Spicy Chicken Peanut Noodles with Cucumber Sambal

Okay, I know this probably looks kind of weird. It's not often that you see hot noodles and chicken paired with a cold salad. It probably sounds even weirder than it looks. And I know you're thinking that the ingredient list seems really long. But basically, you're just gonna have to trust me on this one. Have I ever steered you wrong before?

My kids are huge fans of both peanut butter noodles and cucumbers, so when I spotted this recipe I immediately had them in mind. Not surprisingly, they absolutely loved this meal, and so did Joe and I. There's something about the silkiness of the noodles paired with the cool, refreshing salad and crunchy peanuts that is just amazing. All of the ingredients work together in perfect balance. We loved, loved, loved this meal. 

Spicy Chicken Peanut Noodles with Cucumber Sambal
slightly adapted from Tasty Kitchen

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
8 ounces dry spaghetti
1/4 cup dry-roasted peanuts, chopped, for garnish

For the marinade:

1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon sweet red chili sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1/2 teaspoon salt 

For the peanut sauce:

1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons  brown sugar
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons sweet red chili sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated or minced 

For the cucumber sambal:

1 cup cucumber, seeded and diced
1/4 cup scallions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup red bell pepper, diced
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 tablespoon salt

1. Preheat grill to medium-high. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the spaghetti.

2. Combine the marinade ingredients in a bowl. Toss with chicken and grill for 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until cooked through. Remove chicken from grill (or grill pan), and tent with foil while preparing the other ingredients.

3. Prepare the cucumber sambal by tossing together the sambal ingredients. Set aside till serving.

4. Cook the pasta according to the package; drain and return to the pot. Meanwhile, prepare peanut sauce. Heat broth, peanut butter, brown sugar, vinegar, lime juice, sweet chili sauce, soy sauce, and ginger in a saucepan over medium heat to combine. Bring to a simmer and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Off heat, stir in salt, then pour sauce over pasta and toss to coat.

5. Top each serving of pasta with a chicken breast and cucumber sambal. Garnish with peanuts.

Herbed Cheese Cucumber Medallions

When I hosted my sister-in-law’s baby shower last month, I wanted the food to be simple, special, and, most of all, delicious. As I have a tendency to over-plan for events like this, I made a conscious effort to keep the menu small and uncomplicated, while still providing enough variety for my guests. In the end, I think I more than accomplished this goal; everyone left satisfied, and I didn’t have a ton of leftovers to lug home, either.

These cucumbers were one of the first things I knew for sure I’d be making. They came together in no time, and everyone loved them. The cool, crisp cucumber is the perfect vehicle for the creamy, intensely flavorful filling. I did manage to sneak a few of them home with me, and even my kids loved them. These would be a delicious addition to your Easter table this weekend!

Herbed Cheese Cucumber Medallions
adapted from Annie’s Eats

1 6.5-ounce package garlic and herb spreadable cheese (like Boursin or Alouette)
3 tablespoons heavy cream
Fresh cracked black pepper to taste
2 English cucumbers

1. Add the cheese to a medium bowl. Add heavy cream until it reaches a spreadable consistency. Stir in fresh black pepper to taste. Place in a pastry bag or a plastic bag with the corner snipped out.

2. Slice the cucumbers into half-inch thick slices. Using a teaspoon, hollow out the center of each cucumber to remove seeds, being sure not to go all the way through the cucumber.

3. Pipe some of the filling into each hollowed-out cucumber slice. Arrange on a serving platter and refrigerate until serving. Makes about 36 medallions.

Roast Beef Gyros

I have such a quick, easy, delicious, and relatively healthy recipe to share with you today. If you love gyros, but don’t have the time to marinate chicken, and don’t have the money to buy lamb (*raises hand*), then this is the recipe for you. These gyros, which use deli roast beef, are not at all authentic – but who cares? They’re amazingly good, and they go from skillet to table in the time it takes to pronounce the word “gyro” correctly.

Tzatziki sauce is one of my favorite condiments, for Greek food or anything else. It’s delicious on gyros, but it’s also good on a plain old chicken sandwich or as a dip for pita chips. I’ve made tzatziki sauce a few different ways now, and the one I’ve listed with this recipe is my favorite version. I use a combination of Greek yogurt and sour cream, which is probably also very unauthentic, but I really like the extra tanginess the sour cream provides. I also don’t like a lot of “stuff” in my tzatziki – just cucumber, a clove of pasted garlic, and a splash of vinegar. It can be made way ahead of time, which makes this meal come together even more quickly. Make the sauce the night before, then just throw the roast beef in a skillet five minutes before dinner time.

These were a big hit with my family, and I found that one package of deli roast beef, bought right in the lunchmeat aisle, provided enough for all four of us (although I still wish I would have had more). Greek food tastes so fresh to me, and since I love the flavor profile so much, I’m really happy to have this quick recipe in my arsenal.

Roast Beef Gyros
gyros adapted from Tasty Kitchen; tzatziki sauce is my recipe

For the filling:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 package deli roast beef
3 dashes Worcestershire sauce
2 dashes lemon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste

For the tzatziki sauce:

Half of a seedless cucumber
4 ounces Greek yogurt
4 ounces sour cream
1 dash white wine vinegar
1 clove of garlic, pasted with a little salt
Salt and pepper to taste

For assembly:

Naan or other flatbread
Half of a seedless cucumber, diced
Halved cherry tomatoes
Feta cheese

1. To prepare the tzatziki sauce, shred half of a cucumber. Place in a kitchen towel and squeeze as much moisture out of the cucumber as you can. Add to a bowl with the garlic. Stir in sour cream, Greek yogurt, and vinegar. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste. Chill in refrigerator until ready to serve.

2. Heat olive oil in a skillet and add beef, Worcestershire sauce, lemon pepper, garlic powder, and salt and pepper. Heat the beef through, then cook for a few minutes on low heat.

3. Spray the flatbread with cooking spray and put it under the broiler until it is soft and warmed through. Fill it with a generous amount of roast beef, followed by lots of tzatziki sauce, feta cheese, tomato, and cucumber.

Greek Chicken-Stuffed Pitas

First of all, I have to say that these were actually supposed to be chicken gyros, but I couldn't find pocketless pitas in my grocery store. Therefore, they became Greek chicken-stuffed pitas. Ah, well -- it certainly didn't affect the flavor at all, which was pretty amazing.

I've seen this recipe floating around on a lot of blogs recently, and I was really excited to try these. There's quite a bit of prep work invovled, so this is perfect for a weekend meal. The chicken is tender and flavorful thanks to the marinade, and the tzatziki sauce is completely addictive. I served these with Greek-style potatoes, and I even dolloped some of the tzatziki sauce on those (it was delicious!). Joe, Andrew and I all really liked these, and I will definitely be making them again!

Greek Chicken-Stuffed Pitas
source: slightly adapted from elly says opa!

1.25 pounds chicken pieces

4 cloves garlic, smashed

Juice of 1 lemon

2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 heaping tablespoons plain yogurt

1 tablespoon dried oregano

Salt and pepper

Tzatziki sauce (recipe follows)
Sliced tomatoes

Sliced red onions

4 pitas (pocketless for gyros; sadly, I could only find pita pockets)

1. Whisk together the garlic, lemon juice, vinegar, oil, yogurt, and oregano in a bowl. Add the chicken and rub the marinade in. Cover and refrigerate for about an hour.

2. Preheat a large skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides, and then saute until cooked through.

3. Heat the pitas. Top (or, in my case, stuff) each pita with the chicken, tzatziki, tomatoes, onions.

Tzatziki Sauce
source: adapted from elly says opa!

16 ounces plain yogurt (I used Greek yogurt)

1 cucumber, seeded

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon white wine vinegar

Salt and a little pepper

Squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

1. Strain yogurt using a cheesecloth over a bowl (if you don’t have that, a strainer lined with a coffee filter will work) for several hours or overnight to get out as much moisture as possible. (I used Greek yogurt, which has already been strained, so I skipped this step.)

2. Peel and seed the cucumber. Shred the cucumber and squeeze them in a clean towel to get as much moisture out as possible.

3. Mix together the yogurt, shredded cucumbers, garlic, vinegar and lemon juice. Salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate 30 minutes or more before serving so flavors can meld. Before serving, drizzle a little olive oil over the top.

Cucumber-Orzo Salad

I must say, this was a pretty delicious pasta salad. I love pasta salads with lots of crunchy veggies, so this version definitely had that going for it, and I really liked the tangy-sweet dressing. Joe didn't like this quite as much as I did, but I think it was just a little too "different" for him. He's a pasta salad purist, that one.

I served this as a side dish, so if I were serving it that way again I'd definitely halve the recipe. This made a lot of pasta salad, more than we could eat even as leftovers. It'd be a great dish for a barbecue, though, in which case I'd definitely make the full amount. Feta cheese and/or halved grape tomatoes would make great additions to this salad.

Cucumber-Orzo Salad
Source: Better Homes and Gardens

1 cup dried orzo pasta
1 small cucumber, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup chopped red sweet pepper (I used yellow; it was all I had on hand)

1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar (I used regular balsamic, which tasted fine)
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup snipped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1. Cook orzo according to package directions; drain. Rinse with cold water; drain again.

2. In a large bowl combine orzo, cucumber, sweet pepper, and red onion. In a small bowl whisk together olive oil, vinegar, honey, lemon peel, salt, and black pepper; add to orzo mixture. Stir gently to combine. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours.

3. Just before serving, stir in parsley.

Wonderful Pickles

My son turned one year old on Mother's Day, and on the Saturday before we had a party for him. It was largely a potluck-style type of thing, with our friends and family bringing most of the dishes besides the hamburgers and hot dogs, which turned out to be a good thing because I was suffering from a terrible cold and didn't feel like cooking a whole lot. I did make a couple of things myself, though, like my mom's potato salad, which is always requested, and these wonderful pickles.

My little Hungarian grandma has been making this cucumber salad for years. When I called to ask for the recipe, describing the dish to her so she'd know exactly which one I was talking about (she uses cucumbers in another dish with dill and sour cream), she said, "Oh, you mean wonderful pickles." I had no idea that's what she called this salad, but apparently it's what her mother and her mother's mother always called it, so I feel obliged to call it the same thing. This dish has been in our family for generations, and the recipe may be old, but it's still amazingly good. It's perfect for summer, and it was one of the first things to be finished at Andrew's party!

Wonderful Pickles
Source: my grandma

2 cups sugar
1 cup white vinegar

7 cups thinly-sliced cucumber (peels on)
1 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 large onion, thinly sliced (red or white onion works)
2 tablespoons celery salt
1 1/2 teaspoons table salt

Combine sugar and vinegar in a large bowl, stirring occasionally until sugar has almost completely dissovled. Add salad ingredients and mix well. Cover and refrigerate overnight to allow the flavors to set.