Grilled Chicken Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette

I’ve been working on what can only be described as a massive Spring Cleaning session with my bookmarks. I must have over 1,000 recipes saved, from appetizers to desserts and everything in between. When you have that many recipes, I’ve found several things: 1) there are bound to be duplicates – different bloggers all posting the same chocolate chip cookie recipe, a slew of chicken marsala recipes that may only differ by 1 or 2 ingredients, etc.; 2) a ton of the links don’t work anymore at all; and 3) I used to save a lot of “recipes” that I probably don’t need anymore, like one that I just found for roasted cauliflower that called for cauliflower, olive oil, salt, and pepper, and went through the same set of instructions I’ve been intuitively using to roast vegetables for the better part of 2 years now. Needless to say, I’ve been deleting saved recipes left and right, and condensing even more.

Another new habit that’s forming as a result of this is to take several similar or at least complementary recipes and piece them together into one meal, and that’s exactly how this Grilled Chicken Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette came about. I needed a last minute dinner when plans fell through, and I didn’t have time to go to the store. There was a recipe for a Spinach Salad and Raspberry Vinaigrette, and another for a Spicy Orange Chicken Salad. Neither was exactly what I was looking for, but I found bits here and there that sounded fantastic. So, with a little tweaking, this Grilled Chicken Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette was born, and aside from a total lapse in judgment when I added the salad ingredients to the full bowl of dressing instead of adding the dressing to the salad a bit at a time, it lived up to its expectations. I tried to drain the excess salad dressing, but it wound up being more trouble than it was worth – I only managed to salvage maybe a few tablespoons. So if you like salads dressed more lightly, simply do what I intended to do and add the dressing a bit at a time. I’ve calculated the nutrition information for the salad and dressing separately, so you can figure out what works best for you.

One Year Ago: Baked Spinach & Eggs

Two Years Ago: Black Bean, Chicken & Red Pepper Stew, Sophisticated Stuffed Mushroom Caps, Savory Baked Eggs with Mushrooms

Grilled Chicken Spinach Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette Overall, this salad is light in flavor but still manages to be filling and satisfying. It’s perfect for this time of year and will continue to be a welcome addition to the dinner or lunch table as weather continues to get warmer. Yield: 2-3 servings Active Time: 20-25 minutes Total Time: 20-25 minutes, minimum (printable recipe) The Ingredients ¼ cup dry quinoa, rinsed well 2 chicken breasts, butterflied ½ red bell pepper, sliced 1 orange, chunked ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil ¼ cup citrus champagne vinegar 3 tablespoons orange juice freshly ground black pepper, to taste chili powder, to taste The Method Heat a grill pan, lightly greased, over medium and start a pot of water (about ¾ cup) along with the dry quinoa to boil. Once it boils, reduce to a simmer and cook until all of the liquid has been absorbed. Ideally set aside to cool. While the quinoa cooks, add the chicken to the heated grill pan and cook, 8-10 minutes per side, until lightly browned and fully cooked through. Remove from the pan and cool 5-10 minutes, then slice on an angle and, ideally, allow to cool completely. While the chicken and quinoa cool, prepare the salad ingredients. Toss the pepper and orange pieces along with the quinoa with the spinach and add the desired amount of dressing (start with 1-2 tablespoons per person and go up from there). Arrange the chicken slices on top to serve.

Nutrition Information, Salad (per serving): 387 calories. 7.5g fat (1.5g saturated). 151mg cholesterol. 276mg sodium. 23g carbohydrates (3.5g fiber, 7.5g sugar). 54g protein. Nutrition Information, Dressing (full yield, at least 4-6 servings): 674 calories. 75g fat (11g saturated). 0mg cholesterol. 7mg sodium. 5g carbohydrates (0g fiber, 4g sugar). 0g protein. Source, adapted: Eating Well and For the Love of Cooking

Do you tend to follow recipes to the T, or do you mix and match based on what you have on hand and how you’re feeling? I’m definitely the kind of person who’s constantly tempted to tweak, even when I probably shouldn’t - I definitely get curious in the kitchen!

Thirty Minute Thursdays: Fruit "Benedicts" & Egg Scrambles

I tried to write this post last night so that it could be scheduled to automatically post today while I was at the internship, earlier than this crazy-late time. But it was a long day, to say the least, and I found myself wholly unexcited about peanut butter and pineapple (as a side note, it takes a pretty long day to get me apathetic about peanut butter). I just wasn’t feeling the post, and I figured no one would want to read some lame, unenthusiastic post about breakfast, anymore than I wanted to write it last night.

So this breakfast – Fruit “Benedicts” and Egg Scrambles – it’s perhaps not the kind of meal that’s easy to be enthusiastic about in the first place, busy days and energy aside. I considered not even telling you guys about it at all, but then, that’d be kind of a shame since L and I did both really enjoy it. And don’t we all need a satisfying meal that doesn’t require backflips to get it on the table, especially when we’re probably making it before 10am? 

This is technically a recipe for kids. I say phooey to that, because I think just about any adult out there would love to have someone make this for them one morning, too. The fruit benedicts are fun, though I’m still not really sure why Rachael called them that. I mean, it’s got the English muffin/sandwich thin base (I used a whole grain sandwich thin) and I get that the fruit replaces the asparagus or whatever veggie normally goes on it…but peanut butter is not exactly an obvious choice to substitute for hollandaise, and the egg scramble is meant to be served alongside the benedicts, not on top. I think it was just a catchy name, so she went with it, and that’s good enough reason for me, too.

The only complaint I had was how monochrome it all was. I think using strawberries instead of bananas, especially at this time of year, would be an excellent choice, and not skipping out on the chives (I didn’t have any so I used onion instead) would add a nice pop of green to the plate. So if you’re a visual eater, definitely consider these changes as I think the flavors would still work wonderfully (pineapple-strawberry? Yes please!) – but if it doesn’t bother you and you like the way this sounds, by all means, go for it. No one said your plate has to be colorful all the time!

One Year Ago: Easy Mexican “Tortizzas”

Two Years Ago: Bread Pudding Pancakes

Three Years Ago: White Chocolate Layer Cake with Raspberry Curd & Chocolate Ganache Fillings

Fruit Benedicts and Egg Scrambles These creamy-sweet open faced fruit sandwiches and savory scrambled eggs make a fantastic pair, and kids of all ages (even kids at heart) will love this new, fun way of enjoying some of their favorite breakfast foods. Yield: 4 servings Active Time: Total Time: (printable recipe) The Ingredients – The Egg Scrambles 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 4 links lean apple chicken sausage 2 tablespoons chopped onions 4 eggs1 1 cup egg whites freshly ground black pepper, to taste The Ingredients – The Fruit Benedicts 2 (whole grain) English muffins or sandwich thins, split ¼ cup (natural) peanut butter, creamy or chunky ½ cup crushed pineapple 2 bananas, sliced The Method Heat a large skillet with the olive oil over medium heat. Add the chicken sausage and onions, sautéing 5 minutes and stirring only occasionally. Meanwhile, heat the oven’s broiler and place the bread sliced size up on a cookie sheet. Place under the broiler to warm them until lightly brown but not toasted, flipping halfway through to warm the other side. Return to the pan with the sausage and stir in the eggs. Season with black pepper and allow to cook while agitating/scrambling from time to time. While the eggs continue to cook, remove the bread from the oven and spread each slice with 1 tablespoon of peanut butter. Top each slice with 2 tablespoons of the pineapple and ½ banana’s worth of slices.  Transfer to a serving platter along with the eggs.

Nutrition Information: 530 calories. 24g fat (5g saturated). 275mg cholesterol. 753mg sodium. 46g carbohydrates (5g fiber, 23g sugar). 35g protein. Source, adapted: Rachael Ray’s Classic 30 Minute Meals (cookbook) Notes: 1You can also absolutely use 8 whole eggs and no egg whites. In fact, I made L’s with straight up eggs and mine with a combination, merely out of personal preference. There’s nothing wrong with regular eggs.

 Do you ever get in a breakfast rut?