Recipe: Avocado Chicken Salad in Romaine Cups

I'm not the healthiest eater, but when I go to the gym, I need to eat something healthy to feel that my workout made a difference. I wasn't sure what I wanted to make today, but saw my rotisserie chicken in the fridge and decided on avocado chicken salad.

A lot of people ask me if it's as creamy as mayo and/or yogurt. If you get a well ripened avocado, you should have no problem reaching that consistency.

Avocado Chicken Salad

Ingredients - makes about 8 romaine cups

1/2 avocado
1 1/2 cup of chopped rotisserie chicken, shredded
1 handful of cilantro
1/2 lime
1/2 jalapeno, deseeded and diced
1/2 tsp of red onion, diced
1 celery stalk, diced small
Dash of salt and pepper to taste
8 romaine lettuce leaves

Directions

Add all of these ingredients (sans romaine) in a bowl and mix well! I tend to use my hands to get all the avocado mixed in well with the chicken. Lay out each romaine lettuce leaf and add a spoonful of chicken salad. I rolled my lettuce to eat like a wrap. Way less messy!

Recipe: Damn Delicious - Lemon Orzo Chicken Soup

I have been sick for about a month now. This Lemon Orzo Soup I found on Damn Delicious is amazing. I added bouillon cubes to mine for extra taste and used rotisserie chicken, but it's up to you. I think adding tomatoes and corn would be excellent too



Recipe (courtesy of Damn Delicious)

2 tbs olive oil
1 pound of boneless skinless chicken thighs, chopped
Kosher salt and pepper (to your liking)
3 cloves of garlic, diced
1 onion, diced
3 carrots, diced (I used 4)
2 celery stalks, diced (I used 4)
1/2 tsp dried thyme
5 cups of chicken stock/broth
2 bay leaves
3/4 cup uncooked orzo
1 sprig rosemary
1 juice of a lemon (I used half)
2 tbs chopped fresh parsley

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper, to taste. Add chicken to the stockpot and cook until golden, about 2-3 minutes; set aside.

Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the stockpot. Add garlic, onion, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in thyme until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Whisk in chicken stock, bay leaves and 1 cup water; bring to a boil. Stir in orzo, rosemary and chicken; reduce heat and simmer until orzo is tender, about 10-12 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and parsley; season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Serve immediately.

Original - Beer & Shot Chicken Tacos (Modified - Braised Chicken Tacos)

So my boyfriend and I are on quite a Mexican Food kick due to this cookbook I bought him. Tacolicious has great recipes for tacos and salsas - including the one we made today. We adding some variation to our recipe but it tasted great nonetheless! I didn't add the EXACT recipe because I really want you all to buy this cookbook.

Recipe

3 lbs mix of chicken breast and thighs - browned in a dutch oven with 2 tbs of oil
1/4 cup oil
2 small onions, diced
2 whole jalapeños
4 garlic cloves, smashed
3 ancho chillies, (stemmed and de-seeded) toasted for 30 seconds on a pan for fragrancy
3 chipotle chillies, (stemmed and de-seeded) toasted for 30 seconds on a pan for fragrancy
3 hatch chillies, (stemmed and de-seeded) toasted for 30 seconds on a pan for fragrancy
2 tbs salt
1 tbs cumin
1 tbs mexican oregano
1 cup diced tomatoes
2 1/4 cup of chicken broth
1/2 of a lime, squeezed (optional)
2 tbs of the guajillo chili paste (featured in tacolicious) - optional


Add the oil, onion, jalapeños and cook for 5 minutes after the chicken is browned earlier. The juices will help brown the onions faster. Add the garlic, chillies, seasonings, tomatoes and broth and let simmer for 15-20 minutes. We added some jalapeño chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, chilli powder and fajita seasoning mix for more taste. For a secret ingredient we added the guajillo chili paste featured in the cookbook.



Once simmered, blend the sauce. Put the chicken back in with the sauce and let cook for 2.5 hours. Add more oil if need be and half of a lime (preferable). Shred the chicken at the end and serve with your favorite guacamole and salsa.

I won't post the exact recipe of the guajillo paste because I really think that this cookbook is a great addition to a household. Although, I am sure you can google one ;) I do highly recommended purchasing the book for the correct recipe overall as we modified it to our liking!

We also ending up making homemade corn tortilla. Such a better taste than the processed store bought ones!

Recipe

2 cups Masa Corn Flour
1 1/4 cup water

Knead and roll into balls (should make 9)

Add a splash of water if the dough becomes dry and starts to crack during the rolling.

Flat out by putting sheets of parchment paper in between both sides.

Use a flat heavy surface to flatten the dough and use your hands to thin it out.

Heat for 50 seconds on each side using a skillet. No oil is necessary but we sprayed a little coconut oil at the beginning so nothing sticks.

Grilling: Tandoori Chicken Platter

Recipe

1 pack of naan

1 white onion

1 banana pepper

Chicken

3 chicken breasts, diced evenly

1 entire Fage greek yogurt

3 tbs Shaan Tandoori Chicken Spice

1 tbs garam masala

1/2 tbs cumin

1.5 tbs of tomato paste

1/2 cup cilantro

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Mix all ingredients and marinade for 1-2 hrs in the fridge. Once marinated, put chicken on the grill for 4-5 minutes (each side).

Meanwhile, slice the white onion thick and grill in a basket until translucent and charred

Add the naan on the grill till warm and until you can see the char lines.

Slice the banana peppers on top of the chicken and serve with salad and sauce.

Salad

1/2 english cucumber, diced

1 tbs of red onions, chopped

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Toss all ingredients and refrigerate

Sauce

1 tbs Coleman's Mint Sauce 

2 tbs Fage greek yogurt

Mix ingredients and refrigerate

Weeknight Dinners! Chicken & Vegetable Soup

I work 5 days a week and usually buy a rotisserie chicken on Sunday to make various dishes during the week (chicken salads, regular salads, soups, etc...) It is so versatile and helps me make a quick and easy dinner.

My go to is a chicken and vegetable soup. It's so appropriate and delicious especially since the temperature has begun to drop. Very easy to make and the clean up is just as easy (a great combo in my opinion)

Recipe

1 box of Chicken Broth
1/2 cup of water
1 carrot diced
2 celery stalks diced
1 small russet potato diced
1 small onion diced
1 tomato diced
1/2 can of low sodium corn kernels
1 handful of parsley chopped
1 cup of shredded chicken (rotisserie is my go to!)

Add all ingredients to a boiling pot of water and broth and let simmer for 20-25 minutes on medium heat. Add some sriracha if you want to add some heat! Garnish with some fresh parsley.