Start the Year Off Right! Citrus Chicken Super Food Salad!!

Today we are using up the very last little bit of shredded chicken from the two we roasted and making a super healthy, citrus chicken super food salad! I am inspired by Elaine's "big salad" a la Seinfeld but wanted to take a super healthy beginning of the new year, healthy goals approach here. 

This salad starts with some chopped, fresh kale and baby spinach, blended together along with a healthy handful of matchstick carrots. I usually put out all the goodies and have everyone make their own salad. That way everyone gets what they like. I prefer a little bit of everything and a tasty dressing!

I added some of the shredded chicken. I have about 1 1/2 cups left which may not seem like a lot, but it is the perfect amount for the four of us to have a great, healthy dinner salad with super boosted nutrition! 

I made up my salad using the greens and chicken along with some cooked and cooled quinoa, baby yellow, orange and red bell peppers which are filled with great vitamins, mineral and antioxidants. Then added some grape tomatoes and a healthy portion of grapefruit and orange segments. I used a canned citrus salad, packed in juice, with no added sugar, that I like to keep in my pantry. If you live where you can get citrus free or cheap, then I think that would be great! Oranges in my area, right now are almost $1 each! Horrifying! 

I added a handful of dried, organic, unsweetened cranberries for a sweet note along with a healthy sprinkling of seeds. A mixture of chia, hemp and sunflower. You can also add some walnuts or pecans or toasted almonds as well if you prefer or in addition to the seeds. 

I topped the whole thing off with a drizzle of a delicious orange citrus vinaigrette that I made and will share in an upcoming video! If you would like to see how to make the quinoa, let me know and I will be happy to share! 

This salad is the perfect light meal. It really is filling with the cooked grains and all the hearty greens. Using the rainbow as your guide for adding veggies and fruits really makes for a colorful, delicious and nutritious salad that everyone will love! If you don't like quinoa, you can always cook up some wheat berries which would also be great in this salad!

I hope that you give this citrus chicken, super food salad a try and I hope you love it! I also hope you love seeing how many delicious things we can make with just a couple of roasted chickens! Next up is using the bones to make some soup and stock for dinner and I can't wait to share that with you soon!

Happy Eating!

Meatless Never Tasted So good! Vegetable Stacks ~ Vegetarian Sheet Pan Dinner!!

Here is a great dinner option for meatless Monday or any day!  Vegetable stacks, vegetarian sheet pan dinner is easy to make and nobody in your family is going to miss the meat!  We really enjoyed this meal and served along with some ancient grains blend that I cooked up in the pressure cooker, this meal was simply delicious!  

We have been wanting to share this for a while and we have had it a couple of times so far this summer and we all really enjoy the simplicity of this meal.  Super simple to make and even the leftovers can be folded into leftover rice, quinoa or couscous for an awesome riff on a tabbouleh salad the next day!

I used some giant portobello mushroom caps from the warehouse store and some thick sliced eggplant, yellow and zuccini squash along with some thick sliced Vidalia onions.  I marinated each veggie in a zip top bag with some of our favorite zesty Italian dressing for 15 to 20 minutes then laid them on a sheet pan lined with a silicone baking mat.  

We baked off the veggies for 20 to 25 minutes until they reached our desired doneness and then created our vegetable stacks on top of the prepared quinoa blend that had been prepared pilaf style.

You can always change up the dressing/marinade and make this with a delicious teriyaki or Asian sesame dressing, or Greek, French or even just some oil and balsamic vinegar would be great!  You decide which direction to take.  No matter what you choose I know it will be delicious!

I hope you give this vegetarian sheet pan dinner a try and I hope you love these vegetable stacks!

Happy Eating!

You can get a printable version of the recipe here:  http://bit.ly/1UwjWb2



You can see how I did this in my YouTube video:

Noreen's Kitchen

Vegetable Stacks

Vegetarian Sheet Pan Dinner

Ingredients

4 portobello mushroom caps 2 medium sized eggplant 2 large sweet onions 2 zucchini

2 yellow squash 2 cups marinade or dressing of choice salt and pepper to taste

Step by Step Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Clean the gills from the portobello mushrooms and set aside.

Slice eggplant, and squash into 1/2 inch slices.

Slice onion in 1/2 thick slices and place on skewers to make turning easier.  I put two slices per skewer.

Place 1/2 cup of dressing or marinade into a zip top bag and add the mushroom caps.  Seal the bag and distribute the dressing to coat the mushrooms.  Set aside for 15 t0 20 minutes.

Do the same with the rest of the vegetables and allow them to marinate for at least 15 minutes.

Lay the vegetables in a single layer on two sheet pans that you have lined with either foil or silicone mats.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the vegetables reach your preferred doneness. 

Remove from oven and allow to sit for five minutes before preparing the stacks.

Build stacks by arranging a bed of quinoa, rice or couscous on the bottom of the plate and stacking a mushroom cap on the bottom then squash, onion and topping of with a slice of eggplant.

You can sprinkle with parsley or drizzle with more dressing or marinade if desired before serving.

This is a dish best eaten fresh, however leftover roasted vegetable can be chopped and mixed with any of your leftover rice, quinoa or couscous to make a version of tabbouleh salad that you can eat as a lunch the next day.