Knead to Cook

Food & fitness obsessed girl.

Fresh grilled chicken with oranges, avocados over a bed of Napa cabbage with a peanut sesame lime dressing.

by Filed Under: Chicken, Salads Leave a Comment

Light & refreshing is exactly what we all needed tonight.  Kids just got home from a killer swim practice and I needed something easy (busy day) and something light that wouldn’t weigh me down.  This was perfect 🙂

Ingredients for the salad:

1 head of Napa cabbage, shredded finely
4-5 chicken breasts (enough to serve your family)
4 oranges, peeled and sliced
1 jalapeño, diced with seeds removed
1/4 of a red onion, finely chopped
1/4 c of cilantro leaves, washed and rough chopped
2 tbl fresh lime juice
2 avocados, pitted and diced
1 tbl of sesame seeds (garnish)

Directions for the salad:

In a large bowl mix the Napa cabbage, oranges, jalapeño, red onion, and cilantro.  Set aside.  In a small separate bowl, add the avocado and lime juice.  Toss to coat and set aside.

Grill up your chicken  and then let rest for a few minutes.  Then chop into bite sized pieces.  Add to the salad.

Ingredients for dressing:

1.5 tbl of peanut butter
3 tbl of fresh lime juice
1 tbl seasoned rice vinegar
1.5 tbl of low sodium soy sauce
1.5 tbl light brown sugar
2/3 c of canola oil
1 tbl sesame oil
1/8 tsp of salt

Directions:

Put all of the ingredients into a tupperware container or container with a lid.  Shake to combine and then add to the salad.  Toss well.

Finally, add the avocado/lime juice to the salad.  Toss one final time and then garnish with some toasted sesame seeds.

Enjoy!

 

— Knead to Cook

Quinoa veggie aduki bean salad with cilantro lime vinaigrette.

by Filed Under: Salads, Side dish, Vegetarian Leave a Comment

Okay that title is a mouthful!  My quinoa salad is my own creation but the cilantro lime vinaigrette is from my dear foodie friend, Lauren Kelly, Certified Nutritionist.  I’ll post the recipe here and along with providing you with her link to her blog.

http://laurenkellynutrition.com/2012/02/20/quinoa-avocado-tomato-corn-and-black-bean-salad-with-cilantro-lime-vinaigrette-its-meatless-monday/

So our Meatless Monday dinner consisted of yummy spicy black bean burgers that hubby purchased from Costco.  I’ve been meaning to get to them and I’ve decided that I’m cleaning out my freezers this week and using up what is stored in them.  We grilled the burgers and they were delightful.  Easy and quite filling.

The quinoa salad I prepared earlier in the afternoon and let refrigerate this afternoon.  Pulled it out and served it at room temperature.  Easy peasy!

2 c of quinoa, cook according to package directions
1 handful of green beans, trimmed
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 c of Aduki beans, drained and rinsed (you can use black beans as well)
5 new potatoes, cooked whole, drained and cut in half

First, I cook the new potatoes in salted water until fork tender.  Drain and let cool. Cut in quarters and add to the serving bowl.

Second, I boil about 4 cups of water and add the green beans.  Cook for 3 minutes, remove and then submerge in a bowl of ice water to blanch.  This will keep them nice and crispy and bright green for the salad.  Add them to the salad bowl.

Third,  add the peppers and quinoa to the bowl with the potatoes and beans.  Give a good stir.  Set aside.

To make the dressing:

1 clove garlic
1/4 c grape seed oil (I used olive oil)
3/4 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
1/4 c fresh lime juice
Zest of one lime
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
Salt to taste
1/4 c fresh packed cilantro leaves

I added all of the ingredients to my immersion hand blender container (like a big plastic cup) and blended until creamy.  Poured over my quinoa salad and gave it a good stir.  Refrigerated for 2 hours.  I then let it come up to room temperature for about an hour prior to serving.

Sooooo yummy!

— Knead to Cook

Asian Sesame Chicken Salad.

by Filed Under: Chicken, Salads Leave a Comment

Fusion at it’s finest.  This salad is so easy to make and I used leftover chicken from my roaster that I made on Sunday.  This can easily be made vegetarian as well by omitting the chicken.  I hope you enjoy this one 🙂

Ingredients:
1 head of Napa cabbage
1/2 head of red cabbage
1/2 tsp of sugar
2 c of shredded chicken
1 c of cilantro leaves
1 can of mandarin oranges, drained
1/4 c of slivered almonds, toasted
2 tbl of sesame seeds
Salt and pepper to taste
Asian noodles to garnish (optional)

Directions:

Slice the cabbages in half and core.  Slice into thin strips.  Add to your salad bowl.  Toss with sugar.  Add the shredded chicken, cilantro, mandarin oranges, almonds, sesame seeds, salt and pepper and noodles, if you are using them.

Vinaigrette:

1 tbsp of dijon mustard
1/2 tsp of low sodium soy sauce
2 tbsp of rice wine vinegar
1/2 tbsp of sesame oil
1/4 c of canola oil or peanut oil
1 tsp of sugar

Combine them all in a jar with a lid or tupperware container and shake until blended.  Top the salad and enjoy.

 

 

— Knead to Cook

My big salad with chili lime rubbed chicken.

by Filed Under: Salads 2 Comments

I adore farmer’s markets!  All of the veggies make me crave making my “big” salad and feeling like Elaine from Seinfeld.  The options are endless and the health benefits are just as impressive!  The downfall to any salad, is the dressing.  Remember to be mindful of what type you use and how much.  I prefer a splash of fresh lime or lemon juice without all the guilt.

Okay the salad is pretty much up to you.  Use what you love and what you have on hand.  Today I used:

2 heads of Romaine
1 cucumber, peeled and chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/3 c of alfalfa sprouts
Garlic stuffed olives
1 head of broccoli, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1/4c of raw pepitas

Optional items:

Dried or fresh fruit (i.e. raisins, cherries, strawberries, pears, apples)
Any nut pretty much works on a salad.
Sesame sticks.
Asian noodles.

I added some chili lime chicken to my salad for protein.  The rub recipe is:

2 tablespoons sweet Hungarian paprika
1 lime, juiced
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 serrano chili, seeded and minced

Combine together in a bowl and set aside.  Add the chicken to the rub and toss to coat.

Heat your sauté pan over a medium flame with some olive oil in the pan.  Once hot, add the coated chicken and cook until no longer pink.  Remove from the heat and slice into bite-sized pieces.  Add to the top of the salad and serve.

 

— Knead to Cook