Curry Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Ok, look. Some people don't like curry. Others, like myself, do. So take it or leave it, here's a recipe for an awesome sandwich.

this recipe was inspired by a sandwich at Simple.

I was really proud of myself for this one. Have you ever had chicken salad with sweet potatoes in it? What about coconut milk instead of mayo? I don't know, I think I invented it.

Try it, change it, let me know what you think!

3 chicken breasts

1/2 lemon

1 half of a beer. just chug the rest. Party party party let's all get wasted. (chill, it's a song haha)

salt, pepper and curry to taste

1 cup of sliced grapes

1 half of a sweet potato

1 stalk of celery sliced thinly

3 chives, sliced

1/4 cup coconut milk

salt and pepper

In a medium pot, cover the chicken with boiling water. Boil until it is almost cooked, shred it and then put it in a fry pan.

squeeze the 1/2 lemon on the chicken and add the beer. Salt, pepper and curry that mess until it's cooked, moist and delicious. (I believe chicken should be good on it's own before you turn it into chicken salad. The rest of the ingredients should enhance it, not cover it)

Put the chopped sweet potatoes on a plate, cover them and microwave them for 4 to 8 minutes. or until cooked.

Next, add all the remaining ingredients into a bowl and adjust to your liking. Let it cool completely before serving. Serve on toast, or Naan if tiffy posts her recipe for it.

What is that tasty salad next to it? Grilled peach salad, I'll post it later. :)

Last Minute Lunch Date Salad

For one reason or another, I guessed that I could go a day without seeing Jordan. I needed to wake up early this morning and I didn’t think it would be wise to stay up late. Well, I texted him and told him I wouldn’t be able to hang out that night and it wasn’t long before we solidified plans for him to come for lunch. He knew us better.

Let me tell you about Jordan. He is adorable. He has blonde hair and blue blue blue eyes and he says more with one facial expression than a thousand words could touch. He’s funny, he’s passionate, and he’s sweet. He wants me to have everything. More like he wants to give me everything. In a way, he does.

What can I give him in return? Well, I make barely enough money to make ends meet (I can’t buy a 3 ring binder to hold recipes in until next month, ugh). I have a dog that keeps being expensive even though I tell him not to. I exhaust myself emotionally at work and I barely get sleep these days. So, it often times feels like I can’t give him anything. I don’t know how I deserve him or how he feels the way he claims to about me. He just blows my mind. Anyway, one thing I can do is put a lot of thought and energy into things I cook him. He gets all pissy when I ask if I can take him out to dinner and pay for him so I just cook for him at home instead. It makes me feel sneaky and like I’m taking him on a date.

I had half an hour to get ready and make lunch and I hadn’t gone grocery shopping in a long time. This is what I came up with while I was in the shower. I started by making him a mixed CD (his entry to Indie music) and then made us salad. Sure, call it unoriginal. Call it predictable. I call it serving those you care about with something you put energy into. I also call it Last Minute Lunch Date Salad.

1 half vidalia or white onion

1 chicken breast cut into strips

1 zucchini green or yellow

1 clove of garlic chopped

2 teaspoons of dried oregano

2 teaspoons of dried basil

salt and pepper to taste

some olive oil

some balsamic vinegar

1 ripe avocado

1/2 cup of black beans

1/2 cup golden raisins

4 cups of mixed greens

for the dressing, I just used one of those italian seasonings packets that you mix oil and balsamic into it was good.

Saute the onions, garlic, and slices of zucchini on medium heat with a splash of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Also add a little dash of oregano and basil if you want.

In a separate grill pan, cook the chicken strips with olive oil, salt, pepper, basil and oregano.

when it was all done, I assembled it, sprinkled it with a four letter word and called it a date.

You. you.

Honey and Beer Spice Cake

Honey and Beer Spice Cake

When I open the door of my fridge, it rattles and clangs from 5 beers just sitting there. It makes me crazy. I’m gonna use them all, I swear it. So, today, while I procrastinated working out, I made some beer cake. Oh man. I could have eaten the batter all day. It was so good. This cake has so much potential to add and change things, I’ll let you know what I change next time I make it. I put on the Arcade Fire album and got to work.

adapted from Booze Cakes and from Joy the Baker. makes one 9×13-inch cake

3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon cinnamon (or just triple that) 1 teaspoon all-spice 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves zest and juice of 1 lemon 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature 1/2 cup sugar 3/4 cup light brown sugar 4 large eggs 1 cup honey 12 ounces (1 1/2 cups) pale ale beer or honey beer I actually used another miller high life haha)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9×13-inch pan and set aside.

I a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a bowl cream together butter, sugars, spices and lemon zest. Mixture may look crumbly, but mix for about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Beat in the lemon juice and honey.

Add the flour mixture and beer. Alternating. First add a third of the flour mixture, mix. Add half of the beer, mix. Add the second third of flour, the rest of the beer. Mix. Then finally add the last third of the flour. Beat the batter real fast for 30 seconds. The batter will be loose and smooth.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake in the upper third of the oven for 45-50 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Mine cooked fast I would time it for 35 min and check on it from there.

When it was done, i just melted some butter on the top and rubbed cinnamon and sugar on it and it was great. It stayed moist for like 4 days.

Hope you like it party animals!

Beer chicken avocado mango toastwiches

I have been 21 since March 4^th 2010. I bought alcohol for the first time last week. They didn’t even get to ask for my ID, I offered it right away. Kind of a dorky move in retrospect. Gosh Darla, can’t you just be cool? No.

Anyway, I just bought a six-pack of miller high life because that’s what Tiffy’s fiancé, Andy said to get. (Ps, yeah, fiancé!!!!) Get ready, because I have to get rid of this beer. For some reason, I’m afraid to drink it. I’m afraid I’ll like it. I mean, I tasted it, I can see how people like it. It’s just that I’m an addictions counselor. I tell my clients not to drink, wouldn’t it be weird if I did? I don’t know. I’m still figuring it out. Anyway, cooking with it is fine with me, I love what it does to food.

I had this idea while I was at work. I love mango and avocado toast, why not add some beer chicken? I hope I’m the first one to do it. I swear I invented it. They made their debut last Tuesday for my Dad, Caitlin, and Jordan. I made some roasted sweet potatoes and a lime bean salad to go with it. I’ll post those recipes too. I hope you like this!!

3 Chicken breast

Salt and Pepper to taste

A few dashes of paprika

1 beer (miller high life)

1 half lemon

2 avocados

2 mangos

4 pieces of toast

Bring some water to a boil (enough to cover the chicken) Boil the chicken until it is almost cooked. There should be a hint of pink left. Remove from the water and shred the chicken into strands with a fork. Then put the chicken in a frying pan on medium heart and add the juice of the half lemon, about half of the beer bottle, and then salt and pepper. It shouldn’t be sitting in a lot of liquid, it the chicken is supposed to taste peppery and bold, because the mangos and the avocados are going to be cooling it down a lot. When the chicken seems done and you’ve stuck your slimy fingers in it to taste it and you like it, then you’re ready to start building your toastwich. Toast, avocado, chicken, mango, and then salt. It will make your toes twitch.

Diced Avocado Tomato Mango Toast

I am grounded. I did it to myself. I am only allowed to have one mango a day. I have reasons. Reasons like: I am not capable of moderation. It will just mess with your BMs if you just session a six pack of mangos (which they actually sell at costco). Also, nutritionally, i can't only eat mangos. So, I added avocado. Which I'm also grounded from.

1 Avocado diced

1 tomato, diced

1 mango, diced

Sea Salt, diced?

Some toast.

Put it all together on a toast bed. MmmMmmm. You can add more or less of whatever you want.

Thinly Tomato Basil Toast

I feel like I can't even take credit for "cooking" this one. This is more of an assembled meal. I just served it with Crack Potatoes (as Jordan calls them haha). I'll post the recipe for them later.

Fresh Mozzarella ball (ya know, the stuff in water that’s in a knot)

Tomatoes sliced thinly

Fresh basil sliced thinly

Cucumber, sliced thinly

Sea salt

Peel the cheese into strings and set aside

Toast the bread.

Put the cheese on right when the toast is done so it gets to melt it a little. Then add the basil, cucumbers, and tomatoes and then salt it. It’s okay, you can have two slices if you want. It’s not overindulgent or unhealthy.

Ellie, do me a favor. Make this. Then eat it. You won't regret it. I miss you to pieces. Sliced thinly.

Here’s to you, toast.

When I think about what I want for breakfast, or lunch, or dinner lately, I think of toast. For someone who fancies herself a chef, that sounds pretty weak. I know. Just hear me out. Toast is a blank canvas. Toast is a solid foundation. Toast is what made my fire alarm go off at 4:45 am before a Saturday run. Toast is what Tiff and I ate for lunch after an 8 mile run. Toast is a little barge that carries cargo, a little dish you can eat. Toast isn’t just for the morning. It isn’t just for cinnamon and jam (mmm). It’s something to explore. Raise your glass, to toast! Ugh, that was really lame.

You can toast your regular old grocery store bread, if you’re a scumbag. Joking. I actually really like those sandwich thins (omg omg omg only 100 calories!) However, if you have the time and resources, just get real-ski and make some of your own bread. No big deal.

I stole a bread machine from my parents’ house. Don’t worry, they really won’t miss it. Here is the bread I make.

13 ounces of warm to hot water

2 Tbsp honey

2 Tbsp coconut oil or canola oil

3 ½ cups flour (depending on how gnarly you want your bread, just divvy up the flour with some whole wheat.)

1 cup rolled oats

½ cup flax seed mill (I’m serious)

¼ cup wheat germ

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp dried milk

½ tsp cinnamon

3 tsp of yeast (or whatever your bread machine calls for)

Put all these things in the pan in order (make a little well for the yeast), and set it for a two pound, light loaf. It’ll take about three hours and your house will smell great. The key to good toast is slicing that homemade bread thinly. I have a bread slicing guide that gives me good standard slices. I know it’s hard, but giant toast takes the other flavors away. Understand? Good.