Absolutely Avocado's Cucumber Salad

We ate this with our Krab avocado sandwiches the other night, and we all enjoyed this so much.  I found this recipe in the Absolutely Avocado cookbook.  Each serving, for six servings, was 165, and Noah and Aaron gave it a perfect 10, Owen gave it a 7, and I gave it a 9.  Here's what to do:

2 T olive oil
2 T balsamic vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cucumber, chopped
2 avocados, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
salt and pepper

Mix together the oil and vinegar, season to taste, and set aside.  Assemble the vegetables together with the garlic, and then toss with the dressing, serve.

Jonah really loved this too :)

Michael Symon's Marinated Chicken Tenders and Feta and Cucumber Salad

So this was a hit at our house.  I didn't like either of these recipes as well by themselves, but together these were awesome.  I didn't just come up with this pairing on my own, Michael Symon made this suggestion, and I'm so glad I followed it.  We made some changes to the chicken, so I will post what I did.  This is a 30 minute dinner, and Owen, Aaron and I all gave it a 9, while Noah gave it an 8 because it was too spicy for him.

The calories for this are super duper low, for the serving pictured above, the calories are only 275, and that just makes life easy :).  

Marinated Chicken Tenders

1 1/4 lb chicken tenders

salt

1 c Greek yogurt

3 garlic cloves, minced

Grated zest and juice of 1 tangelo

1 T coriander

2 t cumin

2 t paprika

2 t chipotle powder (here's where the spice is, cut back if you want a little less spice)
1 c chopped parsley

Rinse, dry and salt the chicken thoroughly.  

In a gallon bag, mix together all the rest of the ingredients, salting more if desired.  Throw in the chicken, and shake it/mix it well to distribute the ingredients.  Marinate for about 4 hours.

Spray a large skillet with non-stick spray (I used olive oil spray), remove the chicken from the marinade, and cook for about 3 minutes per side.  Serve with the cucumber feta salad.

Cucumber Feta Salad

3 cucumbers

salt

1 garlic clove, minced

1 shallot, minced

1 jalapeno, seeded and minced

2 T fresh oregano leaves

Grated zest and juice of 2 lemons

1/4 c olive oil

6 oz crumbled feta cheese

Slice the cucumbers as thinly as possible (wishing for a mandoline here :)).  Toss the cucumbers with a large amount of salt and let them sit in a colander.  (I underdid the salt, don't make the same mistake :))

Whisk together the garlic, shallot, jalapeno, oregano, salt, lemon zest and juice, and then add in the olive oil.  Drain off and discard any water that the cucumbers have released.  Add the dressing and toss to combines.  Just before serving, add the feta.  Serve with the chicken.

Yummy!!!

Lauren's Latest Chicken with Cucumber Bruschetta

So tomorrow I'm having my baby, so for the next few weeks, we'll have only two posts per week, hopefully Tuesdays and Fridays.  I should be back on schedule mid-end of May, but we'll see ;).  Anyway, today I'm featuring Chicken with Cucumber Bruschetta, which is a family favorite of ours, and this was not a failure, thankfully :)

 

I cook this recipe in my George Foreman grill, and it is so easy and healthy and delicious, it's hard to pass up.  For 1 chicken tender with salad, I think the calories are only 190 or there about, we love how fresh and low in calories this is.  This is a recipe from Lauren's Latest, and here is a link to the recipe.

 

12 oz chicken breast tenders

1/2 bottle Italian marinade

2 roma tomatoes

1/2 cucumber

1 garlic clove

8 leaves basil

1 t balsamic vinegar

1/2 oz parmesan cheese

salt and pepper

 

Marinate the chicken for at least 1/2 hour in the marinade, I like to do more.  Grill the chicken.  Cut up veggies and top with balsamic, salt, pepper and parmesan.  Serve over chicken.

 

So easy, so good!

 Aaron gave this an 8, and the rest of us gave it a perfect 10.

Cornbread Panzanella

We tried this cornbread panzanella recently, and we really enjoy bread salad.  The cornbread added a different element, and although we enjoyed this, I like traditional panzanella better.  I thought this dressing was a little lemon heavy.  This is an easy salad to make, and very summery with fresh tomatoes and basil. This comes from Giada's cookbook Everyday Pasta.

Cornbread Panzanella from Giada de Laurentiis

1 lb cornbread, cut into cubes

1 c halved cherry tomatoes

1 c cubed fontina cheese

½ hothouse cucumber, quartered and sliced

½ c chopped fresh basil

Dressing:

2/3 c extra-virgin olive oil

Zest of 1 lemon

Juice of 2 lemons

1 t kosher salt

1 t pepper

Combine the cornbread, tomatoes, cheese, cucumber, and basil in a large bowl. 

Ina small bowl, combine the olive oil, lemon zest, and juice, salt and pepper.  Stir together and pour over the salad.  Toss very gently to combine.  Serve immediately.

 

This is 452 calories per serving when you split it into 8 servings, which is about a 1 to 1 1/2 c serving.  We all gave this an 8.

The shrimp recipe I mentioned yesterday will be up soon, but tomorrow we're trying chicken shawarma.