Asian Chicken Salad

I can be a pretty indecisive person.  Ask me what my favorite movie is or what my favorite song is and you won't get a solid answer from me.  There are tons of songs and movies I like, so it's too hard to pick my favorite.  The same goes for food.  There are so many tasty recipes it's hard to pick a favorite.  This salad is so dang good it deserves to be a favorite, but my favorite dish of all time???  I can't make that kind of commitment, so I'm putting it under the "Salad" category instead of the "Best Dish Ever" category.

Without further ado...this is my favorite salad recipe!  Yep, you heard me right.  FAV-OR-ITE.  It's light, healthy, colorful, and simple to make. Not to mention it's perfect on a hot summer day. It can be a main dish or a side dish, a red fish or a blue fish.  Um wait...I got carried away.  Moving on...I haven't met a single person who didn't like it, and if I did, I'm not sure we could friends anymore.  That's how good it is - hand over heart.  

 Serves 6

Ingredients

Salad: 

• 1 large carrot
• 3 cups shredded Napa cabbage, from 1 small cabbage
• 3 cups shredded romaine lettuce, from 1 small head of lettuce
• 1 small red bell pepper, seeded and deveined, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons fresh Thai basil leaves or fresh mint leaves, chopped
• 1-2 scallions, chopped
• 2 cups thinly sliced or shredded rotisserie chicken (about 2 small chicken breasts)
• 1/2 cup silvered or sliced almonds, toasted
• 1 tablespoon toasted white or black sesame seeds

Dressing: 

• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, optional

Directions

For the salad: Using a vegetable peeler, shave the carrot and add to a large salad bowl.  Stir in the cabbage, lettuce, pepper, Thai basil, chicken, scallions, almonds, and sesame seeds.

For the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar until smooth.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well.  

Adapted from the Food Network website.

Seriously, what are you waiting for?  Make this tonight!  I promise you won't be disappointed.

I'd love to know what your favorite salad recipe is! 

Low Fat Buffalo Chicken Wraps

Yes, you read the header right.  LOW FAT Buffalo Chicken Wraps.  The tanginess of the vinegar and hot sauce with the creaminess of the Greek yogurt and blue cheese take these wraps to another level.

  

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons Frank’s hot sauce
• 3 tablespoons white vinegar, divided
• 1 tablespoon EVOO
• 1 lb. thinly sliced chicken breasts
• 2 tablespoons reduced fat mayo
• 2 tablespoons plain nonfat Greek yogurt
• ¼ cup crumbled blue cheese
• 4 (8 inch) tortillas
• 4 romaine lettuce leaves, chopped
• ½ a large tomato, diced
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 1 celery rip, finely diced
• Cayenne pepper, to taste
• Black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Whisk together hot sauce, 2 tablespoons vinegar, and cayenne pepper in a medium sized mixing bowl.

Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, add chicken.  Cook until no longer pink in the middle.  (3-4 minutes per side)  Let chicken rest for 5 minutes and then chop into bite sized pieces.  Add it to the hot sauce bowl.  Toss and coat well.

Whisk mayo, Greek yogurt, black pepper, celery, and the remaining 1 tablespoon vinegar in a small bowl.  Stir in blue cheese.

To assemble wraps: Lay tortilla on a work surface or plate.  Spread with ¼ of the blue cheese sauce and top with ¼ of the chicken, lettuce, scallions, and tomato.  Roll into a wrap.

Add some sweet potato fries and dipping sauce to the side and dinner is done. 

You're welcome.

{Taste Test Tuesday} Curried Chicken Salad

I've tried several Curried Chicken Salad recipes that pack a lot of calories.  I was skeptical to try this recipe because of how healthy it was.  I also worried about how the chicken would taste after poaching it.  I'm not a fan of poaching chicken and prefer to roast it when possible. 

There are some odd food parings in this dish, but they seemed to work very well together.  You get the sweetness from the grapes, the crunch from the almonds, the spice from the curry powder, and the creaminess from the Greek yogurt. 

It was surprisingly good, but make sure you don't over cook the chicken or it will be tough.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup water
• 1-1/4 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts, no more than 3/4" thick
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons  mayo with olive oil
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 cup halved red grapes
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 6 ounces mixed greens (about 6 cups lightly packed)
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice

Directions

Bring the broth and water to a boil in a medium saucepan.  Add chicken to broth and simmer, covered, for 8 minutes.  Turn the heat off and let the chicken stand in the cooking liquid, covered, until cooked through, about 20 minutes.  Remove the chicken from the broth and cool completely in the refrigerator.  Cut into 1/4" dice.  Toast the almonds in a small dry skillet over medium-high heat until fragrant and beginning to turn golden, 2 to 3 minutes.

In a large bowl, stir together the yogurt, mayo, and curry powder.  Fold in the chicken, grapes, and cilantro.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

In a large bowl, toss the greens with the extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice.  Arrange the greens on 4 individual plates, top with a scoop of the chicken salad and sprinkle with almonds. 

Adapted from the Food Network website

This dish gets ☆☆☆