Honey Mustard Chicken Sandwich

My husband was on his own for dinner one night, and rather than do the usual BBQ or Franks-doused grilled chicken, I was impressed to find that he branched out and tried something new. My first clue that this had happened was in the sink when I got home - dirty measuring cups. My heart nearly stopped at the sight of them, because my husband never, and I mean never, formally measures anything when cooking. His inspiration came from none other than the bottle of mustard in the fridge. Combining two things he loves - mustard and ranch dressing - he knew he would love it. I was surprised, yet again, to find that I liked it just as much! The next time he wanted to make it, I suggested we change up the recipe a little, and turn it into honey mustard chicken sandwiches. He loved the idea and we both loved the results.



Tangy Honey Mustard Chicken Sandwiches
Source: Adapted from French's mustard

2/3 cup ranch dressing
1/3 cup classic yellow mustard
1/4 cup honey
4 medium boneless chicken breasts
rolls of your choice (we like Arnold sandwich thins)
sliced tomato
lettuce

Mix dressing, mustard, and honey. Pour 2/3 cup of sauce over chicken and marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Grill chicken over medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes, or until cooked through. Serve chicken on rolls with lettuce, tomato, and reserved mustard sauce, as desired.

Bagel Sandwiches

A trip to Europe this past spring landed us in Dublin:

There was much to love about this city, but I will shamelessly admit that every morning we looked forward to stopping at this hole-in-the-wall bagel shop for bagel sandwiches. We ate them everyday and planned our activities so that we wouldn't have to leave the hotel in the morning until they were open, since the shop was very close to the hotel.

Now, with my ever adored homemade whole wheat bagels, I decided to bring this Dublin tradition of ours to this side of the pond. Though I can't remember the exact combinations we had in Dublin, I perused the fridge and found a few leftover items that would work great together. The possibilities are really endless here, and I hope to be inspired with other flavors in the future!

Bagel Sandwiches
Serves: 2

• 2 whole wheat bagels
• 1 chicken breast, seasoned, grilled, and chopped (I used Mural of Flavor seasoning from Penzey's)
• 1.5 ounces sliced Fontina cheese
• 4 Kalamata olives, pit removed and sliced
• 1 artichoke heart, chopped
• 4 tablespoons sun dried tomato spread (recipe follows)

Slice bagels in half. Layer the bottom half with chicken, olives, artichoke heart, then cheese. Toast both halves until cheese is melted. Top other half of bagel with 2 tablespoons of sun dried tomato spread. Place both halves together and enjoy!

Sun dried tomato spread

• 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1/4 cup Greek yogurt

Add sun dried tomatoes to a small bowl, cover with hot water and let steep for 5 minutes. Drain and roughly chop. Combine all ingredients in a food process on pulse until spread is cohesive but bits of sun dried tomatoes remain.

Pesto Chicken Salad

I saw this recipe at Jenn Cuisine (a gorgeous blog if you haven't seen it!) and couldn't wait to try it. During the summer, my husband likes to take wraps to work since they are light and don't need to be heated. Ina's chinese chicken salad had been the staple for a while, but I figured I'd change it up with this one. We really love this recipe and I can't wait for my basil plant to grow enough that I can take a second harvest and make more!

I made half the amount of pesto listed below, with all basil and no arugula (so, 3 cups of basil). It was the perfect amount for the 3 cups of chicken.

Enjoy with a salad or on a whole wheat wrap to make it clean.




Pesto Chicken Salad
Source: Jenn Cuisine
Ingredients:
3 cups shredded chicken (already cooked)
2 ribs of celery, chopped
1/4 cup of kalamata olives, quartered
1/4 onion, chopped
1/4 cup sliced toasted almonds
2 cups basil
4 cups arugula (I omitted, using 3 cups of basil and halving the remaining pesto ingredients)
juice from a lemon
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup EVOO
1/4 cup graded parmesan cheese
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup plain yogurt (use Greek yogurt if you can!)
salt & pepper
greens to serve chicken salad on if desired

Directions:
1. Combine chicken, celery, onions, and olives in a large bowl.
2. Set oven to broil. Toast pine nuts for about 5 min, or until golden brown. Careful not to burn them!
3. In a food processor, add basil and arugula and pulse til chopped . Then add in the lemon juice, garlic, EVOO, parmesan cheese, pine nuts, yogurt, salt & pepper. Pulse until smooth.
4. Add about a cup of the pesto mixture to the bowl of the chicken salad mix, add in the almonds, and toss until all is coated.
5. Serve on a bed of arugula and garnish with more sliced almonds. Eat!

BB: Tuna Salad

There was definitely no way I was going to work with fresh tuna, so I used canned for this installment of Barefoot Bloggers. It was still fantastically delicious, so I don't feel like I was missing out on anything ;-) I can't wait to make it again!

Tuna Salad
Chosen by Kate of Warm Olives and Cool Cocktails

* 2 pounds very fresh tuna steak, cut 1-inch thick
* 4 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for brushing
* 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus extra for sprinkling
* 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black, plus extra for sprinkling
* 2 limes, zest grated
* 1 teaspoon wasabi powder
* 6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (3 limes)
* 2 teaspoons soy sauce
* 10 dashes hot sauce (recommended: Tabasco)
* 1 to 2 ripe Hass avocados, medium diced
* 1/4 cup minced scallions, white and green parts (2 scallions)
* 1/4 cup red onion, small diced

Directions

Brush the tuna steaks with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the tuna steaks in a very hot saute pan and cook for only 1 minute on each side. Set aside on a platter.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the olive oil, salt, pepper, lime zest, wasabi, lime juice, soy sauce and hot sauce. Add the avocados to the vinaigrette.

Cut the tuna in chunks and place it in a large bowl. Add the scallions and red onion and mix well. Pour the vinaigrette mixture over the tuna and carefully mix.

BB: Croque Monsieur

I have to admit, upon reading the title of the second Barefoot Bloggers recipe for April, I had noooo idea what it was. The lack of a photo was not helping my cause. A simple read through the directions revealed that croque monsieur is simply the devil, in ham-and-oh-so-much-cheese-sandwich form. Given we are a no ham house-sold, I decided these would have to be glorified grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato. YUM.


This definitely falls under the category of "decadent." Let's see: bread, layered with cheese, layered with more bread, slathered with cheese sauce, layered with MORE cheese.


Though I now know that I mistakenly left out the parmesan, I thought the cheese sauce itself was a little bland. Maybe I just under-seasoned it.(No worries, I added the parmesan after the final layer of gruyere - it was not left out!) I could have done without the mustard, but I get why it's there given the original concept of ham being present. We used sourdough bread, which gave it a great additional flavor. Overall, you can't go wrong with lots of cheese and bread! Very delicious!

Croque Monsieur
Chosen by Kathy of All Food Considered
Source: Barefoot in Paris on page 48

* 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 2 cups hot milk
* 1 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* Pinch nutmeg
* 12 ounces Gruyere, grated (5 cups)
* 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
* 16 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed
* Dijon mustard
* 8 ounces baked Virginia ham, sliced but not paper thin (I substituted tomato slices)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Melt the butter over low heat in a small saucepan and add the flour all at once, stirring with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes. Slowly pour the hot milk into the butter–flour mixture and cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce is thickened. Off the heat add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, 1/2 cup grated Gruyere, and the Parmesan and set aside.

To toast the bread, place the slices on 2 baking sheets and bake for 5 minutes. Turn each slice and bake for another 2 minutes, until toasted.

Lightly brush half the toasted breads with mustard, add a slice of ham to each, and sprinkle with half the remaining Gruyere. Top with another piece of toasted bread. Slather the tops with the cheese sauce, sprinkle with the remaining Gruyere, and bake the sandwiches for 5 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the topping is bubbly and lightly browned. Serve hot.

BB: Chinese Chicken Salad

As soon as I saw peanut butter in the ingredient list, I knew this would be a chicken salad my husband could get behind. Admittedly, I don't like asparagus OR red pepper, so I left those out. I did have some leftover snow peas, so I decided to add those in. After reading some reviews, it seemed like the salt in the sauce was unnecessary, so I left it out. Ultimately, we absolutely LOVED it and I can't wait to make it again... though the next time will be a little different, I don't want to use that much oil again!

Update (04/28/09): I have made this a few times, replacing the oil in the dressing with 2% greek yogurt - it works great!!


* 4 split chicken breasts (bone-in, skin-on)
* Good olive oil
* Kosher salt
* Freshly ground black pepper
* 1/2 pound asparagus, ends removed, and cut in thirds diagonally
* 1 red bell pepper, cored and seeded
* 2 scallions (white and green parts), sliced diagonally
* 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds, toasted

For the dressing:

* 1/2 cup vegetable oil (or 1/2 cup 2% greek yogurt)
* 1/4 cup good apple cider vinegar
* 3 tablespoons soy sauce
* 1 1/2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
* 1/2 tablespoon honey
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1/2 teaspoon peeled, grated fresh ginger
* 1/2 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
* 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
* 2 teaspoons kosher salt
* 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the chicken breasts on a sheet pan and rub with the skin with olive oil. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is just cooked. Set aside until cool enough to handle. Remove the meat from the bones, discard the skin, and shred the chicken in large bite-sized pieces.

Blanch the asparagus in a pot of boiling salted water for 3 to 5 minutes until crisp-tender. Plunge into ice water to stop the cooking. Drain. Cut the peppers in strips about the size of the asparagus pieces. Combine the cut chicken, asparagus, and peppers in a large bowl.

Whisk together all of the ingredients for the dressing and pour over the chicken and vegetables. Add the scallions and sesame seeds and season to taste. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Turkey, Brie, and Apple Sandwiches

On a recent trip to LA, I had the delight of enjoying a turkey, brie, and apple sandwich at the airport. It was SO good, that I decided to recreate it at home for my husband. I probably should have asked the shop what went into the sandwich, but it seemed pretty straightforward so I just winged it.

I picked up a long french baguette from the bakery, and sliced it into medium sub sized pieces, the sliced in half. I layered some chicken (the original sandwich had turkey deli meat, but I didn't have any of that... I think some leftover carved turkey breast from Thanksgiving would go great in these!), slices of brie, and slices of granny smith apple. I popped sandwich (open faced) in the toaster oven to broil for a few minutes, until the bread started to brown and the brie melted a bit.

YUM! The chicken I had cooked the night before on the stove, just with salt and pepper, and it was a little to peppery for me, but my husband loved it. I can't wait for leftover turkey at thanksgiving to make this again!

Platinum Chef Challenge #5, Part II

So my second entry to Platinum Chef Challenge, Round 5 is a simple chicken salad with an avocado spread. The ingredients for this challenge are basil, avocado, grapes, black beans, and rice. I already posted my Black Bean and Rice "Burgers", which used three of the ingredients and left me with grapes and basil as a requirement in this dish.

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts: boiled, cooled and shredded
about 10 seedless red grapes, quartered
avocado spread, added to your preferred consistency

Avocado Spread
1/2 an avocado, peeled/diced
1/8 cup mayo (i use Miracle Whip)
2 tsp lemon juice
1/8 cup fresh basil

To make spread, combine avocado, mayo, lemon juice, and basil in a food processor, blend until smooth. Add to chicken and grapes and mix until combined. (The amount of spread made by this recipe was the perfect amount for me to combine the chicken and grapes). Sandwich between bread or in a wrap, and enjoy!

(I know it looks funny, but it really tastes good!)