Monthly Archives: September 2011

Curried Chicken Salad with Cashews

Posted on September 30, 2011 by

This month I have been taking the HealthEats.com Brown-Bag Challenge.  That means one entire month of brown-bagging my lunch instead of eating out.

I have actually found it inspiring.  Since I knew I was going to be talking about my lunch every day, I was motivated to put a little more thought into what I put into my lunch bag each night.  This made for more interesting lunches which really helped me stick with this healthy habit for a whole month.  (Yeah me!)

I have tried to mixed it this month.  I have done ultra healthy lunches (Southwestern Black Bean Dip with veggies), few creative lunches (Inside Out Chicken Egg Roll) soup for lunch (Creamy Tortilla Soup), trendy foods for lunch (Grilled Cheese with Brie and Apricots), special sauces to dress up an ordinary sandwich for lunch (Southwestern Smoky Lime Cilantro Dressing), seafood for lunch (Mushroom and Crab Lasagna), remixed leftovers for lunch (Chicken Stuffed Potato with Sherry Cream Sauce) and even created a recipe for FNDish for lunch (Chicken, Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Apple Salad).  Let me tell you I have eaten well!

  

  

Unfortunately I think I have spoiled myself.  I now look forward to my brown bag dish of the day and don’t relish the idea of a bag of greasy fast food even as the occasional lunch in a pinch.  I am already thinking in my head about what I could next week to keep the habit going.

For the last day of the brown-bag challenge I have decided to go with a very easy recipe for Curry Chicken Salad with Cashews.  I used a Barefoot Contessa recipe for my starting point, but I made some changes from there.  I simplified it by using a rotisserie chicken instead cooking the chicken myself.  I also swapped out the chutney and raisins for apricot preserves and fresh white grapes.  The results was an easy and flavorful dish  that came together in a few minutes.

Last night’s dinner was chicken salad over a green salad.  Today I am mixing it up by tossing the Chicken salad on bread for a tasty lunch-time sandwich. Brown-Bag Challenge achieved!

Curried Chicken Salad with Cashews

Prep time: 1o minutes  - Cook time: 0  - Makes

  • 1  cups mayonnaise
  • 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
  • 1/4 cup apricot preserves
  • 2 tablespoons curry powder
  • 4  cups cooked chicken (about 16 oz)
  • 3 stalks celery, medium-diced
  • 2 scallions, white and green parts chopped
  • 1 cup white grapes, cut in half
  • 1 cup whole roasted, salted cashews

Place mayonnaise, vinegar, apricot preserves and curry powder in a small bowl.  Whisk together.

Place chicken, celery, scallions and grapes in a bowl.  Add mayonnaise dressing and stir until the chicken salad was well mixed.  Place salad in the fridge until ready to serve.  Mix in cashews right before serving.

 

Here is a quick round up of other blogs who have been taking the Brown-Bag Challenge.  I hope you find your lunch inspiration!

Chez Us: Lentil Salad

Essentials of Nutrition: Brown-Bag Challenge, Break Room Not Required

This Imperfect Plot: Week 4 (and a BBC side effect: weight loss)

Confessions of a Curious Cuisiniere: What Does Your Sandwich Say About You?

I Brown Bag: Brown-Bag Challenge, Day-by-Day

The FN Dish: Using Leftovers to Create a Brown-Bag Lunch

Carmen Fitness: Brown-Bag Challenge, Going Strong

Family Fresh Cooking: Top Ten Best Lunch-Packing Tips

Canadian Mother Musings: Caught NOT Brown-Bagging It

BoysNBerry: Sandwiches . . . and a Not-so-Great Frozen Burrito

Feeding Philosophers: Lovely Legumes

Healthy Plates: Vegetable Beef Soup

Healthy Kitschy Vegan: Peace

Ali Girl Cooks: Brown-Bag Shake-Up

All Things Splendid: Ch-Ch-Ch-Chili

City Life Eats: Day 16 and a Recap of This Week’s Lunches

Grecian Kitchen: Brown-Bag Challenge

Cooking Channel: Monkeying Around Lunch Box

Reve Noir: Brown-Bag Challenge Day 9, Repeat Again

The Garden Ephemerist: Brown Bagged

Adventures in Every Day: Brown-Bag Recap

Eating Omily: My Lunch Story

Nutritious Daily: Easy, Peasy Pasta

The Undercover Cook: Buffalo Chicken-Stuffed Baked Potatoes

Chick Bike: Brown-Bag Challenge Days 15 & 16

Glory Foods: Hot or Cold Lunch, That is the Question

Saving Kathy: My Brown-Bag Challenge, Harder Than I Thought

Brown Girl, Brown Bag: Day 10, Nuptials and Curry Chicken

 

Incoming search terms:

  • barefoot contessa chicken salad with cashews
  • gourmet brown bag lunch recipes
  • everyday brown bag lunch blog
  • apricot cashew chicken salad mayonnaise
  • curry chicken salad cashews
  • curry chicken salad with cashews and apples
  • gourmet brown bag lunch recipe
  • grilled cheese brown bag
  • grilled cheese brown bag lunch
  • curried chicken salad with cashews--cooks illustrated
Posted in brown bag lunch, brunch, chicken, salad | Tagged | 1 Comment

Sweet and Spicy Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

Posted on September 29, 2011 by

I know I say food is delicious all the time so I really need to come up with a new superlative of deliciousness to describe this latest dish.  I think I am going with “oh-my-head-totally-fabulous” Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes!  I am not exaggerating people, this is one tasty starch dish!

The original recipe is by Bobby Flay and posted online by our friends over at the Food Network. His version was totally luscious, but was edging over the borderline from side dish to full blown dessert in its decadence.   I took the butter and cream down a notch and it was still fantastic.

When I made the recipe and re-stuffed the potato skins I had a little bit of the potato mixture left over.   I put the extra into a little individual serving dish and cooked it right along side the stuffed potatoes.  The individual portion in the dish cooked much faster and turned out great.  Next time, I think I am going to skip stuffing the potato skins and go straight for 4 individual baking dishes, because it is just easier and I have a tendency for ripping the bottom of the potato skins as I scoop out the potato meat.

One other thing to really love about this dish is it reheats so beautifully.  You can easily make twice baked sweet potatoes ahead on Sunday and serve it later in the week or even take with you for a brown-bag lunch.  I hope you give this recipe a try and let me know what you think.

Sweet and Spicy Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

Prep time: 15 minutes  - Cook time: 1 hour 15 minutes  - Make: 4 potatoes

  • 4 large sweet potatoes, scrubbed
  • 1  cups heavy cream
  • 1 chipotle peppers in adobo, pureed or minced
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/4 cup sour cream (or creme fraiche)
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup, plus 2 tablespoons for garnish
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper
  • Nonstick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 375° F.

Prick potato skins with a fork several times then place them on a baking sheet.  Bake in the oven until soft (approximately 45 to 50 minutes).

Remove the potatoes from the oven and let rest 5 minutes. Slice potatoes in half lengthwise and carefully scoop out the meat (being careful not to damage the skin) and place it in a bowl.  Use a potato masher to smash the potatoes.

Bring the heavy cream and chipotle puree to a simmer over low heat in a small saucepan.  Simmer for 1 minutes and remover from heat.

Pour chipotle cream mixture into the bowl with the potato meat.   Add the butter, sour cream (or creme fraiche) and 1/2 cup of the maple syrup into the sweet potato mixture and stir until combined. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Spray the baking dish with cooking spray. Fill each of the skins with the cream mixture, place back on the baking sheet.  Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove the potatoes from the oven, place on a platter and drizzle the tops of each with the remaining maple syrup.

Serve and enjoy!

Other Recipes You Might Enjoy!

 

Incoming search terms:

  • spicy twice baked sweet potatoes
  • twice baked spicy sweet potatoes
  • sweet and spicy twice baked sweet potatoes
  • how to make twice baked sweet potatoes
  • spicy twice baked potatoes
  • individual baking dish
  • spicey twice baked sweet potatoes
  • spicy twice baked sweet potato
  • sweet potatoes spicy twice baked
  • sweet potatos with meat and creme fresh
Posted in potato, side dishes | Leave a comment

Oven-Fried Sesame Pecan Chicken Strips

Posted on September 28, 2011 by

Yesterday I read a great Op-Ed article from New York Times columnist Mark Bittman entitled, “Is Junk Food Really Cheaper?”.  His position (similar to mine) is that fast food is not really cheaper than healthy homemade food.   I say it is time to break the fast food cycle and bring real home-cooked family dinners back into style!  There are so many delicious, easy and affordable dinners you can make at home.

Last night I made Sesame Pecan Chicken Strips, a recipe I slightly tweaked from the original recipe from the Food Network Magazine.  The original recipe was pan-fried.  I wanted to “healthy it up a bit” by changing the recipe to an oven “fried” version.  It takes a little longer to bake something in the oven, but your hands-on time for the recipe is less.  You can walk away and do other things while your chicken is cooking in the oven.

I used bone-in chicken breasts (because they were on sale) to make this recipe and cut the breast meat off the bone myself.  The next most expensive ingredients after chicken is the pecans.  I buy them in bulk from a warehouse club store for less than a quarter of the cost of grocery store pecans.  You could leave them out though if cost was a concern.  I served my Sesame Pecan Chicken Strips with steamed veggies and brown rice plus some milk to drink.  Total cost for my homemade meal for 4 was roughly $19 versus the $23-$28 Mark sited for a typical fast food dinner for a family of 4.  (This could have been a $5 challenge meal!) Suddenly the value menu doesn’t seem like such a value does it?

What do you think – is fast food really cheaper than healthy homemade food?

Oven-Fried Sesame Pecan Chicken Strips

Prep time: 12 minutes  - Cook time: 25-30 minutes  - Makes: 4 servings

Chicken Strips Ingredients:

  • 1 1/4 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, strips
  • 3 egg whites
  • 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
  • 1/4 cup sesame seeds
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 1/4 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch-wide strips
  • nonstick cooking spray
  •  salt
Dipping Sauce Ingredients:
  • 3 Tablespoons dijon mustard
  • 1/2 cup apricot preserves
  • 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
Preheat oven to 350º F.  Line a baking sheet with a sheet of tin foil.  Spray generously with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

Mix the breadcrumbs, pecans, sesame seeds, paprika and 1 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl.  In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites in a large bowl until frothy.

Dip the chicken strips in the egg whites, shake off excess and then roll in the breadcrumb mixture.  Press the crumb into the strips to help it adhere. Place each coated strip onto the prepared baking sheet.  Chicken strips should not touch.  spray strips generously with non-stick cooking spray.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until fully cooked.

When chicken is almost done, place the sauce ingredients ( dijon mustards, apricot preserves, thyme) in a small bowl and whisk together.  Season with a dash of salt if desired.

Serve fully cooked chicken strips with the apricot-mustard sauce and enjoy!

 

 

Incoming search terms:

  • sesame pecan chicken strips
  • oven baked sesame chicken strips
  • chicken strips recipe fried
  • oven fried chicken strips
  • ready to cook food-chicken
  • fried chicken strips recipe
  • pan fry chicken strips recipe
  • sesame chiken stiprs recipe
  • sesame seed chicken strips
  • oven fried chicken
Posted in appetizers, chicken, oven fried | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment