This, right here, is the kind of food I crave. Lots of people crave sweets (and that happens to me occasionally), but I usually crave things that are tangy, sour, and savory. That bowl of food, right there? It’s my idea of perfection.
For weeks, I couldn’t get my mind off of a gigantic Greek salad with all the fixins: cucumber, red onion, feta, a tangy vinaigrette. I finally got around to putting it on our menu, but when I spotted some orzo in the cupboard, I decided to make a pasta salad rather than a traditional lettuce-based one. I basically emptied out the fridge and the pantry with this one, composing the salad with what I had on hand: half a cucumber, a couple of handfuls of feta crumbles, a can of green olives, half a red pepper and half a red onion. I also stirred in some chicken that I marinated and grilled, and topped it all off with a tangy, slightly sweet red wine vinaigrette.
This was so incredibly good, I can’t even begin to explain it. Even the boys ate more than their share. The char on the chicken added such wonderful flavor to the salad. The wonderful thing about orzo is that it plumps up so much when you cook it, so just using a couple of cups yielded enough pasta salad for me to take the leftovers for lunch for the rest of the week. Some baby spinach would be delicious stirred in here too.
Greek Grilled Chicken Orzo Salad
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded thin
Juice of 1 lemon
3/4 cup olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups orzo
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 cucumber, peeled and diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1 1/2 cups pitted green olives, sliced (you could use black or kalamata, but I prefer the flavor and brininess of the green; these are our favorite)
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1. In a large bowl, combine lemon juice, 1/4 cup olive oil, oregano, and salt and pepper. Add chicken and toss to combine. Cover and marinate at least 30 minutes. Grill chicken until cooked through, then dice.
2. Meanwhile, cook orzo according to package directions in boiling salted water; drain in a fine mesh strainer. Rinse with cold water, drain again, and set aside.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together remaining 1/2 cup olive oil, the red wine vinegar, the honey, and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Set aside.
4. To assemble the salad, stir together the orzo, chicken, cucumber, bell pepper, red onion, tomatoes, olives and feta. Pour vinaigrette over salad and toss to combine. Refrigerate until serving.
One year ago: Broccoli, salami, and mozzarella pizza pockets
I don’t know when or why this idea came to me. I think I was randomly thinking about BLTs one day (I randomly think about food a lot, don’t you? …Oh, just me?), and it just hit me that pesto mayonnaise would be delicious on a BLT (since it’s delicious on so many other things). It wasn’t a far stretch to add mozzarella cheese to the equation, and substitute shredded romaine for the traditional iceberg lettuce. And thus, this delicious Italian-style BLT was born.
I love the flavors and textures of this BLT. The pesto adds another layer of flavor to the mayonnaise, and it works so well with the smoky bacon. The mayonnaise is slightly grainy, the cheese is gooey, the tomatoes are juicy, the bacon is crispy and so is the lettuce. It’s so incredibly tasty.
You can use fresh mozzarella for these if you want. It would melt on the sandwiches nicely. But if you’re a budget shopper like me and the fresh stuff is a little pricey for you, the shredded version is fine. You could also use sliced provolone. I used an entire pound of bacon (about 16 slices), which yielded four slices per sandwich. Well, okay: A couple of the sandwiches may have had only three slices, because I couldn’t resist stealing some for myself. I’m the cook; it’s my right.
I just thought of something: You could also serve this on garlic bread. Oh, man, I’m going to try that. I’ll report back if I haven’t died from deliciousness.
Italian BLTs
1 pound cooked bacon
1 romaine heart, shredded
2 Roma tomatoes, sliced
Shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup prepared pesto
8 slices toasted bread
1. Combine mayonnaise and pesto. Spread each slice of bread with pesto mayonnaise.
2. Layer bacon, cheese, tomato, and shredded lettuce on four slices of bread; top with other four slices. Serve immediately.
One year ago: Chicken parmesan cakes
Sites like Tastespotting are solely responsible for making me hungry, even while I’m eating my lunch. I can often be found eating lunch at my desk while I browse the site, and as I’m eating my plain old turkey sandwich, my mouth is watering for a hundred other things. Like these roasted potato tacos. As soon as I saw them, I was smitten.
I love roasted potatoes – I mean, who doesn’t? – and I thought spicing them up with Mexican seasonings and eating them as tacos was absolutely genius. The potatoes have really great texture that works well in the tacos, and the flavor is wonderful. With some rice on the side, this was a satisfying, budget-friendly meatless meal. It was also a great lunch for me the next day, and I didn’t even lust after something else while I was eating it. :)
Roasted Potato Tacos
adapted from Handle the Heat
4 to 5 red potatoes, coarsely chopped
1 bell pepper, coarsely chopped (I used orange)
1 medium sized onion, coarsely chopped
1 jalapeno, finely diced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Flour tortillas
Sour cream
Shredded pepper-jack cheese
Cilantro
1. Preheat oven to 420 degrees. Combine potatoes, bell pepper, onion, jalapeno, salt, cumin, chili powder, oregano, and oil. Toss until potatoes and other vegetables are well coated in oil and spices.
2. Spread the mixture out on a baking sheet and place on the middle rack in the oven. Cook for 30-40 minutes, or until potatoes are tender and browned.
3. Spread the mixture on tortillas and top with sour cream, shredded cheese, and cilantro.
One year ago: Smoky macaroni and cheese. This was a good one. I need to make this again soon.
These sandwiches ended up on our menu during one of the weeks when I just wasn’t inspired to meal plan. Nothing sounded good to me, so I went into the folder of recipes I’d bookmarked and picked this one almost randomly. But these chicken cheesesteaks were so delicious and turned out to be such a hit with my whole family that I was really sorry I’d waited so long to try them!
There’s nothing super fancy or complicated about this recipe. It’s just a basic chicken cheesesteak with onions, mushrooms, and a couple of different kinds of peppers. I think that’s what I love about these sandwiches, really, because simple, uncomplicated, delicious food is my favorite kind. They come together very quickly, and they’re a perfect weeknight meal. Joe has been requesting them a lot lately, so look for them on our meal plan again soon (probably next week!).
Chicken Cheesesteaks
adapted from Everyday Food
1 pound chicken cutlets
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
8 ounces sliced button mushrooms
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
8 slices provolone cheese
4 soft hoagie rolls, split lengthwise
Banana peppers
Mayonnaise
1. Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large skillet. Slice chicken very thinly (it helps if the chicken is still very slightly frozen) and season with salt and pepper. Add to skillet and saute until chicken is cooked through and slightly browned on the outside. Set chicken aside.
2. To the same skillet, add the remaining tablespoon of vegetable oil. Add peppers, onion, and mushrooms and saute until crisp-tender. Add garlic and season with salt and pepper; cook and stir for 30 seconds.
3. Place hoagie rolls in a baking sheet. Top each roll with chicken, vegetables, and two slices of cheese; broil until cheese is bubbling, 30 seconds to 1 minute.
4. Top each sandwich with banana peppers and spread with mayonnaise. Serve immediately.
It’s Labor Day weekend, which in my head always feels like the final weekend of summer. Even though fall doesn’t officially begin until the end of the month, the minute the calendar turns to September, I’m thinking about all things pumpkin-, football-, Halloween- and apple-related. Looking over this week’s menu, it’s clear to me that the meals I’ve planned reflect this shift in my thinking. I hope you’re all enjoying your long weekend, saying goodbye to summer and hello to fall!
(And P.S.: If you're looking for something to take to a family cook-out this weekend, check out this list of my Labor Day favorites for some ideas!)
Monday: Labor Day cook-out, so no cooking for me!
Tuesday: Pork chops with horseradish apples, roasted broccoli. Apples, roasted veggies...yep, I'm definitely getting in the fall state of mind.
Wednesday: Spaghetti tacos. I can't wait to try these!
Thursday: Hot dogs, macaroni and cheese (a stove-top recipe I've made a few times and haven't shared yet, but I will soon, I promise!)
Friday: Chicken pillows, mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli. I've been meaning to make chicken pillows for a while now and just hadn't gotten around to it yet. But one of my readers (hi, Brittany!) recently e-mailed me to tell me how good they were, so I knew I had to put them on the menu as soon as I could!
Saturday: Roasted cauliflower, leek, and garlic soup, grilled cheese sandwiches. Roasted garlic, roasted cauliflower...I can pretty much guarantee you that I'm going to love this soup.
Sunday: Roasted sweet potatoes with black bean chili, Mexican sour cream rice. I've discovered that sweet potatoes and black beans together is one of my favorite savory flavor combinations, and I love the way they're combined in this recipe.
