Chicken Taco Salad

Dinner tonight was supposed to be Turkey Taco Salad. But I didn't have any ground turkey and it was 70 degrees and the last thing I wanted to do was to cook inside! So I opted to grill some chicken with my favorite southwest seasoning that I found from the 21 Day Fix food guide. My oldest son does not like chicken but when I use this seasoning he loves it and actually requests more!

 



Southwest Seasoning

1 Tbsp chili powder

2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp sea salt

 

I make up one batch of this and it lasts 2-3 dinners when I sprinkle it on the chicken (usually 4 chicken breasts per dinner). I cook up extra chicken with this seasoning and have it in the fridge for quick snacks and meal prep.

 

Chicken Taco Salad - serves one

4oz chicken breast cooked with Southwest Seasoning, chopped

2 cups lettuce, chopped

3 black olives, chopped

1/4 cup tomatoes, chopped

1/4 cup green onions, chopped

2 Tbsp shredded cheddar

1/4 cup fresh guacamole

 

Layer ingredients in bowl and enjoy!

 

 



"Tame Stress" Salad

I've had this salad recipes for years. I got it from a magazine but can't remember which one. There was an article with 4 salads "Tame Stress", "Fight Fat", "Boost Your Energy", and "Lift Your Mood". I'm having all but the "Boost Your Energy" this week so I will post the recipes. The "Boost Your Energy" salad requires figs so that one will come later once figs are in season!

Tame Stress - serves one

 

1 cup baby spinach

1 cup mixed field greens

4-5 medium strawberries, quartered

2 Tbsp sliced fennel

1/4 cup sliced green onion tops

4 oz chicken (original recipes calls for 1/2 cup canned salmon, but I don't like fish so I used chicken)

1 1/2 Tbsp walnuts, chopped

 

Dressing:

1 tsp honey

1 tsp lemon juice

2 tsp olive oil

1/8 tsp black pepper

 

I layered my salad in a mason jar to take to work with me. Dressing first, then then layer the remaining ingredients fennel, onion tops, walnuts, strawberries, chicken, then last the lettuce. Take the salad out of the refrigerator and let warm up for about 15 minutes to get the dressing to come out easier.

 

Here's the salad layered and ready to go!

 

Cobb Salad Recipe

Lunch today was a Cobb Salad. I found the recipe from The Best of Cleaning Eating cookbook. Their recipe calls for fish but I'm not a huge fan of fish so I substituted chicken. This is one of my favorite salads! I made the full dressing recipe because I can use it on other salads during the week but I only made one serving of the salad since it was just me for lunch today.

 

 

Cobb Salad (makes 4 servings)

Dressing:

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 tsp raw honey

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp Dijon mustard

Juice of 1 lemon

black pepper to taste

Salad:
4 hard boiled eggs (whites only, discard yolks)
1lb chicken (or white fish), cooked
1 large head green leaf or romaine lettuce, cleaned and torn into pieces
1 avocado, peeled, pitted and diced
2 oz Black olives, chopped
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 oz low fat feta cheese, crumbed

1. Combine dressing ingredients and whisk.
2. Divide lettuce evenly among 4 plates. Divide the remaining salad toppings evenly on all four salads.
3. Drizzle with salad dressing. Enjoy!

Pantry makeover

My journey to a pantry for healthier living

The pantry...it's where food goes to disappear only to be discovered years later. Not anymore! The pantry in my kitchen was just a standard builder grade pantry with deep shelves, terrible spacing, and not enough shelves. For years (at least 14 because my mom remembers having a conversation with me when I was pregnant with my youngest!) I have wanted to cut the shelves in half, change the spacing and have more of them. But my husband resisted...until now!

Here is my pantry before. 47" wide with 4 16" deep shelves. 

 

And here it is after! 4 full depth pull out drawers and 3 shelves (2 are 10" deep and the top one is 5" deep)

 

 

 

When it came time to put everything back into the pantry that came out I did have to find a new home for some of the non food items that were in there (paper towels and recipe book and recipe box) but all the food items went back into the pantry in addition to some fruits and veggies that were not previously in there.

 

The 4 drawers hold tons of stuff! I labeled the lids of everything with black contact paper and white marker.

The top drawer has baskets that can hold those odd bagged items: rice nooodles, rice wraps, tortillas, tea, bread, english muffins, etc.

 

The second drawer has baskets to hold fruits and veggies that do not require refrigeration.

 

 

The third drawer down is common baking ingredients and snack items that my family will want easy access to.

 

 

 

And the bottom drawer is less common baking goods, rice and beans.

 

I love my new pantry and no longer lose items or buy something that I already had and didn't know!