Autumnal Chicken Salad

One of my favorite options for leftover roast chicken is homemade chicken salad.  You can really tailor it to your mood and your refrigerator’s contents.  Curried chicken salad or chicken & grape salad, even chicken salad with oranges… anything goes!  I happened to have a smattering of random items in my pantry and decided to throw them together for a taste of autumn – today!  Easy and delicious.

Autumnal Chicken Salad
4 tbs mayonnaise
¼ tsp celery salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Pinch of dried mint
2 cups cooked chicken breast, cubed
½ cup walnuts, chopped
1 apple, cubed
½ cup dried cranberries
¼ cup leek, thinly sliced

In a large bowl mix the mayonnaise, celery salt, pepper and mint.  Add the chicken, walnuts, apple, cranberries and leek.  Mix until thoroughly combined.  Chill for an hour, then make a sandwich with good bread or, alternatively, serve atop romaine lettuce for a healthy lunch.

Coconut Ginger Chicken

Blustery winter days put me in the mood for a warm spicy dish.  After braving the ice and snow (and attempting not to slip and fall – again) nothing feels better than curling up on the couch with a big bowl of something savory atop fluffy rice and a spoon big enough to match.

The coconut milk and fresh ginger marry very well in this dish, with neither becoming too dominant.  I always remove the seeds in jalapenos to keep the spiciness from overwhelming me, but if you’re daring, feel free to keep the seeds in the dish for an extra kick.  Chicken thighs add a subtle depth of flavor to the meal, but there’s no reason not to swap the thighs for sliced chicken breast or even shrimp.  The next time I make this recipe, I might even use all three!  Even more delectable!  Enjoy!

Coconut Ginger Chicken
Adapted from Real Simple magazine, 2006
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves (without stems)
2 jalapeno peppers (with or without seeds)
2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
3 tbs olive oil (divided)
1 medium onion, sliced
1 small eggplant, chopped into 1-inch cubes
2 cans light unsweetened coconut milk (13.5 oz each)
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tsp salt
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, breasts or shrimp, cubed

Using a blender or food processor, combine the cilantro, peppers ginger and 1 tbs olive oil until well blended.  Heat the remaining olive oil in a large pan over medium heat and sauté the onion and eggplant until soft (about 8 minutes).  Add the coconut milk, soy sauce and salt.  Cook until simmering, then add the cilantro/ginger mixture and the chicken.  Continue to simmer until the chicken is cooked and the sauce thickens, about 20 minutes for chicken thighs (less for chicken breasts or shrimp).  Serve atop a heaping bowl of fluffy white rice and enjoy!

Hearty Stuffed Peppers

It is zucchini time at The Delectable Kitchen.  The CSA to which I belong has been delivering a bountiful crop of zucchini lately.  Sometimes if I don’t use the zucchini right away, I find that it gets a bit bitter with age.  The best way to mask the slightly off-flavor is to combine it with other, bolder, flavors.  A stuffed pepper is a great way to incorporate vegetables and grains into a really tasty mélange.

Usually when I make stuffed peppers I’ll use brown rice as the starch.  This time around, I was looking for something different to bind the mix.  A long time ago I purchased a bag of mixed grains from Trader Joe’s.  It has languished on the pantry shelf for almost a year.  A mix of couscous, orzo, quinoa and beans, it suddenly seemed perfect for an appearance in a stuffed pepper.  I’m happy to report that it was a success!  The varying textures of the mixed grains create a unique balance of tender and firm, which compliments the softer blend of vegetables.  Of course, you can use your favorite starch… white rice, brown rice, even torn pieces of fresh bread!  Just make sure to slightly undercook the grains, since they’ll continue to cook inside of the pepper.  Impossible not to be delectable!

Hearty Stuffed Peppers
½ zucchini, shredded
¼ onion, finely diced
½ green bell pepper, finely diced
2 whole green bell peppers
1 cup ground turkey, cooked
½ cup rice or barley or your favorite grains, slightly undercooked
1 tsp thyme
½ tsp oregano
½ tsp parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Slice off the top eighth of the whole green bell peppers.   Discard the seeds and set the large peppers aside.  Dice the remaining pepper tops (making sure to remove the stem) and place in a large bowl.  Add the remaining ingredients and mix until well incorporated.  Scoop the mixture into each of the two large bell peppers.  Place in a baking dish and cover with foil.  Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the peppers are tender and the filling is hot.  Serve alongside a refreshing cucumber salad and a loaf of crusty bread.  So delicious!

Chicken Florentine

Recently, the spring weather has turned colder than expected.  Today’s rainy, chilly weather put me in the mood for curling up on the couch with a dish of something hot and savory.  Chicken Florentine to the rescue!  This dish is so easy to make (you could even prepare it the night before and pop it into the oven when you come home from work).  I was inspired by a recipe from Paula Deen, but modified it a bit to save a few calories.  After all, a girl’s gotta watch her figure.

This dish is perfect with a loaf of crusty bread and a glass of wine.  End the meal with a hearty brownie and a glass of milk and you’ve turned even the dreariest of days into a great day.  What was I saying about calories…?

Chicken Florentine
1 (10 oz) package chopped spinach, thawed if frozen
1 lb cooked chicken breast, sliced
1 (10 ¾ oz) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
½  cup mayonnaise
½  cup sour cream
1 cup grated sharp Cheddar
3 tbs fresh lemon juice
½  tsp curry powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup dry white wine

In a large bowl, mix together the soup, mayonnaise, sour cream, Cheddar, lemon juice, curry powder, salt, pepper and wine.  Add the chicken and spinach and combine thoroughly.  Pour into a baking dish (I used a 10-inch round ceramic dish) and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Super easy and tasty!

Herbed Feta Turkey Meatballs

My mom recently gave me a recipe for turkey burgers that she cut out of a newspaper in 2002.  As a huge fan of turkey burgers (whenever I try a new restaurant and see turkey burgers on the menu, I absolutely must order one), I was intrigued by the addition of mint and feta cheese.  How very Mediterranean!  I simply had to make this recipe right away.

For a bit of a twist, I shaped these into meatballs and substituted a few different herbs than the original recipe called for.  The result is a savory turkey meatball with a definite hint of the clean and crisp flavors of basil and mint.  These are so flavorful that they don’t need any sauces – just serve alongside pasta tossed with olive oil and you’ll have a marvelous meal.  The recipe would also make a pretty tasty burger, which I plan to do very soon.

Herbed Turkey Feta Meatballs
1 lb ground turkey
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
1 leek, finely chopped
1 tbs fresh basil, finely chopped
1 tbs fresh mint, finely chopped
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp savory
salt and pepper to taste

Mix above ingredients together in a large bowl.  (I find it easy and fast to use my hands.)  Shape the mixture into meatballs or burgers, as you wish.  I find this makes about 19 golf ball-sized meatballs. 

Heat a large skillet over medium heat with 1 tablespoon olive oil.  Add the meatballs or burgers and cook, turning once, until browned and cooked throughout, about 8 minutes per side.  Serve and enjoy!