Category Archives: salad

bbq chicken orzo salad

Posted on January 18, 2012 | 3 Comments

Hey y’all!

I’m back in Austin after a month on the East Coast, where I visited with family for the holidays and stayed with Rahul in DC for 2 weeks. It was so nice to relax and especially to be with Rahul for so long, but I had to return to Texas eventually. And now we’re in the home stretch of my Master’s degree and it will be May sooner than I know!

While hanging out in DC, I cooked for Rahul but nothing blogworthy. In fact, I made this, this, and this recipe because they’re easy and make for lots of leftovers! I know them by heart. And so should you.

However, now that I am back in my own kitchen and a need to have food on hand to pack lunches, I got to cooking a bit yesterday and made a really simple pasta salad. Have I ever told you how much I love pasta salad? I really, really love pasta salad. And this one is simple, healthy, and contains one of my favorite condiments: barbecue sauce.

Note: this dinner seemed a little beige so I added some broccoli on the side at the last minute. Next time, I’d probably add it to the actual pasta salad, but that is your judgement call.

BBQ Chicken & Orzo Salad (serves 4-5)
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup barbecue sauce (of choice), divided
1/2 cup orzo, uncooked
1 1/2 cup corn
1/3 cup plain, non-fat yogurt
1 tsp garlic powder
salt & pepper to taste
In a bowl, marinate chicken breasts in 3 T of barbecue sauce for 20-30 minutes. Bake chicken at 375* for 30 minutes or until fully cooked. Using two forks, shred the chicken breasts and set aside in a mixing bowl to cool. Boil and drain the orzo, adding it to the bowl with the shredded chicken. Drain the corn (if using canned corn) and add to mixing bowl. In a small bowl, combine 1 T barbecue sauce with yogurt and garlic powder. If you use Greek yogurt, your mixture will be too thick so you may want to thin it out with a touch of water. Pour the yogurt mixture over the chicken, orzo, and corn and mix thoroughly. Add salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate at least 2-3 hours and serve chilled.

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Posted in cooking, dinner, food I love, poultry, recipe, salad

a barbecue staple

Posted on May 31, 2011 | 2 Comments

Now, where I’m from a “barbecue” doesn’t necessarily mean the meat. A barbecue, as I was raised to call it, is what some of y’all folks call a “cookout“.

Whatever you call it, there are some staple foods that appear at the typical barbecue, including my grandma’s deviled eggs and some form of potato salad. Potato salad happens to be one of my very favorite foods to eat at a barbecue or in any other circumstance. And I especially like the kinds that aren’t totally doused in a creamy mayonnaise sauce. A little mayo goes a long way.

One of the best potato salads I’ve ever eaten was made by my Aunt Josette and I remember it well because it was the very first time I ever ate fennel. Because of all the summer barbecues being talked about in the universe, I started to reminisce about this delicious fennel and potato salad and I ventured to create my own version.

If you are a fennel virgin, let me enlighten you about this delicious plant vegetable thing. (What exactly is fennel?)

Fennel tastes like licorice in a crunchy, fresh way. Still following me? You’re going to have to trust me. To some, it tastes really strong on its own so putting it in something like potato salad is a great way to experience the flavor but not overwhelm your palate (big word for “taste buds”). When you cut the fronds off the bulb, cut the bulb in half and remove the “core”, then chop/dice roughly like you would an onion. Do your best. Also, save the fronds because you can cut up the herby part and use it for seasoning.

The crunch of the fennel is so perfect with the softness of the potato and since the dressing is light you can taste everything without feeling overwhelmed by mayonnaise. Make this for your next barbecue. Or with my Black Olive & Goat Cheese Turkey Burgers as we did!

Potato and Fennel Salad (serves 4)
2 lbs small red potatoes, washed
1 bulb fennel, fronds removed
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 T dijon mustard
1 T olive oil
juice of 1 small lemon (or 1/2 medium lemon)
rosemary, chopped
fennel greens, chopped
salt & pepper
Bring the potatoes to a boil over high heat, then reduce to simmer for 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes and place a dish towel over them, allowing them to steam for another 15 minutes. Set aside to cool. Once cool, slice each potato into fourths and set aside. Remove the fronds from the fennel bulb but don’t discard. Slice the fennel bulb in half and remove the core. Continue to slice the bulb into small pieces and set them aside. In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Chop fresh rosemary and the greens from the fennel fronds. In a large bowl, combine potatoes, fennel, herbs, and the mayonnaise mixture, folding gently so as not to mash up the potato pieces. Allow to chill for at least an hour and serve cold.

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Posted in cooking, dinner, food I love, recipe, salad, something new, vegetable

old school

Posted on April 19, 2011 | 8 Comments

Today we’re going old school and making a dish from my youth. I was just hired as a swim coach & swim lesson instructor for the summer and it is making me nostalgic for the old days of swim team and swim meets. I started swimming on swim teams at age 5 and continued for the next 11 years. I still swim recreationally and it is a big part of my life.

Well back in the day, we had a standard pasta salad at swim meets. Our moms would make up big batches to sell at the concession stand and pack in our cooler to eat all weekend. I began thinking of this pasta as “swim team pasta” and this week I was having major cravings for said pasta.

It is a super easy, tasty, pasta salad that is best served cold. Feel free to add or subtract any ingredients you don’t like! Traditionally this was made with rotini (cork screw) pasta, but I was feeling the farfalle (bow tie) variety. Just pick your favorite Italian dressing and go buck wild.

This is especially good to have on hand during the hot summertime when no one wants to do a lot of cooking!

Swim Team Pasta Salad (serves 4-6)
10 oz (dried) farfalle or rotini pasta
1 medium cucumber, peeled and chopped
1 pint grape tomatoes
2/3 cups sliced black olives, drained
1 cup pepperoni (I used turkey), sliced in half
1/3-1/2 cup Italian dressing, divided
2 T grated parmesan cheese
Cook and drain pasta, then set aside to cool. Peel and slice the cucumber, then slice the pepperoni. In a large bowl, combine the sliced pepperoni, the cucumber chunks, the grape tomatoes, and the drained black olives. Mix in the drained pasta. Mix in about 1/4- 1/3 cup of the Italian dressing, combining well. Taste for seasoning and desired amount of sauce, and add in the remaining dressing to your taste. Finally, sprinkle with the parmesan cheese and mix. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Serve chilled.

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Posted in cooking, epic win, family, food I love, recipe, salad, things that make me happy, vegetable

this will make me eat salads

Posted on March 21, 2011 | 6 Comments

Chances are if you’ve ever met me in person and eaten with me, you’ll know a few things about my eating habits. You may know that I only like salads and sandwiches when other people make them for me. Weird, right? I know, I know. But I seriously can’t get myself to like them when I make them at home. There’s something so much better about a salad made by a restaurant or a sandwich packed for me by a family member.

However, I have discovered the magic antidote to this problem and it comes in the surprising form of red onions, a food I have enthusiastically avoided for all of my life. Not only do all onions make me cry, but the red ones are extra pungent and I hate the taste.

But upon moving to Austin and discovering my favorite place to eat, loiter, and make eyes at cute boys (Austin Java) I also discovered their pickled red onions which come standard on the house salad.

These are divine. Delicious. I cannot get enough of them. Perhaps it is because I like pickles a lot and love that vinegary, almost sweet taste of a pickled anything? All I know is that I usually steal them from my dining companion or annoyingly ask the waiters for extras to put on sandwiches and more on my salad. You know, just in case someone needs to smell my breath later.

Back at my apartment, I have endeavored to make them for myself and test whether or not I could stomach a homemade salad or even a sandwich. I am happy to report that both the sandwich above and an unpictured salad were quite delicious and I think I’ve found a cure to my aversion!

Spicy Pickled Red Onions (makes a heaping cup)
1 large red onion, peeled and sliced thinly
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
3 T sugar
1 bay leaf
1 pinch red pepper flakes (more or less depending on your preference!)
1 tsp salt
1 T whole black pepper corns
Peel and slice the onion as thinly as you can without your eyes bursting into tears (hint: light a candle near your cutting board!). In a sauce pan, mix the remaining ingredients together and bring them to a boil. Place the onion slices in the boiling mixture and immediately turn the heat down to low, allowing to simmer for a minute or 2. Remove from heat and let sit in liquid, cooling completely (about 30 minutes). When cooled, transfer liquid & onions into an airtight container and store in the refrigerator.

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Posted in cooking, epic win, food I love, salad, vegetable

can Ramen noodles be fancy?

Posted on March 1, 2011 | 10 Comments

Yes, America. Those $0.15 noodles can indeed be turned into something fancy with the help of just a few other ingredients.

I’ve been eating this salad for years now and I love it. It is crispy, tangy, colorful, and quite delicious. It takes a few seconds to throw together and can be eaten immediately or kept in the fridge and nibbled at over a few days. And you don’t even have to boil the noodles!

I love to pack this in lunches or take to potlucks. I bet it would be divine as a side dish to some Asian-glazed salmon or spare ribs….

Oh Lord, now I’m drooling. And going to the grocery store.

Oriental Noodle Salad (serves 6-8)
1 (12 oz) bag rainbow slaw (mix of cabbage, carrot, and broccoli slaw)
1 package Ramen noodles, pork flavored (or vegetarian!)
2/3 cup roasted unsalted pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
Remove the flavor packet from the Ramen noodle package and set aside. Crunch dry noodles up into small pieces. In a large mixing bowl, combine the crushed, dried Ramen noodles with the slaw and pumpkin seeds. In a measuring cup, combine olive oil, vinegar, and the flavor packet from the Ramen noodles. Stir well. Pour about half of the oil and vinegar mixture over the slaw mixture and stir. Add the rest of the dressing to taste (you don’t want it too soggy — I used about 3/4 of the dressing). Toss well and serve.

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Posted in appetizer, food I love, lunch, recipe, salad, tips & tricks, vegetable