese, garlic smashed potatoes and asparagus

For those of you who don’t know, it was our 5^th (!!) anniversary on Friday. Dan and I thought about going out but decided to enjoy a nice meal at home instead.

Not only was it much more affordable, I personally think it was restaurant quality and no need to deal with Friday night crowds! We served the meal with a $4 bottle of White Zinfandel wine from Trader Joe’s. I’m far from a wine connoisseur, but I really like it; try it before you knock it!

Steak with Blue Cheese topping

Serves 2, but can easily be doubled or tripled

2 Strip Steaks - That’s what we had but you can use others. Rather than the cheapest cut, find a mid-tier+ one that’s on significant sale – I got this $4 per pound off.

Pepper and/or steak seasoning

2 T gorgonzola or other blue cheese crumbles

1 T softened butter or margarine

Preheat grill (or appliance of choice – we used our George Foreman), and season steaks on both sides with pepper/seasoning to taste. Cook ~2 minutes or 1 level less than desired; for example, medium if you want your steak to be medium-well. While steaks cook, preheat oven to broil – toaster oven is fine if there’s only 2. Mix blue cheese crumbles and butter until thick and uniform, then spread on top of steaks. Broil 2-3 minutes, or until steaks and cheese mixture are golden brown. Serve immediately.

Garlic Smashed Potatoes

Serves ~4

Around 1 1/3 lb potatoes, diced into 1 inch pieces. We had red potatoes, but regular russet are fine too. If you use russet, be sure to peel them – you don’t need to peel most other types.

2/3 c. garlic sour cream*

Pepper to taste

Other herbs as desired – I used dried dill and parsley, ~1/2 t. each

Put potatoes in enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, then simmer until fork tender - meaning a fork will go in easily and split the piece in half, 20-30 minutes.

Smash potatoes with a spatula or large spoon (or a potato masher if you happen to have one, but I do not!) just until potatoes reach desired consistency; we like a few chunks still in. Stir in garlic sour cream and season to taste.

* I actually made potatoes this way to use up this new sour cream, which I got on super sale (of course). It has a very strong garlic flavor, so is great for this recipe, but not the best plain. To substitute, you can use 4-6 cloves of minced garlic and 2/3 c. sour cream.

Steamed Asparagus

Serves 4

1 lb. Asparagus - I always look for relatively skinny stems as they are the most tender.

Seasoning to taste

I didn’t do anything special here. Trim off the tough bottom end of asparagus spears, usually 2 to 3 inches.  Place in a steamer basket over boiling water and steam for 5-7 minutes, or until desired texture is reached (if you don’t have a steamer basket, boil 1 inch water in a pot wide enough for the asparagus, and place asparagus in the water to simmer).  Do not overcook! 

New space for requests and general comments!

I figured out how to add a page dedicated to general comments/questions/requests.

Look on the right hand side of the blog. "Home" is the regular page. The self-explanatory "Comments, Requests and Questions" page will allow you post things not specific to a particular post.

I'll check it regularly and you might just find any requests in a future post!

Enjoy!

My famous White Chicken Chili

I managed to hold off until the weather isn’t scorching, but I can’t wait any longer to share my white chicken chili recipe. 

When you look at the ingredients and see it’s nearly all canned, you will quickly recognize it is easy. What you might not know is this has won or placed in at least 3 chili cook offs – yes, it's true! The spice level is perfect for a crowd - enough for people who like heat, but still mild enough for those who don't like things too spicy.

On top of being delicious, it’s also fairly low in calories and fat; it is high in sodium, but otherwise is healthy. And, it's easily doubled as long as you have a big enough pot!

Easy White Chicken Chili

Serves 6

2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced OR 2 small cans chicken (If starting from raw chicken, I usually place it in water and gently simmer while I work on the rest, then chop and add at the end)

2 - 15 oz. cans great northern beans, undrained

2 – 10 oz. cans condensed cream of chicken soup

1-2 soup cans water (I usually use 1.5 but you can adjust based on your desired thickness)

1 – 10 oz. can Rotel Original - diced tomatoes with green chilies

1 packet white chicken chili mix (found in the spice aisle)

1 onion, diced

Combine all ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil. Then, simmer on low for 20-30 minutes or until hot and flavors are combined

What’s in Dan’s lunch – Exploding Chicken Fajita Wraps

I’m only calling these exploding b/c I stuffed so much into them, it barely closes! Feel free to use whatever cheese and veggies you have and like. But, I strongly recommend roasting chicken this way – not only is it way more delicious than deli meat, it’s 1/6^th the price!!

Do not be intimidated by bone-in, skin-on chicken… I actually had not made bone-in chicken before this but it turned out great and was so yummy. I found out that it are easy (as long as you have a little time - but it is leave and forget time!), and are much more fool-proof than boneless skinless chicken breast – you would have to try pretty hard to dry them out.

This chicken is perfect for entertaining, but I definitely recommend making extra as the leftovers are delicious! I made 6 bone-in breasts for 5 adults when we had my family over, and had enough left over for 3 wraps and another 1+ pound for a chicken casserole.

Roasted Chicken

Bone-in, skin on chicken breasts. Assuming you want leftovers, I would use at least 1 more than the number of adults you have coming. These are full breasts so usually run about 1 lb each (read: not everyone will eat a whole one)

Olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Garlic – ½ clove per chicken breast, diced

Optional: Other ingredients to stuff under the skin. I had basil and mozzarella cheese, but you don’t need anything.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Prepare baking sheets by placing cooling racks on top of rimmed sheet pans. You could omit the cooling racks if you don’t have them, but it allows the chicken to cook more evenly.

Place chicken breasts on top of baking trays. Loosen skin with your fingers. Place garlic and any optional ingredients under the skin; no need to be too particular about getting it even.

Spritz or brush top of chicken with olive oil. I have an olive oil mister I love; helps you only use a little but make sure it is covered. Then, season top of chicken with salt and pepper.

Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until juices run clear.

Exploding Chicken Fajita Wraps

Per wrap:

1 tortilla – We had flour but any would work. I would not suggest bread with this though; sliced chicken and all these veggies need to be contained!

Leftover roasted chicken, shredded or cut into pieces

Leftover veggies - I had leftover cooked onions and peppers, but you could certainly use fresh veggies - it would still be delicious but just may not be as fajita-like

Shredded cheddar jack cheese (or cheese of choice)

Salsa or sour cream for serving (optional)

Packing instructions: Assuming you want a hot wrap, pack the meat, veggies and cheese in a separate container from the tortilla. Of course, keep any condiments for dipping on the side.

Reheating instructions: Heat veggies, chicken, cheese in the microwave. Drain any liquid, then add filling to tortilla and roll up tightly. Serve with salsa or sour cream, if desired.