Chicken Pesto Sandwich

I had some homemade pesto left from the stromboli I made over the weekend.  I used it up in this good chicken salad combination.  The dressing is made with Greek yogurt and pesto.  So yummy and a much healthier choice than a mayonnaise based dressing.  The combination of the pesto, tomato and mozzarella is a classic combination.  This is great for leftover chicken; or in a pinch, grab a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store.  This is one of the sandwich recipes that every ingredient fits-the chicken is soft, the pesto is creamy, the yogurt has some tang, the tomatoes offer the cool and the arugula gives it a kick.  Those combined with a fresh crusty baguette-sandwich bliss!


Chicken Pesto Sandwich
printable recipe

2-3 c. chopped cooked chicken
1/2 c. prepared pesto
1/4 c. Greek yogurt
kosher salt and pepper
1 baguette, cut into 4 serving size pieces, split for sandwich filling
2 c. arugula
2 tomatoes, sliced
8 oz. mozzarella, sliced

In a medium bowl, combine the chicken, pesto, yogurt, salt and pepper.

On the split baguette put a scoop of the chicken salad.

Top with tomato.

Add a handful of the argula.

Top with the sliced cheese.

Swiss Chard with Honey and Nuts

I must admit I did not cook today.  The recipe I am sharing is a side dish from last night.  We spent the afternoon with our niece in the hospital.  She is facing an unexpected challenge with leukemia.  It blindsided she and her family.  She has a wedding in the beginning of October, fabulous friends, an A+ attitude and a family that is rock strong.  Those things are overshadowing her fear of the roller coaster of the next few months.  All positive thoughts sent her way would be sincerely appreciated.
Health is a big factor in why I put a good deal of effort into cooking from scratch.  I try not to be all geeky and weird about pesticides and preservatives.  But, if I can put the effort into what we eat so we increase our odds of remaining healthy, I will take the time!  We have an abundance of Swiss Chard rolling in from the garden.  If you are not as familiar with Swiss Chard, think of it as a ramped up spinach.  It holds up better to cooking techniques better than spinach.  It keeps more of its body than how spinach can sort of disappear as it cooks. It is like a super green!


Swiss Chard with Honey and Nuts
printable recipe

2 heads of garlic
2 tsp. honey
1 tsp. plus 1 T. olive oil
3 T. butter
1/4 c. nuts such as pecans, almonds or pine nuts
2 bunches (almost 2 lbs.) Swiss Chard, stripped from the stems
sea salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Cut the top off of the garlic heads, exposing the cloves.  Set in the center of a large square of aluminum foil. Drizzle over 1 tsp. of the honey and 1 tsp. oil.

Replace the tops.  Fold up the sides of the foil to make a package, crimping the top tight.

Bake until tender and golden, 40-45 minutes
When cool enough to handle, remove the garlic heads from the foil.  Pop the cloves out of their skins, trying to keep their shape in tact.

Add the remaining honey and 1 T. of oil and gently mix to coat.

Heat a large skillet.  Add the butter and nuts.

When they begin to sizzle and start to emit a toasty smell, add the Swiss Chard (you may have to do it in batches) .

Once all the chard is wilted, season with salt and pepper.  Cook for a few minutes until the liquid is cooked off.

Add the honey roasted garlic.  Fold gently to combine and serve immediately.

French Potato Salad

Potatoes.  My daughter called me one time to be the decision maker in a debate she and her husband were having.  Can you say potatoes are your favorite food?  Or do you have to be more specific as in, baked potato, french fries, scalloped potatoes, etc.  My vote was for, potatoes in any way shape or form can be your favorite food!  I know in this whole day and age of no carbs, no white food, and all of those other philosophies that involve limiting what anyone enjoys, I should not admit my favorite ingredient is the earthy, clean tasting potato!  Pshaw to naysayers that you should not eat something over another.  Hey, it is a given that artificial based food, processed sugar, and high fat laden fare is not healthy, but a potato? C'mon, it is from the earth and very tasty!  Be wise in how you prepare them and they can be a source of many good things including they contain 45% of the daily value for vitamin C; they have more potassium than bananas, spinach or broccoli, and other vitamins and minerals!  Ok, I am not getting a kickback for the state of Idaho, although a kickback form anyone would be nice, I just believe that you should eat what you like if it makes sense!
Our herb garden is getting out of control, and we pulled up our first potatoes of the season.  This is a light way to make a potato salad that is better for you than a mayonnaise based picnic salad.  It is a fresh tasting, and a little elegant!

French Potato Salad
printable recipe

2 lbs. of small baby potatoes
2 T. dry white wine
2 T. chicken Stock
3 T. white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. dijon mustard
2 tsp. kosher salt
3/4 tsp. black pepper
10 T. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 c. sliced scallion (white and green parts)
2 T. chopped dill
2 T. minced parsley
2 T. julienned fresh basil

Cook the potatoes in salted, boiling water until cooked through, bout 20 minutes.  Drain and when you can handle the cut in half.
While warm, drizzle with the stock and the wine.  Let the potatoes soak up the liquid.

In a small bowl, whisk the vinegar, the mustard and salt and pepper.  Slowly drizzle in the olive oil and whisk continuously until well blended.

Add the herbs, scallions and dressing.  Mix until well blended. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Pesto Stromboli

Junk Food Friday + Concert in the Park + Sunny Skies = I love Summer!

I have a ton of beautiful fresh basil just screaming for me to make pesto.  I thought of just making pesto and then bring bread to spread with the delicious garlicky goodness; but, I thought that may be messy.  So I made a dough and rolled the pesto up inside.  Perfect Park Pick Up food!  I did make the dough, the pesto and the sauce.  However, I will give directions on pesto making (because I love it on pasta), and the sauce recipe when the tomatoes come in, on a days  I have a bit more time.  This is the basic way to make a Stromboli.  I usually stretch the dough larger and roll it more to get lots of layers, but like I said, I did it quick!

Pesto Stromboli
printable recipe

1 prepared pizza dough
1/2-3/4 c. pesto
1/2 c. sauce (optional)
2 c. shredded cheese
olive oil

Stretch the pizza dough into a large rectangle.

Spread with pesto.

Drizzle on sauce.

Top with cheese.

Starting at one long side of the stromboli, begin to roll, folding the side edges in occasionally to seal the ends.

Roll completely pinching the dough together at the end.

Place the roll onto a baking sheet, seam side down. Brush with olive oil.  I suggest sprinkling the top with Italian seasoning.

Let the Stromboli rest 15 minutes before baking.
Bake for 30-40 minutes until golden brown.

Ok, my Stromboli was picture perfect going into the oven; but what happens occasionally is while baking the dough splits and the filling oozes out.  That happened tonight :(  

Although everyone, including Sam, aka Jack Nicholson, gave it double thumbs up!

Sausage, White Bean and Swiss Chard Soup

I took a pass on yesterday's blog. It was day 176 and I have more than enough recipes in to meet my challenge of 365 in 2014 (with no repeats!). Weird day with many things taking precedence over spending time in the kitchen.   I was back in the kitchen today after an afternoon in the garden.  I love summer.  I am big on meal planning.  I spend a good bit of time working my week's menu around my grocery store specials and coupons.  However I have an added element to the planning this time of year based on what is ready to pick in the garden.  Sometimes I do have to rework my plan if I didn't predict correctly on what needs harvested; however, I despise going to the store more than once a week and never, ever sway from my budget.

Today's Harvest!

I wasn't expecting the Swiss chard to be ready today.  I had a traditional pasta with red sauce planned.  It was easy to switch because this recipe calls for sausage and the original plan called for it as well.  At first I thought this Paula Deen recipe was more for fall.  Yet, once I taste it and understood that it highlighted the Swiss chard; I understood why it is perfect for this time of the year!  Healthy, light, vibrant and delicious, tonight's dish is a keeper.  A starred keeper! 

Sausage, White Bean and Swiss Chard Soup
printable recipe

1 lb. loose Italian sausage
1 c. chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 c. chicken broth
1 large bunch of Swiss chard
1 can Northern beans, drained and rinsed
Salt and black pepper
Grated Parmesan

In a large dutch oven cook sausage, onions and garlic on high heat until the sausage is cooked and crumbled.  Drain if necessary.

Stir in broth and beans.  Bring to a boil.

Separate the leaves from the stems of the chard.  Discard the stems.  Chop the leaves into pieces.

Pile the Swiss chard into the hot broth.  Reduce the heat and simmer until the Swiss chard is tender (you still want the chard to be a vibrant green).

Serve immediately with a sprinkle of grated Parmesan.

Ham and Cheese Calzone

It is still broccoli week!  I wasn't sure when or who would eat dinner tonight.  So, I mixed up a pizza dough thinking I could use it whenever.  As the day went on I decided on a calzone because it would reheat well if we didn't eat right away.  The nice thing about calzone is you can stuff it with whatever you have on hand....I had broccoli, and more broccoli!  Ham and cheddar cheese go perfectly with broccoli; it was a decidedly easy choice for me.

Ham and Cheese Calzone
printable recipe

1 pizza dough
1 lb. chopped broccoli
1-1/2 c. cubed ham
1-1/2 c. shredded cheddar
olive oil
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Roll our the pizza dough on a floured surface to about 16" round

Cover half with broccoli, leaving a half inch edge.

Top with the ham.

Add the cheese.

Fold the uncovered half over the filling.  Pinch the dough closed.

Carefully pick up the calzone and place it on an oiled baking sheet.
Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake 20-25 minutes.  If you prefer, 5 minutes before it is done, sprinkle a bit of cheese on top.

Cold Beet Salad and Broccoli Roasted with Garlic and Lemon

I allowed the garden to dictate dinner tonight.  I knew I would pick broccoli; however, I spied some beets perfect for pulling.  So 2 vegetable sides that are quick, healthy and tasty for you tonight.  I often roast broccoli, alone or with a variety of other vegetables.  Adding the lemon and minced garlic was an idea from Rachel Ray.  Sounded simple enough to let the broccoli be the star.  Make sure you add the lemon zest, it gave it an even fresher taste, if that was possible being that it was cut from the stem and cooked within 10 minutes!
The beet salad is similar to pickled beets.  Although you don't simmer the vinegar and sugar.  It is more of a dressing on the beets instead of a full pickle.  I pulled 2 types of beets, one the traditional sugar beet and the other I can't remember the name, maybe French beets? Don't remember, but they were sweet and tender!

Cold Beet Salad
printable recipe

5-6 fresh beets
1/4 c. cider vinegar
1 T. sugar
1 T. olive oil
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
salt and pepper to taste

Cut the greens off of the beets, leaving about an inch of the stems.  If you cut the fully off, while they are cooking, they will leech out all of their juice.  Cover in cold water and simmer for about 20 minutes.  Run under cold water and peel the skins off with a paper towel.  If needed cut them into pieces to make bite size.

Whisk together the rest of the ingredients.  Pour over the beets and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes to marinate before serving.

Broccoli Roasted with Garlic and Lemon
printable recipe

1 head of fresh broccoli, peeled and chopped into 1 inch pieces.
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. lemon zest
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Spread broccoli on a baking sheet.  Drizzle with 2 T. of the olive oil.
Sprinkle with the lemon zest.

Whisk the remaining oil, garlic and lemon juice together.  Pour over broccoli. Toss to coat.
Roast for 15-20 minutes depending on the size of the broccoli pieces.  Shake the pan half way through cooking.