Grilled chicken salad with raspberries and goat cheese

We have a problem with raspberries in our house.



The problem being that when we buy them, the Peanut gobbles up the whole lot of them in one sitting. They are just too delicious and too fun. And too perfectly shaped for little fingers.



However, Mama would argue that they are also too expensive for a mere toddler snack. So, in order to get our fair share, I thought I'd throw them in a salad.



Super easy and I'm sad that I just now discovered it with summer over. Basic grilled chicken, simple balsamic vinaigrette (like the one used here), fancy lettuce, fresh raspberries, pecans and crumbled goat cheese.

I asked Peanut what he wanted for breakfast this morning. His response? "Salad."

Quick and dirty: Curried chicken salad

You could, of course, make your own chicken (or use leftovers), but I went the easy route and used rotisserie. A chicken that someone else has cooked for hours and the preparation of which doesn't negate my air conditioning. I threw this together based on a few recipes on the web, adapting for what I had on hand. Yes, that's kind of a habit. It didn't quite have as much zing as I'd hoped. Maybe lack of yogurt? Did the lame-o chick peas cancel out the flavor? If you have suggestions, hit up the comments.



Curried chicken salad
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 2 cooked chicken breasts, chopped or shredded
• 1 c. canned chick peas, drained
• 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
• 1/8 c. finely diced vidalia onion
• 1 rib celery, diced
• 1/8 c. raisins
• 1/2 c. mayonnaise
• 2 tsp. curry powder
• Juice from half a lime

Directions:

1. Combine chicken, beans, vegetables and raisins.
2. Mix together mayonnaise, curry and lime until smooth. Add to chicken mixture and toss well.
3. Serve with warm naan and shredded romaine.

In praise of caprese

Summer means salads and the one that I am currently obsessed with is caprese. That perfect combination of fresh tomatoes, spunky basil and mellow mozzarella. One of the best meals I had in Albuquerque was actually a vegan caprese salad at the Mint Tulip. Kind of a weird choice in a city known for it's amazing Mexican food, but it was a refreshing break from chile rellenos. And the "mozzarella" was a revelation in fake cheese. I'm told it's called "Teese".



So, last night I tried to recreate this tasty salad, but with, you know, the addition of tasty, artery-clogging animal products. Grilled steak and buffalo mozzarella, to be exact. Just a bed of spinach, diced tomatoes and cheese, a sprinkling of chopped basil and a few slices of rare rib eye all drizzled with the simplest balsamic vinaigrette. I can not wait to try again in a few weeks with actual home grown tomatoes (Uh, Dad? Hi! Tomatoes, please!). Summer on a plate.

Quick and Dirty: Antipasto Pasta Salad

An oxymoronic entree. It's similar to pantry pasta, but cold and summery and with a few added elements (really, whatever else antipasto-like that was in my fridge). The real recipe here is for the balsamic vinaigrette. It is my go-to for any green salad and I love it with mixed greens, blue cheese and pear. But it works equally well with the classic Italian flavors of this pasta dish.



Antipasto Pasta Salad
Serves 4 as an entree
Adapted from Everyday Food, June 2011

Ingredients:

• 12 oz cooked pasta is some fun shape
• 1/4 c. pepperoncini, diced
• 1 c. artichoke hearts, diced
• 1/2 c. sundried tomatoes, thinly sliced
• 2-3 oz prosciutto, diced
• 4 oz fresh mozzarella, diced or crumbled
• handful fresh basil, chiffonaded 
• For vinagrette:
• 2 tbs. balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbs water
• 1 tsp fancy mustard
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano

Directions:

1. Combine first seven ingredients in large bowl. 
2. Either wisk together dressing ingredients or shake in a small jar (I like to use the empties from this stuff)
3. Pour dressing over salad and toss well. Serve at room temperature.

Quick & Dirty: Five Spice Salmon and Roasted Cauliflower

Some simple Asian flavors for a weeknight. The hot and spicy cauliflower is a nice balance to the rich salmon and they all roast up for a quick and easy meal. The cauliflower is based on this Chow recipe. And boy, do I love Chow. Have you visited yet? So much inspiration. I'm proud to say that I was probably one of their only print subscribers. For all two issues. Stupid dying media grumble grumble.



Five Spice Salmon and Roasted Cauliflower
Serves 3 (Odd portion, I know)

Ingredients:

• 1 head cauliflower, trimmed and cut in to smallish florets
• 1/8 c. soy sauce
• Splash of olive oil
• One shake of crushed red pepper flakes
• ½ tsp or more freshly cracked black pepper
• 3 salmon filets
• Olive oil
• 1/8-1/4 Chinese Five Spice powder
• Kosher salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450. Combine first five ingredients in large bowl and toss. Toss every few minutes while you prepare the salmon.
2. Drizzle salmon with olive oil and rub with spice and add a good pinch of Kosher salt.
3. Spread cauliflower in an even layer on a baking sheet. Place salmon on separate sheet. Pop both in the oven for 20 minutes or so. Stir cauliflower occasionally. Fish will be done when the center is opaque and flakey, cauliflower is done when it’s tender.

Quick & Dirty: Thai Green Curry

Aside from a standard stir-fry, I rarely make Asian food at home. It’s not because I don’t like it or because I’m too busy eating my mayonnaise and bologna sandwiches on Wonderbread, but because I find them a bit intimidating. I shouldn’t – my family has fully embraced Asian cooking. Growing up, our spice cabinet was overflowing with labels written in foreign characters and there was always at least one ginger root slowly rotting in the vegetable drawer. Remind me to tell you about the time I accidentally gulped fish sauce thinking it was iced tea (Or don’t. Just the thought of it is makes me want to gag.).

My Japanese sister-in-law, a great cook who's spent time trekking through Thailand, hooked me up with this recipe. It's an uncomplicated, completely non-intimidating and yet kind of authentic recipe for one of my favorite take-out meals. This only involves a handful of “weird” ingredients – ones that are all shelf-stable and available in pretty much any grocery store.  The vegetables I’ve included are not traditional, though. I love Thai and Japanese eggplant, but unfortunately they make the Peanut’s face break out. Use them if you can, but here I’ve substituted green beans and baby corn.  Adjust the curry to taste, as this is relatively mild. Also, I'm still a little gun shy when it comes to fish sauce . . .

I decided to use this to kick off a new "Quick & Dirty" category. The topic of speedy weeknight meals pops up in conversation so frequently with my friends and family that  I wanted a way to collect and share my own. These will all be simple but relatively nutritious meals that come together in about 20 minutes. Hope it comes in handy! If not, there's always mayonnaise and bologna.

Thai Green Curry Chicken
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 tbs Thai green curry paste*
• 1 14 oz can of coconut milk*
• 1 lbs boneless, skinless chicken (thighs or breast), very thinly sliced
• 1 c. sliced bamboo shoots*
• 1 can baby corn*
• 2 c. frozen green beans
• 1/3 c. chicken broth
• 2 tsp. fish sauce*
• 2 tsp. brown sugar
• 1 handful fresh basil leaves

Directions:

1.  Heat large skillet over medium high heat. Dissolve curry paste in one cup of coconut milk. Add remaining milk and bring to simmer. Stir in chicken and simmer until cooked through, 5-10 minutes. 
2. Add vegetables, fish sauce and sugar and chicken broth. Simmer for ten more minutes, until bamboos shoots taste like the sauce and not styrofoam.
3. Add basil leaves and stir until wilted. Season to taste with salt, more sugar or fish sauce as desired. Serve over jasmine rice**

*Available in the Asian aisle of most grocery stores.
**To make this extra quick and dirty, I use Trader Joe's frozen jasmine rice.

Swiss Chard and Ricotta Calzones

Chris asked if we could call these Chardzones.

Swiss Chard and Ricotta Calzones
Adapted from Epicurious 

Ingredients:

• 1 lb prepared pizza dough (I used Trader Joe's herb-y version and I think plain would have actually worked better. The herbs overpowered the chard and cheese)
• olive oil
• 8 cups swiss chard, chopped with stalks removed
• 1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2/3 cup ricotta
• 2/3 cup shredded mozzarella
• 2 tbs parmesan
• 1 egg yolk
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. If chilled, take dough out of refrigerator and leave on counter, 20-60 minutes before baking. 
2. Preheat oven to 425. 
3. Heat 2 tsp of olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and stir, just in until garlic is fragrant and soft. Add swiss chard and vinegar and cook until wilted. Remove from heat and drain any liquid. 
4. Combine cheeses and egg, season with salt and pepper. Mix with chard.
5. Quarter dough and roll out in to four rounds, about 6-8 inches wide. Fill and fold in half. Crimp over edges - pinching along to form a rope around the edge. 
6. Bake on oiled sheet pan until golden brown. Allow to cool a few minutes before serving. Serve with marinara.

Pantry raid

This is one of my favorite weeknight meals to throw together. I usually have some, if not all, of these ingredients lurking in my pantry or the back of my fridge. However, I realize my idea of a "pantry staple" might be different from other folks'. That's not because I have better taste or a bigger paycheck. It's because I shop at Costco. Witness:

Let's pretend all the junk on my counter is for scale.

Once you buy sun-dried tomatoes from Costco, you've bought them for at least a month or two. Same for artichoke hearts and roasted red peppers. That's the only reason I usually have these slightly gourmet ingredients on hand on a regular basis. In this recipe, they can all be mixed or matched in whatever ratio you prefer. If you're lucky enough to have a husband that doesn't hate olives, those would be great here as well.

Fancy Pants Pantry Pasta
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 pounds pasta
• 5 oz goat cheese (Okay,  I did have to buy this. But if you've ever bought Costco goat cheese you know that stuff takes forever to plow through, too.)
• 1 roasted red pepper, diced (about a cup)
• 1 c. marinated artichoke hearts, sliced
• 1 c. sun-dried tomatoes, sliced
• 1/4 c. parmesan cheese
• 1/4 c. parsley (Optional. I used it for color and because it was about to wilt)
• salt and pepper
• (That's a lot of parenthesis for an ingredients list.)(Don't you think?)

Directions:

1. Boil pasta in salted water. Drain, but catch 1 c. of pasta water to use in sauce. 
2. Toss pasta with goat cheese until smooth, add rest of ingredients. Use as much pasta water as you need to coat the pasta well. 
3. Adjust with salt and pepper as necessary. Add  more parmesan if you're feeling kicky.