Chicken Salad with Greens

I apologize for the lack of posting in the last week.  Unfortunately, we caught the flu that has been lurking around, and there hasn’t been much cooking in this kitchen.  But we’re all better now and excited to share some delicious meals.

As I’ve mentioned before, Sam and I like to make our own vegetable and chicken stock.  It’s healthier- you know what ingredients you’re putting in, especially the amount of salt.  Throughout the month I save odds and ends of various vegetables, and add them to a bag in the freezer.  Using up these scarps (asparagus ends, broccoli stems, celery ends or parsley) also helps with less garbage, and better use of all of your groceries.  The broth or stock is then frozen, and can be defrosted any time we need it for soups.

My favorite part is actually taking the chicken meat, and making something with it.  The last time I posted a recipe like this it was the Indian Chicken Soup, which is a top 3 most viewed post on this blog.  To make the Indian Chicken Soup, or this Chicken Salad, you can also use cooked chicken breasts or leftover rotisserie chicken.

This is a perfect recipe for an easy lunch, or dinner.  And with the weather getting nicer by the day (spring, where are you?!?) hopefully you’ll be attending cookouts and get together with friends soon enough.  Eat it with a fork, or enjoy it between two slices of fresh bread.  It’s light, refreshing and it’s got a little crunch.

Chicken Salad with Greens
A Fifth Floor Kitchen Original

4 cups of shredded chicken
1 small onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 celery stalks, chopped
2 cups of fresh spinach, chopped
1 cup green peas
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Add all of the ingredients into a large bowl, then stir together.  Taste test if the salad is wet enough for you, if not add a little more mayo/yogurt mixture.  Also, check on the salt and pepper amounts if they are to your liking.

*The wetness and salt amounts will differ on what kind of chicken you’re using- rotisserie or fresh, or one that has been used to make broth.

Lamb Shepherd’s Pie in a Mason Jar

Two nights before our wedding we got a box with presents from our registry- it was one of the first ones, and I got really excited (it felt like an early Christmas!).  First, I pulled out a set of dessert plates I’ve been eying for some time, but there was also a cute cookbook which I didn’t have on my list.

As any food blogger would do, I flipped through the cookbook- Handheld Pies: Dozens of Pint-Sized Sweets & Savories by Sarah Billingsley & Rachel Wharton- and picked out my favorite recipes.  Immediately, I opened to the page with Shepherd’s Pie on it, and I knew this was going to be the first recipe I would make.  Since we still had a wedding, and a honeymoon I knew it’d be a couple of weeks- but the moment we came home this recipe was immediately on my “to cook” list!

Using mason jar’s was a great idea for this dish- it kept everything in equal servings, and it was so easy to store, heat up, and take to work.  The book suggested using smaller mason jars, but since I only had the medium size, this is what I used.  With nights getting colder, this is the perfect dish to wrap your hands around the mason jar to keep warm, and your tummy full!

Thank you Jen & Neil- this is a great addition to our cookbook collection!

Shepherd’s Pie in a Mason Jar
Adapted from: Handheld Pies: Dozens of Pint-Size Sweets & Savories

You can use lamb, beef or tofu crumbles- all would be great with this dish.  If there are other veggies you’d like to add in here, definitely do- we stuck with the traditional version the first time around.

3 russet or Yukon gold potatoes, peeled & quartered
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
3 carrots, peeled & finely chopped
3 celery stalks, finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb ground lamb
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 cup green peas
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

In a medium pot, add the potatoes and water (so it covers the potatoes) and bring the water to a boil.  Then reduce the heat to medium, and cover the pot.  Cook until the potatoes are tender, when pierced with a fork (about 20-30 minutes).

When the potatoes are cooked, drain them.  In a large bowl, mash them using a potato masher (or mixer).  Then add the milk, cheese, butter, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper- stir well.

In a large sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Then add in the onion, carrots, and celery and cook, until the onions are translucent.  Next, add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes.  Add the lamb and cook, breaking up the meat with a spoon and stirring frequently until it is browned, about 10 minutes.  Stir in the vegetable broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce and cook until the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes.  Finally, add the peas, red pepper flakes, 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper and stir well.

Preheat the oven to 400ºF.  Place 6 medium-sized mason jars on a baking sheet.

First divide all of the meat mixture, then the mashed potatoes into all of the jars.  Place the jars and banking sheet on the top rack of the oven and bake for about 15 minutes (or until the potatoes turn golden).

The pies can be cooled, covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days.  Reheat at 350ºF for 15 minutes.

Indian Chicken Soup

I’m a soup lover!  If soups varied every so often, I could eat it every day, for every meal.  Growing up, my Mom had always made a lot of soups- and I never get sick of them.

Why the love for soups?  There are so many reasons, such as:

1) they are easy to make
2) fast to make
3) lots of different flavors
4) can be vegetarian, or meat-based
5) there are a million ways to make them, and you don’t have to repeat the recipe!

So there is simplicity, deliciousness and variety.  If those are not the best qualities a dish can have, what is?  For the most part, I like to take ideas for soups, and make them my own.

This week we actually bought a chicken, celery, onions, carrots and leeks to make our own stock.  So the soup featured below used the stock as well as the chicken we had used in the preparation.  Very convenient, and if you’re looking for budget meals- this would definitely be one!

I’ve decided that we’ll have to do a step-by-step on how we make stock.  If you have never done this before, it’ll be a must as soon as possible!  You’ll never go back to the store bought broth or stock.

Indian Chicken Soup
Adapted from: The Whole Kitchen

2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
5 carrots, peeled & chopped
1 celery bunch (about 10 stalks), chopped
1 bunch of swiss chard, leaves & stalks separated; stalks and leaves chopped
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp curry
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 cup wild rice
6 chicken stock (or veggie)
1 cup water
6 small red potatoes, roughly chopped
1/4 cup coconut flakes
2 cups shredded chicken (cooked)
*naan bread

While heating up a soup pot, drizzle olive oil.  Once it’s warm, add the onion, carrots, celery and swiss chard stalks.  Saute for about 10 minutes, or until the onion is translucent.  Then add the salt, garam masala, curry, chili powder and cumin.  Stir the spices and the vegetables for about 1 minute, so everything is well incorporated.

Then, add the rice, chicken stock and water.  Cover the soup and bring to a boil.  Once it’s boiling, uncover and cook on low for about 20 minutes.  Add in the potatoes.  Simmer for another 15 minutes and continue to stir the soup.

Finally, add the coconut flakes, chicken and chopped chard leaves.  Stir the ingredients and cook them for 5 more minutes.

* This meal would be good with some naan bread.

Egg Salad with Whole Wheat Bread

Let me tell you, it’s hot here in DC…and it’s going to get hotter.  And more humid.  And more uncomfortable.  Those are the days where I wish we could walk out of our home and into our air conditioned car, and that car would drive me right next to the front door of my work, so I could step into another air conditioned building.

Unfortunately, that’s not how it is.  I hold my breath before taking a step out of our building, where I hope and wish it’s not too hot and humid.  You see, the news keeps telling us that the Midwest is hot and uncomfortable (100°F or higher), and I’m dreading the day this heat wave rolls into DC.  Since we don’t have air conditioned cars, we have the metro cars that “sometimes” might be air conditioned (it’s a gamble).

So, as you can tell with my little rant, the idea of turning on the oven this week is unbearable.  So sandwiches for dinner!  Easy, delicious and no oven required- the perfect dinner when it’s still 95°F at 8pm.

Egg Salad with Whole Wheat Bread
Adapted from: Bella Eats

6 eggs
4 tbsp capers, rinsed & drained
3 tbsp green onions, chopped
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp chili poweder
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp dijon mustard
4 stalks of celery, diced

Add the eggs into a pot filled with water.  Turn on the water until it boils, then turn off the burner.  Leave the eggs in the warm water for 10 minutes.  Then remove the eggs, and soak them in an ice-cold bath.

Once the eggs are cooled, peel the shells and chop the eggs coarsely.  In a large mixing bowl, mix the eggs and the rest of the ingredients together.  Mix well, and serve on whole wheat bread.