Favorite Quick Meals - Summer Edition


Honey Mustard Chicken Salad

Salad:
2 cups cooked and cubed chicken breast meat (rotisserie leftovers are great)
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted
3 stalks celery, sliced
1-2 green onions, diced
1 large apple, chopped (or 1/4 cup raisins, or 1/2 cup grapes)

Dressing:
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 Tbs. honey
1 Tbs. cider vinegar

In a mixing bowl, combine sour cream, mayonnaise and mustard. Blend thoroughly using a whisk. Slowly pour in the honey and vinegar, continue mixing until smooth and well combined. Mix salad ingredients together add dressing to desired moisture. May have some dressing leftover.

Check my archives for more chicken salad recipes:

Dilly Chicken Salad
Curry Chicken Salad
Mexican Chicken Salad


Nicoise salad

Lightly steam haricot verts (baby green beans). Arrange on a plate with chickpeas, good canned tuna, hard boiled egg, lettuce, sliced cucumber and tomato. Dress with oil and vinegar.


Onion & Parmesan Omelette

Egg
Onion
Parmesan Cheese

Saute onion till golden. Beat eggs with grated parmesan. Pour over onions. Cook till golden on bottom. Flip cook a minute more. Grate more parmesan on top.


Fast Chile Rellenos

Whole Green Chilies, Canned
Cheese (Monterey Jack or Colby Jack)
Egg
Flour

Drain canned whole green chilies. Make a slit in each and insert a piece of cheese. Dredge in egg and flour and fry in a skillet, slit side up, until cheese melts. Great served with eggs.


Cold Cut Roll-ups

Roast Beef & Swiss with a pickle spear in the middle or a smear of wasabi mayonnaise or Turkey rolled around a mozzarella cheese stick.


Green Eggs & Ham

Eggs
Pesto sauce
Ham, diced

Scramble the eggs with the pesto (to taste) and diced ham.


Salsa Fish

1 or 2 fillets of Tilapia or Cod
Fresh salsa the kind you have to keep refrigerated at all times
salt
pepper
foil (I use heavy duty for sturdiness)

Place fish on large sheet of foil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spoon enough salsa to cover the fish. Fold foil into a packet. Use fork or knife to poke some holes on TOP of packet. Bake at 400F for 8 or so minutes until fish flesh is white and meat flakes. CAREFULLY open packet. Enjoy!


Cannelini salad

1 can Cannelini beans, drained
1 can Italian Tuna (packed in olive oil, drained)
1 quart of grape tomatoes washed and halved
1 small red onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
kalamata olives, pitted & halved
Greek feta cheese, coarsely chopped
Several twists of freshly ground black pepper and
kosher salt
Dressing

Dressing:

Whisk together 3 parts balsamic vinegar to 1 part good olive oil with fresh, coarsely chopped dill and a bit of parsley

Combine dressing with ingredients can also be made with leftover grilled boneless, skinless chicken breast instead of tuna. You can make this in advance it tastes even better the next day. Can also be served in a wrap.


Bacon wrapped Scallops

Wrap sea scallops with a slice of bacon and skewer three or four together. BBQ for a few minutes per side. Optional: Baste at the last minute with a little Hoisin (Chinese BBQ Sauce)


Shelly's Pesto Chicken & Veggies

1/2 yellow onion, diced
4-5 crimini mushrooms, sliced
2 boneless, skinless breasts, sliced into strips
1 cup yellow summer squash, sliced
1 cup zucchini, sliced
artichoke hearts, 1/2 of a 13.75 oz. can (non-marinated type), chopped
4 Tablespoons pesto sauce (I use the refrigerated Trader Joe's or Buitoni)
1/4 Cup chicken broth
butter
olive oil
For marinade: 1/4 cup Italian dressing

Marinate chicken in Italian Dressing for at least 4 hours in refrigerator. Discard excess marinade. Saute the onion till slightly golden in a touch of butter and olive oil. Remove from pan, set aside. Drain chicken from marinade but do not rinse. Saute marinated chicken till golden. Remove from pan. Add mushrooms, squash, and zucchini and steam saute till fork tender. Add chicken and onions back to pan. Add artichoke hearts and pesto sauce and stir till coated. Add broth and heat through stirring occasionally about 3 minutes. Serve.


Chicken Saltimbocca

6 (3-ounce) chicken cutlets, pounded to evenly flatten
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 paper-thin slices prosciutto
1 (10-ounce) box frozen chopped spinach, thawed
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 (14-ounce) can chicken broth
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Place the chicken cutlets flat on the work surface. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Lay 1 slice of prosciutto atop each chicken cutlet. Squeeze the frozen spinach to remove the excess water. Season the spinach with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, toss the spinach with 1 tablespoon of oil to coat.

Arrange an even, thin layer of spinach atop the prosciutto slices. Sprinkle the Parmesan evenly over each. Beginning at the short tapered end, roll up and secure with a toothpick.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a heavy large skillet over high heat. Add the chicken and cook just until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Add the chicken broth and lemon juice, and scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium. Cover and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a platter. Simmer the cooking liquid over high heat until it is reduced to about 2/3 cup, about 5 minutes. Season the cooking liquid with salt and pepper, to taste. Remove toothpicks from the chicken. Drizzle the reduced cooking liquid over the chicken and serve immediately.