Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Salad + Weekly Menu

May 5, 2013 by · 6 Comments

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I live vicariously through many of Kristen’s stories. My best friend leads the happening single life in the hustle and bustle of Chicago. The stories, sometimes, are almost too funny to believe.

Last weekend, she was in Nashville for a bachelorette party for one of her old college roommates. She told lots of stories, one of which involved a rather “tipsy” girl who kept stealing her food. Kristen would ration the food out to her so that she was sure to get her own meal. You’d have to hear Kristen tell the story, but it sounded entertaining.

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Last night, Kristen was out on Weed Street in Chicago.

My last night? Walking Lily on the beach, making friends with a furniture sales woman (I plan to visit her boutique!), and her shih tzu named Jack. Then we stopped for soft serve and called it a night. At least it was 72 degrees and absolutely perfect. The sunrise had the potential to be rather romantic, but…Mr. Prevention was not around.

Just me and my bulldog. And my soft serve.

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Even with her fast-paced social life, Kristen is a Pinterest fanatic. The girl has gone from 0 to 60 and it’s all about food on her Pinterest page. Reason #12324 I love her so.

If you recall, both the Mustard-Herb Panko Crusted Chicken Breasts and Salt and Vinegar Kale Mashed Potatoes were Kristen’s finds, as well as the Black Bean Salsa with Corn, Red Peppers, and Lime-Cilantro Vinaigrette (recently approved by Ma Prevention with 2 huge thumbs up). Kristen loved this Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Salad, too…and so she passed it along knowing I am married to Frank’s Wing Sauce’s #1 fan.

I’m shocked to say that Mr.Prevention loved this more than I. It was good, but not AMAZING. I guess, however, that also depends on how much buffalo sauce is enough buffalo sauce. This was saucy and spicy!

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Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Salad slightly adapted from Half Baked Harvest

Salad:
1 cup quinoa
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
2 cups broccoli florets
3/4 cup shredded carrots
3/4 cup shredded cabbage
1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles
4 green onions, chopped

Dressing:
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup Frank’s hot sauce
1/2 tsp seasoned salt

Directions:

In a fine-mesh strainer, rinse quinoa under cold running water for 1-2 minutes. In a medium pot over medium-high heat, combine quinoa and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, cover, and turn heat to low. Cook until all the water is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat, fluff the quinoa with a fork and transfer to a large bowl.

Meanwhile, combine the olive oil, hot sauce, and seasoned salt in a small bowl. Whisk well and set aside.

Heat the pot used to cook the  quinoa over medium high heat, adding a tablespoon of olive oil. Add teh chicken and cook for 3-4 minutes or until nearly cooked through. Add the broccoli and saute for about 2-3 minutes or until bright green and slightly tender. Remove from heat and stir in carrots and cabbage. Add about 1/2 of the buffalo sauce and stir.

Transfer the chicken and veggies to the bowl with the quinoa and toss with the remaining dressing. Add the blue cheese and half of the green onions. Toss again and serve warm or chilled with additional green onions.

Yield: 5 servings (about 1 1/2 cups each)

Nutrition Information (per serving): 466 calories; 23.4 g. fat; 54 mg. cholesterol; 1022 mg. sodium; 32.6 g. carbohydrate; 5.2 g. fiber; 30.4 g. protein; 5.6 g. sugar

Result: I rate this recipe a B+, Mr. Prevention would rate it an A. It was good, but it was a lot of buffalo sauce (and thus, a LOT of sodium) and some really different flavors and textures. I liked the addition of broccoli – it was probably my favorite part. I would, personally, double the broccoli and ditch the carrots and cabbage. Simple enough to make, this is a great weeknight meal. Enjoy!

Weekly Menu: May 5th – May 9th

Planning a productive day of cookbooking, working out, and writing! It has been STUNNING in Michigan! :-D

Be well,

sig4

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Filed Under: 500 calories or less, carb-controlled, fiber, fruits and vegetables, gluten-free, one-pot meal, quick meals, recipe, sodium, spicy, Uncategorized, weekly menu ·

Lamb Burgers with Cilantro Raita

May 3, 2013 by · 10 Comments

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Michigan’s tease of summer has already come and gone. Evil, I tell you!

We had two days this week of 80 degree weather. Sunny. Gorgeous.

Lily got to run and play “soccer” (as much as a bulldog can anyways). I got to run outside, as did Mr. Prevention. We (he) cut the lawn not once, but twice, and of course, we cooked out. Several times.

This meal, however, took the cake.

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Friends of ours cook lamb often. I always enjoy it, though the only time I’ve ever cooked with lamb was in a Moroccan Lamb and Butternut Squash Chili…which was excellent. A boneless leg of lamb, however, is much more intimidating than ground lamb. I admit that my culinary skills are leaps and bounds ahead of what they once were and perhaps ahead of many home cooks, but when it comes to meat, I am pretty well outside my comfort zone once we’ve moved past chicken breasts.

Ground lamb is a baby step towards new meats in my house. This one? Fool-proof.

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Other than doubling up the garlic and putting the salt and pepper into the burgers rather than on them, I pretty much followed the recipe. Half lamb and half ground beef was the perfect compromise between very lean and moderate fat meats. Since there’s no cheese on the burger, the fat grams remain in check and the naturally fat-free Cilantro Raita is good enough to eat with a spoon. Rather than grating the cucumber, I finely chopped it for some texture.

As soon as summer comes back around, I’m going a second round with this recipe!

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Lamb Burgers with Cilantro Raita from Cooking Light

Cilantro Raita:1/3 cup plain fat-free Greek yogurt
2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, minced
1 Tbsp fresh mint, minced
1 1/2 tsp serrano chile, minced (optional)
1/8 tsp kosher salt
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 English cucumber, finely diced

Lamb Burgers:8 0z 90% lean ground beef
8 oz ground lamb
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
8 thin slices red onion
4 hamburger buns, toasted

Directions:

Combine the cilantro raita ingredients in a small bowl; stir well and set aside in the fridge until ready to serve.

Gently combine beef, lamb, salt, and pepper, being careful not to overwork. Divide the mixture into 4 equal portions, gently shaping each into a 1/2-inch-thick patty.

Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Once hot, add patties; cook for 3-5 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness.

Place 2 onion slices, and 1 patty on bottom half of each hamburger bun. Top each patty with 2 tablespoons raita and top half of bun.

Yield: 4 burgers

Nutrition Information (per burger with raita): 428 calories; 18.5 g. fat; 78 mg. cholesterol; 575 mg. sodium; 36.0 g. carbohydrate; 1.3 g. fiber; 27.8 g. protein; 5.5 g. sugar

Result: This Cilantro Raita was…phenomenal! The lamb-beef combination was great — you get the flavor of the lamb while still being lower in calories and fat than all lamb. The mint and cilantro were so refreshing. These are a favorite burger to date and incredibly easy to make. Enjoy!

 TGIF! I have a very productive weekend planned ahead!

Be well,

sig4

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Filed Under: 450 calories or less, carb-controlled, guilt-free, quick meals, recipe, reduced-calorie ·

Pistachio Artichoke Hummus

May 1, 2013 by · 11 Comments

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Then men in my life can be slightly high-maintenance at times.

This weekend, Mr. Prevention was upstairs playing with a new remote control model plane — a hobby of his that could not interest me less. One of our bedrooms is filled with my step-son, the albino corn snake named Pinky, and about about 4 model planes. Sore subject. I knew Mr. Prevention had just received a NEW model plane and was tinkering around with it while I was cooking/baking something (what exactly I can’t recall). All of a sudden, he comes rumbling down the stairs holding a rag over his forearm saying, “I cut myself like really, really bad on the propeller…”.

He took the rag away for a moment and without going into detail (food…blood…I get it), it was possible that he could’ve needed stitches. (FROM A MODEL PLANE?!?!?) Instead, however, I cleaned and bandaged him up and we’ve been doing a lot of that ever since. I have learned that his tolerance for pain…is not high.

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Monday night, I had made a meal, per Mr. P’s request. At least in part. I’ve been wanting to make lamb burgers and to accompany the burgers, he requested bell peppers, zucchini, red onion, and mushrooms on the grill. I was happy to oblige and as I was pulling dinner off the grill, I knew we’d both be thrilled with our super healthy, first grill meal of the season.

…and then his work phone rang. I ate dinner solo and he reheated dinner 30 minutes later. #angrywife

Then, we get to last night. I was allllll excited about the dinner I had planned to make: Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Salad. Normally, I can add “buffalo” into the title of a recipe and he’s all over it like white on rice. Last night, I caught grief over “quinoa,” never mind the “buffalo” portion of the recipe. Impossible to please, I tell you!

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This recipe? Mr. Prevention NOR my father would touch this with a 10-foot pole. Mr. Prevention is not a hummus fan and my dad, well, he makes verbal noises of disgust upon even hearing the WORD “hummus”.

“It’s BIRD FOOD, Nicole…I just don’t like it!”

Husband…father…listen up. You’d like this, I can (almost) guarantee it. What’s not to love about pistachios, Parmesan cheese, and artichokes? Get over the chickpeas already, alright?

Love,

Yours Truly

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Pistachio Artichoke Hummus from Weekly Bite

1 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
12 oz marinated artichokes (do not drain the marinade)
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup pistachios
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
juice of one lemon

Directions:

Pour the pistachios into a food processor or high speed blender. Blend until pistachios are crushed. Add the garbanzo beans, artichokes (with marinade), and the juice of on large lemon. Process until all ingredients are blended and smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Yield: 2 1/2 cups (10 servings, 1/4 cup each)

Nutrition Information (per 1/4 cup): 103 calories; 5.2 g. fat; 3 mg. cholesterol; 265 mg. sodium; 8.1 g. carbohydrate; 4.7 g. fiber; 4.8 g. protein; 1.3 g. sugar

Result: Mmmm! I love this twist on hummus – nuts and artichokes?! Swoon. I was concerned the liquid from the marinated artichokes would be way too much…but it was the perfect amount. I kept this on hand all week to nosh on. I served mine with cucumber slices and malba crackers – deeelish!

Half way to Friday! May 1…crazy!

Be well,

sig4

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Filed Under: 100 calories or less, carb-controlled, fiber, fruits and vegetables, gluten-free, low-carb, recipe, snack, Uncategorized, vegetarian ·