Author: thesamplerblog

Breakfast Grilled Cheese Sandwich

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This sandwich is a perfect breakfast meal for those mornings when I don’t have to rush out the door to work. It’s easy to make, flexible, and the perfect amount of food to fuel your morning, but not ruin your appetite for lunch. As the title suggests, the base of the recipe is a grilled cheese sandwich, spritzed up with a fried egg and greens. Hearty bread and a runny egg takes this sandwich from a typical grilled cheese to something extraordinary. Here I use sharp cheddar cheese and micro greens, but you can substitute with your favorite hard cheese and favorite grilled cheese toppings (I have also used tomato slices, spinach, and bacon!). 

Cooking Time: 15 mins
Servings: 1

Ingredients

  • 2-3 tbsp Butter (spreadable)
  • 1 Large Egg
  • 2 Slices of Hearty Bread (wheat slice with oats in picture)
  • 2 Slices of Sharp Cheddar Cheese
  • Small Handful of Micro Greens (or other greens)

Recipe

  1. Heat a small skillet over medium heat with 1 tbsp of butter.
  2. When the butter starts to sizzle, carefully crack the egg in the skillet. Cook until the whites of the egg are no longer runny, about 3 minutes. Carefully lift the egg with a spatula and flip over so that the top of the yolk is against the pan. Cook for another 30 seconds, then remove to a plate.
  3. Spread the remaining butter over one side of each bread slice.
  4. Place one bread slice butter side down in the skillet. Quickly layer the remaining ingredients on top of the bread in this order: 1) half of the micro greens, 2) 1 slice of cheddar cheese, 3) previously cooked fried egg, 4) the remaining slice of cheddar cheese, 5) the remaining half of the micro greens, 6) the remaining bread slice, butter side up.
  5. Cook the sandwich in the skillet until the bottom slice of cheese is melted and the bottom bread slice is crispy, about 5 minutes. Then carefully flip the sandwich over so that the other bread slice is against the pan. Cook another 3-4 minutes until the bread is crispy. Remove from the pan onto a plate to serve.

Detailed Steps

Five ingredients. That’s it!!! Truly a simple meal. As mentioned before, use a hearty bread for the sandwich. Something that will be strong enough to hold all of the toppings and flavorful enough to stand apart from the other ingredients. The bread in the picture is a wheat slice with oats, but I’ve also used sourdough and rustic white. For the cheese, my favorite is sharp cheddar (similar notes to the classic american cheese, but stronger in flavor), but mild cheddar, provolone, and pepper jack are also good choices. The micro greens above I found at a local farmer’s market (shout out to Aqua Heirloom in Hume, VA!). If you’ve never had micro greens, they’re very flavorable (reminiscent of arugula in my opinion) and a great topping (for example, steak topped with a small micro green salad is excellent). Instead of micro greens, feel free to use spinach, arugula, or spring mix.

Steps 1-2: The picture on the left is the uncooked egg, in the center the cooked egg right before flipping, and on the right the egg after flipping. As soon as you crack the egg in the pan, I like to make tiny slits in the whites to let them spread more evenly. Some of the whites will pool around the yolk, creating a thick layer that cooks slower than the rest of the whites. The slits will help drain this thick layer to the rest of the whites. When flipping the egg, be gentle! The goal is to flip the egg to create a crust over the yolk, but without busting the yolk. Also, only wait 30 seconds before removing the egg. If it’s in the pan for too long, the yolk will set and not ooze out of the sandwich later.

Steps 3-4: The pictures from left to right show the order to assemble the sandwich. The key to grilled cheese building is to use the cheese as a binder. Placing the cheese in between the non-sticky ingredients (i.e., the micro greens and the egg) provides glue to hold everything together. Just make sure that the cheese can still reach the bread, otherwise all of the toppings will slide out!

Step 5: I cannot stress this enough: be careful when flipping! A normal grilled cheese sandwich is pretty easy to flip since it’s just cheese and bread, but the extra ingredients here make the sandwich prone to being shifted. My method is to pick up the sandwich with a spatula (picture on left), then while placing a finger or fork against the buttered side, slowly flip the sandwich. The bread should have a good crust, like the picture on the right.

And that’s it! Cut in half before serving to see the delicious oozing yolk!

Sausage and Kale Soup

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My spouse and I absolutely love this soup. It’s savory and meaty with a hint of spiciness that makes you crave more. The original recipe is from the Whole30 Instagram page. When I did Whole30 almost a year ago, I often searched for recipes to get ideas about what foods I could make. This soup was definitely my best find. Despite being Whole30, this is one of my spouse’s favorite meals! Seriously, I make this meal at least once a month. I use mirepoix (onion, celery, and carrot) along with the sausage and kale, but any vegetables hearty enough for soup will work. Pair with a thick slice of bread, or omit if sticking to Whole30. 

Cooking Time: 30 mins
Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 1 lb Spicy Italian Sausage
  • Olive Oil (enough to coat pot)
  • 1/2 White or Yellow Onion
  • 3-4 Carrots
  • 2 Celery Stalks
  • 2 Cloves of Garlic
  • 3 cups of Chicken Broth
  • 1 tsp Dried Oregano
  • 1 tsp Dried Basil
  • 1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
  • 5-6 Stalks of Kale
  • 2 Large Eggs
  • 1/2 tbsp Lemon Juice
  • Salt and Pepper (to taste)

Recipe

  1. Heat a large pot on medium heat with olive oil, enough to coat the bottom. Meanwhile remove sausage from casing and roll into meatballs (almost golf ball size).
  2. When the pot is heated, place the meatballs in the pot in an even layer. Cook for 8 minutes, flip with tongs, and cook another 5 minutes. Remove meatballs to a plate, keeping the drippings in the pot.
  3. Dice the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic cloves. Add everything but the garlic to the pot and cook until the onion is translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
  4. Add the chicken broth to the pot. Increase the heat to high until the broth boils, then reduce to medium high.
  5. Immediately after reducing the heat, add the oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, and cooked meatballs. Continue cooking for 5 minutes on medium high.
  6. Remove the kale from the stalk and roughly chop. Add the kale to the pot and cook for 1-2 minutes more until the kale is wilted.
  7. Crack the eggs into a small bowl or cup and scramble with a fork. Once the kale is wilted, turn off the heat and slowly add the scrambled eggs, stirring constantly. The eggs will cook into thin ribbons from the heat of the soup.
  8. Add lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste. Serve in a bowl with a thick slice of bread.

Detailed Steps

Step 1: Hot Italian sausage is my go-to sausage for this recipe because it adds a nice level of heat to the soup along with the red pepper flakes. However, if you’re not a fan of spicy foods (FYI, I would say this soup is slightly spicy), then substitute mild Italian sausage. The pictures above show how I remove the sausage from the casing. Basically pinch one end of the link and squeeze the meat out. Then roll into balls! Super simple way to make quick meatballs.

Step 1: A picture of the size of the meatballs (again, almost golf ball sized).

Step 2: Be sure to place the meatballs in an even layer on the bottom of the pot. If they’re stacked on top of each other, they won’t brown properly. Ideally you should only put enough meatballs in the pot so that they’re barely touching, but I’ll admit, I will crowd my pan if that means not having to cook two batches. Make sure to cook the meatballs long enough to have a good crust, like the picture on the right. Also, don’t worry if they are on the rare side; the meatballs will cook more when you add them back in the soup.

Step 3: To make this recipe even simpler, I often buy pre-cut mirepoix mix from my local grocery store. Then I don’t have to bother with chopping onions, celery, and carrots, and I won’t have a bunch of leftover carrots and celery stalks! Be sure to wait to add the garlic to avoid it being burned (see the picture on the right).

Steps 4-5: On the left is the soup right when the stock is added, and on the right is after the meatballs and spices are added. If you do not like spicy foods at all, reduce the amount of red pepper flakes or omit entirely.

Step 6: The stalks of kale are very tough and should be removed. To separate the kale from the stalk, curl your hand like a claw and place the top of the stalk between your middle and index finger (picture on left). Then slide your hand down, gripping the top of the stalk with your other hand, until the kale rips off in your hand (picture in middle). After separating, roughly chop the pile of kale to cut into smaller pieces (picture on right).

Step 7: The GIF above shows how the eggs are added. Be sure to remove the soup from heat before adding the eggs, and to keep stirring while the eggs are added. The residual heat from the soup will slowly cook the eggs into thin strips, similar to egg drop soup.

Step 8: All done! Serve in a bowl with a slice of thick bread or by itself!

Beer Chicken with Mashed Potatoes and Cauliflower

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Sometimes I decide what to cook not based on what I am craving, but based on what I need to use up in the fridge. This recipe was motivated by an uncommon cooking ingredient: beer. I unfortunately had leftover beer from a party that I do not like, so why not try using it up in a recipe? Aside from beer cheese, I couldn’t think of any recipes that use beer, but after some internet searches, I ran across the idea of cooking chicken in a beer sauce. Here I pan sear chicken thighs until crispy, and then finish cooking them in a chicken stock-beer gravy. There is a subtle note of beer flavor that adds an unique dimension to the sauce, but if you are not a beer fan, this recipe will work just as well without it. I paired the chicken with a side of half-mashed cauliflower and half-mashed potatoes for a complete meal!

Cooking Time: 40 mins
Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 6 Red Potatoes
  • 1 lb Cooked Riced Cauliflower
  • Olive Oil (enough to coat pan)
  • 3 lbs Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • 1/2 Chopped White or Yellow Onion
  • 2-3 Cloves of Garlic
  • 1 cup Light Beer (lager or ale)
  • 1 cup Chicken Stock
  • 1 tbsp Corn Starch
  • Butter (optional)
  • Milk (optional)
  • Garlic and Onion Powder (optional)

Recipe

  1. Cook the red potatoes. Instant Pot method: put the potatoes in the Instant Pot with 1/4 cup of water and pressure cook on high for 10 minutes. Stovetop method: place potatoes in a large pot and cover completely with water. Cover with a lid, bring the water to a boil, and continue cooking until the potatoes are soft.
  2. While the potatoes are cooking, heat a large deep skillet over medium high heat with enough olive oil to coat the pan.
  3. Generously season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper, and place in pan. If the thighs have the skin on, be sure to place them in the pan skin side down. Cook for 8 minutes on both sides. Remove to a plate and set aside.
  4. Finely chop the onion and garlic cloves. Turn the heat on the pan down to medium, and add the onion. Cook until translucent, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
  5. Add the chicken back in the pan along with the beer and chicken stock. Continue cooking until the chicken is fully cooked and reaches 165 degrees F, about 10 minutes.
  6. Remove the chicken to a plate. Thicken the leftover liquids into a sauce: add a tablespoon of the liquids to a small bowl or cup along with the corn starch; mix together well before adding it back to the liquids in the pan; continue cooking until the sauce has thickened, about 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, if needed.
  7. Mash the cooked red potatoes with the cooked riced cauliflower. Season as you would normal mashed potatoes. (My preference is adding butter, milk or heavy cream, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.)
  8. Plate several pieces of chicken with the mashed potatoes and cauliflower, and top with the gravy.

Detailed Steps

Ingredients pic! I decided on boneless, skinless chicken thighs so that I wouldn’t have to avoid bones while eating and so that it would be healthier. Cooking with the bone still in and with the skin on will be more flavorful. Just remember if the bone is in to cook the chicken for longer, and if the skin is on to sear the skin until crispy. The beer I used was a pale ale saison because that’s what I had leftover in my fridge. I would choose a light beer, either a lager or ale, because the flavor of a darker beer wouldn’t pair well with the chicken.

I generally use red potatoes when making mashed potatoes. Any potato variety will work, but I like the flavor from red potatoes the best. Plus, I mash them with the skin still on, and I don’t like the taste of the skin of some of the other potato varieties. Now that riced cauliflower has become popular, making mashed potatoes and cauliflower is easy! Before when making this dish, I would buy a whole head of cauliflower and use a food processor to grind it up. With riced cauliflower, that step is already done! To cook the cauliflower, either place in the microwave (if microwavable safe) or put in a pot with a small amount of water, and cover and steam.

Step 1: Have I mentioned yet how much I love my Instant Pot? Cause I absolutely LOVE my Instant Pot. Pressure cooking really does save a lot of time while delivering the same flavor as slow cooking. Since I have an Instant Pot, it’s my go-to method when cooking potatoes. Add a bit of water, add the potatoes, seal it, and done! Make sure to add the water, otherwise you will get an error message when cooking. If I didn’t have an Instant Pot, I would either use the stovetop method (described in the recipe) or a microwave. Be sure to keep checking on the potatoes and rotating them when microwaving so that they don’t burst.

Steps 2-3: Generously season the chicken with salt and pepper. I like to season the front side in the package, and then season the other side after I add it to the pan (cuts down on the amount of times I have to wash my hands). Make sure the pan is hot when adding the chicken. You should hear a sizzle when the chicken is added.

Steps 2-3: On the left is a close-up of my seasoning job on the other side of the chicken. And on the right is a picture of the seared chicken. Make sure the chicken is seared well. Cooking in the stock will soften it, so this is the opportunity to ensure a good crust stays on the chicken.

Steps 4-5: On the left is the cooked onions and garlic, and on the right is the chicken added back with the stock and beer. Keep cooking the chicken until fully cooked. I suggest checking the doneness with a cooking thermometer (cook until 165 degrees F). You can check the doneness by cutting into the largest piece and seeing if there’s any pink left, but you could easily make a mistake this way. You DO NOT want to risk having undercooked chicken. It can be very dangerous! So again, I suggest using a cooking thermometer.

Step 6: On the left is the fully cooked chicken, and on the right is the leftover liquids.

Step 6: Thicken the sauce by making a slurry with corn starch. Remove a bit of the sauce to a cup (left pic), add a tablespoon of corn starch, and combine (middle pic). Then stir the slurry back into the sauce in the pan to thicken it (right pic). The slurry is needed to help the corn starch mix properly. Otherwise the corn starch won’t work well. After adding the slurry, keep cooking the sauce on low until it thickens (it should coat the back of a spoon).

Steps 7-8: On the left is the mashed potatoes and cauliflower. I added butter, coconut milk (cause that’s the milk I keep in my fridge), onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Other ingredients that would work well include cheese, sour cream, chives, and heavy cream (basically anything you would add to normal mashed potatoes). On the right is the final plate, smothered in delicious gravy!

Simple Fried Rice

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I love a simple recipe that clears out the fridge! This recipe makes great use of both leftover rice and veggies. I always keep my leftover rice cause I know I can easily make fried rice. Just add some leftover white rice to a skillet along with veggies and eggs, and in a short time you have a delicious and savory meal! Previously cooked rice works best because it makes the fried rice firmer, but freshly cooked rice can also be used. 

Cooking Time: 15-20 mins
Servings: 2

Ingredients

  • 2-3 tbsp Vegetable Oil
  • 1/4 cup Chopped White Onion
  • 1 Garlic Clove
  • 1 package Stir-Fry Vegetables
  • 1 Green Onion
  • 2-3 tbsp Soy Sauce
  • 1 cup White Rice (previously cooked)
  • 4 Eggs (2 of the eggs are optional)
  • 1 tsp Ground Ginger
  • Salt
  • Pepper

Recipe

  1. Add vegetable oil to a large sized skillet or wok, and heat over medium-high heat.
  2. Chop onion (if not already chopped), garlic, and green onion, keeping the white and green parts of the green onion separate.
  3. Once the pan is hot, add onion and cook until translucent, about 2 minutes.
  4. Add stir-fry vegetable package to pan and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  5. Add chopped garlic and green onion (white parts only) to pan and cook for another minute.
  6. Move vegetables to one side of the pan, and add the rice to the empty side of the pan. Break up the rice with your spatula (if stuck together) and add the soy sauce. Continue cooking for 3 minutes, stirring the rice and vegetables together in the last minute.
  7. Repeat process with eggs: move the vegetable/rice mixture to one side of the pan, and crack two eggs on the empty side of the pan. Using the spatula, break the yellows and scramble the eggs. Cook until the eggs are firm, about 3 minutes, then combine with the rice and vegetables.
  8. Stir in the the ginger, salt, and pepper. Serve with a sunny-side up egg (optional) and the leftover green onions. (Note: to make the eggs, crack an egg in the emptied skillet over medium heat, adding some more oil if needed. Cook until the whites are firm and the yolk still runny, about 5-6 minutes.)

Detailed Steps

Fried rice can be as simple as leftover rice and soy sauce, but I like to make it more filling (and more like the fried rice bought in restaurants) by adding various vegetables and eggs. If I have any leftover vegetables in my fridge, like carrots, broccoli, or onions, then I will use those up. Otherwise, if I have leftover rice and not the vegetables, I buy a package of stir-fry vegetables. You can typically find one in the produce section, and I prefer buying a package instead of an assortment of vegetables to 1) save time, and 2) not buy more vegetables than I’m going to use. Buying whole vegetables is cheaper, but if you know you are not going to use all of them, then it becomes wasteful.

Steps 1-3: As you can see in the picture on the left, I like to keep the green and white parts of the green onion separate so that I can use the green parts as garnish later.

Steps 4-5: Notice the difference in color of the veggies on the left (before cooking) and on the right (after cooking). The veggies will still be firm, but slightly softened for easier eating.

Step 6: As you can see, my rice came out as one big square! Be sure to break it apart into smaller chunks when cooking.

Step 7: The eggs will cook quickly because of the high heat, so be sure to scramble them as soon as you crack them in the pan. You can also scramble the eggs in a small bowl before adding them to the pan. I normally prefer to pre-mix my eggs when making scrambled eggs, but when making fried rice, I like the large pieces of cooked white and yellow bits (feels more like “fried rice” to me).

Step 8: I think the ginger adds an extra flavor note to the dish, but if you don’t have ginger around, feel free to omit it!

Adding an extra eggs on top is completely optional. I think almost every dish benefits from a fried egg (especially this dish where the rice and vegetables soak up the runny yolk!), but I recognize that I REALLY like eggs. If you’re not a big egg fan or if you want to limit the amount of eggs you consume, leave this part out (the dish will still be great!). To cook sunny-side up eggs, I carefully crack the egg in a pan over medium heat, being sure to not bust the yolk. While the egg is cooking, cut slits into the whites surrounding the yolk to prevent air bubbles and to prevent uncooked whites from pooling by the yolk. The egg will be ready when the whites are cooked and no longer runny, but the yolk is still soft. If you prefer to have a cooked film over the yolk (like an over easy egg), then choose one of the following methods: splash hot oil over the yolk while cooking until a film develops, put a lid over the pan while cooking so the trapped steam will create a film over the egg, or flip the egg over when ready and remove after 30 seconds.

Baked Salmon with Yogurt Sauce and Asparagus

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One of my staple go-to quick dinners is something I call an oven meal. It’s a meal that after a little bit of prep can be finished in the oven. A meal where most of the cooking time is for the actual cooking and not the prepping. After a long day at work, it’s nice to have a few recipes that you know do not take much effort to make. Baked salmon and asparagus is a meal I’ll have at least once a month (if not more!). The preparation simply involves seasoning the salmon, and trimming and seasoning the asparagus. Add both of those to the oven, and soon you’ll have delicious flaky salmon and crisp asparagus! The salmon and asparagus alone can be a complete meal, but sometimes I like to enhance the meal by adding a sauce or topping to the fish. This time I was inspired to top the salmon with a braised cucumber yogurt sauce based on a recipe from The Washington Post (link here). The sauce adds a refreshing freshness to the meal and can be prepared while the rest is cooking.

Cooking Time: 20-30 minutes
Servings: 2

Ingredients

  • 1 lb Salmon Filet (skin on or off)
  • Bundle of Asparagus
  • Olive Oil (enough to coat baking sheet, asparagus, and skillet)
  • Garlic Powder
  • Onion Powder
  • Salt and Pepper (to taste)
  • 1 Cucumber
  • 1/4 White or Yellow Onion
  • 1/2 Tomato or 6 Cherry Tomatoes
  • 1 Garlic Clove
  • 2-3 tbsp Greek Yogurt
  • 2-3 tbsp Creme Fraiche
  • Juice of 1/2 Lemon
  • 2 Sprigs of Dill

Recipe

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
  2. Line two baking sheets with aluminum foil. Drizzle olive oil on one of the baking sheets.
  3. Pat down salmon fillet with a paper towel to remove any excess moisture before placing it on the oiled baking sheet. Season with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper, and set aside.
  4. Trim the ends off of the asparagus and spread evenly across the second baking sheet. Season with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper, and drizzle with olive oil.
  5. Place both the salmon and asparagus in the oven, and cook until the salmon reaches 135 degrees F and the asparagus is crispy, about 15 minutes.
  6. Meanwhile, heat a skillet with a drizzle of olive oil over medium heat. Dice the cucumber, onion, tomato, garlic, and dill, being sure to peel and remove the seeds from the cucumber before chopping it.
  7. Add the onion to the pan and cook (sweat) until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the cucumber, tomato, garlic, and dill, and continue cooking for another 2 minutes.
  8. While the vegetables are in the skillet, combine the Greek yogurt, creme fraiche, and lemon juice in a small bowl. Add the mixture to the skillet after the two minutes have passed. Reduce the heat to low, stir to combine, and cook the mixture for another 2-3 minutes until it is warmed through and slightly thickened.
  9. Cut the salmon into two equal sized portions. Plate the salmon along with the asparagus. Spoon some of the cucumber yogurt mixture over the salmon and serve.

Detailed Steps

Steps 1-4: My go-to seasoning blend is garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. It goes well with pretty much everything, and adds a little extra flavoring than just salt and pepper. I intentionally didn’t include the amount of spices in the recipe because I rarely measure these. The way I judge how much to use is to gently sprinkle the jars across whatever I’m seasoning (like the salmon and asparagus) until there’s an even coating. Like most things with cooking, eventually you’ll figure out the ideal amount to add to fit your personal preference.

I added a cooking thermometer to the salmon (see picture on left) before adding it in the oven so that I would know for certain when the salmon was done. There are ways to judge how long to cook fish or meat without checking the temperature, like cooking it for a certain amount of time and then judging the doneness based on texture and appearance, but the best and most accurate way to know when it’s done is by temperature. When using a thermometer, be sure to place it in the thickest part of the fish or meat, and to make sure it is not touching the pan (that will make the reading wrong).

Step 5: Finished versions of the salmon and asparagus!

Steps 6-8: Ingredients for the cucumber yogurt sauce. You may notice the grape tomatoes and the pre-diced yellow onion. I decided to use grape tomatoes instead of a typical tomato because I already had them in my fridge. If I can substitute something in my fridge for something I need to buy for a recipe, I will. I used the pre-diced onion because I absolutely hate chopping onions! For a reason I have yet to identify, I’m very sensitive to chopping raw onions (cue tears every time!). Expect to see a lot more packages of pre-diced onions because unless I can’t find them, I will always use that instead of getting whole onions. Plus, it saves a lot of time when it’s already diced!

Step 6: The picture on the left shows how I remove the seeds from a cucumber. I find the easiest method is to cut the cucumber in half lengthwise, and remove the seeds from each half using a spoon. You can leave the seeds in (and you can leave the skin on), but I prefer to remove them.

Step 7: If you compare the color of the onion in both pictures, you can see how the onion on the right is a bit darker and more translucent. I unfortunately forgot to take a photo of the mixture after adding the yogurt and creme fraiche, but imagine the picture on the right, but creamier!

Step 9: Finished product! Gracefully modeled by my hungry spouse 🙂

Tandoori-Spiced Sous Vide Chicken Salad

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I’ll admit, I’m not usually a fan of chicken salad. I don’t know if it’s the texture of the chicken or the nuts sometimes added or simply because it’s not tuna (spoiler, I’m a HUGE tuna fan), but I have never seemed to like it. This recipe for chicken salad is not that. The yogurt base with the Indian inspired spice palette makes this chicken salad much different than most. I ran across this recipe in a Washington Post article (link here) and decided to try it, but with a few modifications. First, I sous vide the chicken to keep it moist with a crispy outside. And second, I used Greek yogurt for a bit extra tanginess. This is a great recipe to use to meal prep for the week or make ahead of time for a quick dinner later. I like to serve it on a hearty bread with some leafy greens, but this will also work well on a bed of lettuce or on its own.

Cooking Time: 20 minutes (plus 90 minutes for the chicken)
Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 1 – 1 1/2 lbs Boneless, Skinless, Chicken Breasts
  • Olive Oil (enough to coat the pan)
  • 2 Cloves of Garlic
  • 1/2 cup Greek Yogurt
  • 3 tbsps Mayonnaise
  • 1/2 tsp Cumin
  • 1 tsp Ground Ginger
  • 1/2 tsp Turmeric
  • 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
  • 1/2 tsp Coriander (optional)
  • 1/8 tsp Cayenne Pepper (optional)
  • 1 Cucumber

Recipe

  1. Set-up the sous vide by clipping the sous vide machine onto a large pot filled with water as appropriate for the sous vide machine (i.e. to the min line). Set it to 147 degrees F.
  2. Place the chicken breast in a gallon size plastic bag. Submerge the bag in the water, clipping the opened top to the side of the pot (the force of the chicken being submerged in the water will force out the air from the bag). Cook for 60 minutes if defrosted or 90 minutes if frozen.
  3. Once the chicken is done, heat a skillet on medium-high with enough olive oil to coat the pan. Salt and pepper the chicken, and then sear on both sides until crispy, about 5 minutes per a side. Place the cooked chicken in the fridge while preparing the other ingredients.
  4. Peal the skin off the cucumber, remove the seeds using a spoon (if it has any), and cut into small bite-size pieces.
  5. Crush garlic cloves by applying weight to the side of a knife to remove the peel. Mince finely with a knife or crush with a garlic press.
  6. In a medium bowl, add yogurt, mayonnaise, and garlic. Add cumin, ginger, turmeric, and lemon juice, and whisk to combine. Taste and add coriander and cayenne if wanted/needed.
  7. Grab the chicken from the fridge, and cut into bite-size pieces. Add chopped chicken and cucumber to the bowl with the yogurt mixture.
  8. Toss with a spoon, and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately or store in the fridge until served.

Detailed Steps

Steps 1-2: I decided to sous vide the chicken for two reason. First, I hoped that the chicken would retain more of the juices by using this method instead of the oven. And second, I forgot to defrost my chicken beforehand! For anyone who hasn’t used a sous vide machine before, it’s a simple and easy way to slowly cook meats to lock in moisture and generally prevent over/undercooking. If you don’t have a sous vide machine, the chicken can easily be cooked in the oven and then transferred to the fridge to cool.

Step 3: I like to sear the chicken and make sure it gets a nice crunchy outer texture. You could omit this step, but I think it adds some texture and savory flavor to the chicken salad.

Steps 4-5: You can leave the skin on and the seeds in the cucumber if desired. I personally don’t like the skin and seeds, but feel free to leave them if you prefer to. I cut the cucumber into about 1/2 – 1 inch pieces, but you can dice it smaller or larger depending on personal preference (I wouldn’t make the pieces too big otherwise they wouldn’t balance well with the chicken).

Step 6: This is the part of the recipe where you can experiment and make modifications to your taste. Think of it as the yogurt being the base and everything else being slight modifications to the yogurt flavor. So if you mix everything together and think it’s too tangy, add more mayonnaise to mellow it out. Not flavorful enough? Play with the spice levels. Need some acid or something extra? Add lemon. And if you add something and you think it’s too much, you can always add more yogurt to basically erase what you just did. Recipe steps like this are the things that really make cooking fun and a creative outlet.

Steps 7-8: I decided to chop the chicken into bite size pieces instead of shredding it so that the chicken salad would be on the chunky side. But if you want the mixture to be blended better, I would suggest shredding the chicken and cutting the cucumber into smaller pieces.

As I mentioned in the beginning, this is a great recipe to use to meal prep for the week. I was able to get three lunches from one batch! (Would have been four, but I didn’t buy enough bread…) I served the chicken salad on a cored out french loaf with kale. Sandwich tip: always core out the bread! Removing some of the bread from the crust will allow you to place more sandwich fillings inside. Plus, the whole thing will be sturdier and easier to eat.

Have any questions or thoughts on this recipe? Let me know what you think and leave a comment!

Chilaquiles

thesamplerblog1 Comment

Chilaquiles is a Mexican dish normally eaten for breakfast that was created as a way to use up leftover tortillas and salsa. I like to make this dish as a quick breakfast or lunch on the weekends, especially when I’m only cooking for myself. Most of the ingredients I keep stocked in my fridge, making this a simple go-to recipe for when I want a quick flavorful breakfast. Plus, the recipe is so versatile you can add in other leftovers (for example, cooked steak, chicken, sausage, cheese, beans, onions, tomatoes…)! Pretty much anything that would work well with nachos will work well with chilaquiles. If you want to make this for dinner or for multiple people, I recommend doubling the recipe and simmering the fried tortilla strips in enchilada sauce before adding the eggs and other toppings.

Cooking Time: 15-20 minutes
Servings: 1

Ingredients

  • Vegetable Oil (2-3 tbsp, depending on pan size)
  • 2 Corn Tortillas
  • 3 Eggs
  • 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
  • 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
  • 2 spoonfuls of Pico de Gallo
  • Guacamole (for serving)
  • Salt and Pepper (to taste)

Recipe

  1. Heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat in a medium sized skillet.
  2. Cut corn tortillas into strips.
  3. Fry corn tortilla strips in oil until brown and crispy, flipping strips over in pan if necessary (about 5 minutes). Place strips on a plate lined with paper towels when done.
  4. Crack eggs in a small bowl. Add garlic powder and onion powder, and then beat with a fork to combine.
  5. Empty excess oil from skillet, leaving enough to coat the pan. Add pico de gallo and saute over medium heat until warmed, about 1-2 minutes.
  6. Add crispy tortilla strips back into the pan and stir with pico until just combined. Add eggs, stirring constantly until cooked, about 3 minutes.
  7. Remove from pan onto plate, add salt and paper to taste, and serve with guacamole.

Detailed Steps

This is a simple recipe with few ingredients! I pretty much always have tortillas, eggs, pico de gallo or some other salsa, and guacamole in my fridge, which makes this a go-to breakfast or lunch meal. I used two tortillas and three eggs because I was eating this for lunch, but if I make this for breakfast I generally use two eggs and 1-1.5 tortillas to make it lighter. I am a big fan of pre-bought pico and guacamole. They’re very easy to find in the produce section of grocery stores and it saves a lot of assembly time from not having to make them homemade.

Steps 1-3: I like to use corn tortillas for the extra flavor, but you can also use flour tortillas. Also, I cut them into about two inch strips, but feel free to change the size (the strips don’t need to be exact).

Steps 5 and 6: Warm the pico de gallo in the pan for 1-2 minutes, then add back in the strips.

Steps 4 and 6: Beat the eggs with the seasoning, and combine with the strips and pico. Make sure to keep stirring after adding the eggs (they’ll cook quickly!).