Recipe: Chicken & Black Bean Salad

What is it about the winter season that makes me feel as if I've been overeating for six months straight? No matter what I do, I just feel... blah. So I opted to make big, yummy salads for dinner the other day when I was in search of something not-so-heavy and likely to induce a coma.

I love this recipe for Chicken & Black Bean Salad, which is almost identical to the one found in a Taste of Home Chicken Cookbook.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1-1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 can (15 ounces) black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups frozen corn
1 medium red pepper, chopped
1/2 cup green onions, sliced
2 cups chicken, cooked and diced

2-3 heads of romaine, washed and chopped

Directions:

Combine the oil, lime juice, cilantro, sugar, garlic, chili powder, salt and pepper to make a dressing. Mix beans, corn, red pepper, green onions and chicken together in a bowl and then coat with the oil mixture. Serve over lettuce.

Couldn't be much simpler... and it's so tasty!

A couple of thoughts:

My measurements aren't very exact when I make this. We really love cilantro, so I add more than is called for. Same with the garlic.

You can make the topping ahead and stash it in the fridge, putting it over your lettuce when you're ready to eat.

I like to use rotisserie chicken because it's easy and fast. Or, when we're grilling chicken, I make sure there will be leftovers to use for a big batch of salad.

...and? We decided the other day that it might make a tasty chip dip (sans chicken), or a yummy topping for grilled chicken in the summer.

Another look at World Baby Foods

Good news! We've found an agreeable variety from World Baby Foods. It's called Sweetie Tahiti, and is made up of bananas, rice, pears and coconut.

Unfortunately for mommy (and the carpet), Camden much prefers Sweetie Tahiti when he's allowed to take charge of the spoon.

But that's ok... because I'll just have the maid clean it up!

Oh. Wait. We don't have one of those. Darnit.

Did you notice the Baby Dipper Bowl in action? It really is a useful little bowl.

Summer time... and Dinner

As recent photos indicate, summer is upon us here in the North West. I love summer. Although I'm sort of a pansy about the heat, I love flip flops and tank tops, getting a tan, and yummy summer fruits and veggies.

...but the heat leaves me stumped at dinner time. My appetite changes. I don't want as much food, and I certainly don't want to eat the 'heavier' dishes that come to mind when I think of cooking.

When it's really hot, I'd rather eat a bowl of watermelon.

So that's where you come in!

What are you favorite hot-weather meals? Do you grill? Make cold sandwiches and salads? ...is there some sort of summer dinner underground that I don't know about?

Help! Please? Ryan's stomach depends on y.o.u.! (Just kidding. I'd probably feed him even if no one responded...) So leave me a link, a recipe, and idea... whatever!

Quick! Hurry! Go! NOW!!

Anyone want a free grilled chicken meal from KFC??

All you have to do is visit this page and print a coupon. Even cooler?? You can re-click and print up to FOUR coupons with different codes... so the whole family can go out for dinner!

Happy Day! Free chick'n!

Jambalaya

On his way home from work today, Ryan called. I could tell he was squirming in the driver's seat, because he knew what he was going to get for dinner. Simple pleasures, yes??

Here's what we had... give it a try!!



Ingredients:

8 oz. chicken (I just used two breast pieces)
1 16 0z. package frozen peppers (red, green & yellow mix)
1 cup frozen, chopped onion
8 oz. smoked sausage, cut into bite-size pieces (I use andouille)
2 cups water
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes with green chiles, undrained
1 8 oz. package jambalaya mix (I use Zatarain's)

Directions:

Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Put pepper strips and onion in the bottom of the slow cooker. Top with chicken and sausage. Add water, undrained tomatoes and the seasoning packet from your rice mix, if present. (Zatarain's is an all-in-one mix, so my seasonings went in at the end, it works either way.)

Cook on low heat for about six hours, or on high for about three hours. (I cooked ours on high for the first time today, and I've got to say, the flavor is slightly better when it cooks all day long on low.)

Turn your slow cooker to high and stir in the rice mix. Put the lid back on and let it cook for an additional 45 minutes, or until most of the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender.

Meal Planning...

I've decided to put a little, um, twist? ...on my meal planning for Tuesday through Saturday (Ryan's work week). I'm going to make every dinner in the slow cooker. I've used my new crock more and more in the last couple of weeks, and it's been *so* nice to have everything done ahead of time. Between getting Camden to bed early and Ryan getting home late, timing isn't so crucial when dinner has been cooking all day.

So here we go... my first meal plan. (and by first, I mean the first time I'm going to attempt putting a time and a place on each meal, instead of just haphazardly buying ingredients for a few meals I might have time to throw together...)

Tuesday: Jambalaya (This is a recipe from my slow cooker book. I'll post it tomorrow, hopefully with photos.) UPDATE: recipe posted!

Wednesday: Lemon and Herb Roasted Chicken, veggies from the freezer, fresh potato bread from the bread machine.

Thursday: Pulled Pork (a big chunk of pork and a can of soda... seriously, that's all. a trained monkey could make this.) sandwiches, salad.

Friday: Brown Sugar Chicken, rice and salad.

Saturday: Corned beef (wait until Ryan reads this! He'll be elated. overjoyed. thrilled. pleased as punch.) with potatoes, carrots and cabbage.

Oh--and speaking Ryan. He's also going to be thrilled at the presentation of his menu for the week. We play this little game, you see, (ok, I play a game. he's an unwilling participant.) where I cook dinner and he doesn't get to find out what it us until he gets home. Every night, when he calls to say he's coming home, he asks what is for dinner. I never tell him. So, given that it's all written here for the world to see, he's going to KNOW what he's having for dinner. I wonder how he'll feel about this??

Is it really so strange?

I made dinner last night. Casserole, no big deal, right? Nothing funny about a good 'ole American casserole! (I swear we-Americans, I mean-must be the only people in the world who eat casseroles...) Put everything in the pan, topped it with cheese and bake, bake, bake!

Hubbs was a bit late coming home, so instead of it still being in the oven when he walked through the door, it was sitting on top of the stove waiting for us to dig in.

I got up as he walked in, having already spied my casserole from across the room. He chuckled to himself, grabbed me for a hug and said, "you know what I love about you?"

"hmm?" I questioned...

"you take the time to do that." ...and he pointed a finger in the direction of my casserole.



Apparently it's not routine, and is, in fact, a bit odd, for one to arrange tater tots into tidy little rows before baking a tater-tot casserole? Tell me, then, how else would you do it?!




P.S., LOVING all of your hospital help! Thanks everyone, and keep the ideas coming!!!