"Veg" Chicken Salad

I have always loved chicken salad. My dad used to make it with leftover grilled chicken breasts and mix it with a variety of things from grapes, wild rice, almonds, onions, you name it, he tried it.  My grandmother was more of a traditionalist and made hers with onions, celery, macaroni and curry powder.  The tough thing about prepared (i.e. store bought) chicken salad is that it tends to be heavy on the mayonnaise, and the chicken is of questionable quality (and origin)... and it's chicken, which doesn't get eaten at our house.

My version of chicken salad is vegetarian (but not vegan), healthy, light and delicious!  The ingredients can be substituted to include any fresh, crunchy vegetables you have on hand.

For the chicken, I use a whole bag of Quorn Chik'n Tenders. I put them on a big plate and microwave them until they're thawed, but not hot. They don't need to be hot because you're making a salad that's best served chilled.  If you're using regular chicken, I think that using 2 cups of chopped, white meat chicken would be best.

For the vegetables, pick a variety of them.  In the version I made for lunch today, I used a small zucchini, a large head of broccoli, a handful of sugar snap peas, celery, and three large scallions.  I've also used different colors of peppers, cucumbers, green beans, peas, carrots, kale, white onions, summer squash, and probably others I can't think of. I've also added in chick peas (garbanzo beans), which were hardly noticed, but add even more protein and fiber.

To prep your vegetables, chop them all up into small dice. They should be about the same size as your chunks of chicken.  I tend to have twice the amount of vegetables as chicken, because I love vegetables.  A quick note regarding onions... it doesn't matter what the ratio of your vegetables used are, except onions. Keep your onions to no more than 10% of your recipe, or you will have no friends. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Unless they've eaten the chicken salad with you. :)

After you've chopped all of your vegetables, toss them in a BIG bowl. The biggest you have - otherwise you'll just spill it when you try to mix it. Then, assuming you have a good 4-5 cups of vegetables and chicken, add about 1/2 cup of mayonnaise and 1-2 heaping tablespoons of curry powder.  (I use an egg-free, vegan mayo, simply because it's lower in fat and calories, and that's what I like.) Using a wooden spoon, stir it very, very well.  You may have to add in more mayonnaise, or more curry, depending on your taste. Then, refrigerate until you're ready to eat it.  As it sits, the flavors meld together and the little bit of liquid will lightly soften your vegetables and make the salad creamier.

This stuff is terrific. Stuff it in a pita, serve it over salad greens, or just eat it out of a bowl. We had it over some spicy greens from the garden, and it was a fantastic, filling, summery lunch!

Sneaking it in

Do you ever walk past the section of vegetables that look more like broad-leaf weeds than anything you want in your kitchen? I'm talking chard, kale, mustard greens, collards, etc. These greens are a bit daunting to many new cooks. They are often unfamiliar, but deserve a shot!

I'll be honest, I'm not a huge greens-cook, but I try to sneak them in here and there... for example:

Chard: whether it's green chard or rainbow, it makes a great replacement for spinach (though spinach is nutritionally superior, sometimes it's nice to change it up).   We've sliced chard into thin ribbons and baked it on pizza with feta, tomatoes and capers for a Greek-style pizza. (Most people would add olives, but I'm just not a fan!)

Kale: kale is a superfood - meaning that it's incredibly nutritionally dense. Many food rating scales, like ANDI and NuVal rate kale as the highest on their respective scales.  I add kale into my homemade pasta sauce, see below...

Collards, mustard and turnip greens: these types of greens are also nutritional superfoods. They are much more common in southern cooking, where collards are often cooked with a hambone.  Honestly, I typically only buy them when I have a specific recipe in mind.  I've used collard greens in vegetable and bean soups quite often.

Now, my secret method of sneaking kale into my husband's unsuspecting body... well, actually the thrill of victory is gone because he now knows that I add it in, and likes it! :)

My simple sauce:
2 T olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 10 oz. package cremini (or white) mushrooms, sliced
2 - 15 oz. cans diced tomatoes
1 - small can tomato paste
2 T Italian seasoning (just the dried herb mix)
1-2 T garlic powder
1 bunch kale chopped
1/4 c. red wine, whatever is open (optional)

 First, soften the onions over low heat in olive oil in a large saucepan.  After 10 minutes, add in the sliced mushrooms, stir and cook 5 more minutes.  Then, add in the rest of the ingredients and stir well. Simmer the sauce on medium-low for 20-30 minutes.

Then... the magic touch.  Using an immersion blender, blend the entire pot of sauce to a thick, but smooth consistency.  Your beloved (spouse and/or children) will see the tiny flecks of green as delicious spices. They'll love it - and you'll love knowing that they're getting some fantastic nutrition!!

Spicy Shrimp & Quinoa

It has been a whole since I last posted, but I've been CRAZY busy!! Now that things have slowed down substantially, here's a spicy, awesome dish to make your nose run!

Serves 2 with enough left over to pack for lunch the next day!

Quinoa: prepare quinoa in your favorite way. My simple preparation is 2 cups vegetable (or "No-Chicken) broth to one cup quinoa.

Ingredients:
1 cup onion, chopped
1 cup broccoli, chopped (trees only)
2 roma tomatoes, squeezed and diced
1 can black beans, rinsed
1/2 cup broth
2 tbsp. Cajun Seasoning
12 large shrimp, thawed, tails removed
1-2 tbsp. olive oil (depending on whether or not your pan is non-stick or not)
Hot sauce, to taste

Add oil to your pan and saute broccoli and onions until they start to soften. Then, add black beans and tomatoes and warm them through. I also added about 1/2 cup of broth to the pan, to give the veggies some liquid to simmer in.

In a small bowl, toss 1 tbsp seasoning with shrimp to make sure they're well coated. Then, add shrimp to the vegetable mixture. Add the rest of the seasoning and cook the shrimp through. Some people like their shrimp a little more on the "done" side, some a little more on the raw side. 

Put quinoa on your plate, and spoon shrimp mixture on top. Top with a few squirts of hot sauce - my favorite is Frank's Red Hot!