Easy Thai Chicken Salad

Dinner tonight was done in 10 minutes...

Do I have your attention?

I had been looking for a way to use a bag of coleslaw mix I bought the other day to top my fish tacos.  I feel like they should sell smaller bags of coleslaw mix, but I digress.  I found this recipe for a chopped Thai Chicken Salad and I couldn't resist makingt a few easy substitutions.  It ended up easier than I even thought it would be! 

Easy Thai Chicken Salad
Ingredients:
1/2 bag coleslaw mix (just the chopped cabbage and carrots bag, pre mayo)
2 chicken breasts
2 green onions
1 snack-sized bag of peanuts (chopped)
Handfull of chopped cilantro
1 Cup Wonton Strips (I love these)
Asian Sesame Dressing to taste

I slapped the chicken on the Foreman Grill (it's getting so nice out, if I had a grill, I would have grilled them outside!) and set to mix up the other ingredients.

I threw everything in a bowl and mixed it all up.  Once the chicken was done, I let it cool off for a bit so it wouldn't wilt my slaw and chopped it up into the salad.

Voila! Dinner was that easy.  And I had plenty of leftovers for lunch tomorrow!  I will note, saving the wonton strips for right before you serve is generally a good idea.  They get a little soggy.

Parmesan Crusted Salmon over Linguini and a Chocolate Souffle

I love making extravagant meals and baked goods.  But when I cook for myself I keep it pretty simple.  This week I decided to make a fancy dinner for my bf and I.

On the menu was parmesan crusted salmon, linguini with marinara, roasted asparagus, garlic bread and a chocolate souffle.

I started with the souffles. I got the recipe from Alton Brown.  I know a  good souffle needs some science to back it up, and Alton's got what it takes.

I made the salmon just like I would a chicken parm.  Drenched the filets in flour, a quick egg dip and then covered them with seasoned bread crumbs and some parmesan cheese.   I browned both sides in some olive oil and put it in the oven the filets were cooked through.  When I took them out, I topped them with a little dill.  Dill and salmon are such a perfect pair.  I couldn't resist. 

The linguini seemed  fancier than plain ol' spaghetti.   I simmered some bottled sauce for an hour while everything else cooked.  That thickens the sauce up to stick to the noodles a little better. 

I just drizzled the asparagus with some olive oil and sprinkled some sesame seeds over them before roasting.    

This was one of the best meals I've eaten in a long time, and... except for the exceptionally sweet souffles, the bf really seemed to love it.

I will agree, the souffles were very sweet.  And after such a rich meal, dessert wasn't as delicious as  it should have been.

I think there are a lot more home cooked date nights in store.

Bobby Flay's Corn and Wild Rice Pancakes

 I was searching Tastespotting.com for a side for my Salmon.  I searched wild rice and came across Last Call for Corn's blog posting of Bobby Flay's Corn and Wild Rice Pancakes.  I had everything I needed but milk... So I ran to Dahls and got some milk.  

The batter is mostly like a regular pancake batter without sugar and with just a squeeze of the honey bear.  

 

Add in some herbs, roasted corn and cooked wild rice.  

 

Bake them up just like pancakes.  (In a non-stick pan... I learned that the hard way)  They're perfect with my salt and pepper salmon.  The pancakes only need a little pat of butter since they're so flavorful.  

 

MMM, look at that corn and the chives!  

 For the full recipe, check out Last Call for Corn

Dinner Time: Angel Hair Pasta with Veggies

 I had a beautiful red pepper from my grandma's garden, so I decided to saute up some other veggies with chicken for a perfectly delicious, healthy meal. 

 

I put the pepper under the broiler and charred it on each side.  After the onion came out, I put it in a plastic bag and let it cool for a bit.  When you take it out of the bag, the charred, tough skin comes off easily and you're left with delicious slimy roasted red pepper.  Yummers!  

I put the chicken in a pan and cooked it through, and added a splash of olive oil to the veggies I had in my crisper.  (Onion and some broccoli)

 I threw it all together with some angel hair pasta and salt and pepper. 

The soft pepper and onion were enough of that wet texture to not need any sauce. 

And just as I was plating my dinner... I got a phone call from my friend.  Threw my dinner in a Tupperware and took off to the bar!  Yeah, I'm classy like that.