Spicy Thai Goodness

When I started thinking about what would make a killer lunch, I thought back to a recent lunch I had when I went to Chapel Hill for the wedding of two of the sweetest people alive.



(They also blog & you can check them out here & here...good stuff! She is GlutenFree & he is working on a project to get school based health centers.)

Before the wedding I explored a Trader Joes & noticed a place call Evos. I had never heard of the place but by the time I left I was chatting with the owner & begging him to open one in Wilmington! Basically its a fast food chain that does things a bit differently - for the better. The food is incredible. The packaging is recycled/recyclable & they offset their energy cost with renewable energy. Sustainable & no deep fried anything! LOVE IT.


Only thing I didn't like is that the food is so good, you WILL crave it later & living a few hours away can be an issue. :) I am STILL craving that Spicy Thai Chicken Wrap!

The wrap's description "All natural chicken breast, hormone-free, spicy peanut & chili pepper dressing, long grain rice, organic field greens, crispy rice noodles, spinach herb wrap" makes my mouth water!

So what better to try to recreate?

I found a recipe from Rachel Ray for Thai Chicken Wraps. Seemed like a great place to start!

Didn't have the crispy rice noodles or rice, but also sounded great.

I decided to skip a few steps & grab a bottle of spicy thai peanut sauce. As I have said before, sometimes I see recipes as suggestions more than step by steps. This is the case for this one.

Begin by warming the grill pan & preparing the chicken. I live alone so I used a 3 pack of boneless chicken breast. I froze one for later, grilled one for later & used one for the recipe - which was enough for 3 wraps.


I chopped the chicken breast up to help it cook faster, then tossed it in a steak grill rub, a couple of splashes of soy sauce & cooking oil. Then tossed it on the grill to get its nice tan going.



While it was browning up, I washed and chopped up some veggies.
I went for cucumber, red pepper, carrots & basil. Thinking almost any vegetable would be good with this! Also thinking I ate a lot of those mini carrots trying to get the parrots to try them. I swear I have the strangest birds. Most others would go for carrots, mine - not happening.


After the chicken finished up its thing & was fully cooked, I chopped it up into bite sized pieces. Then I tossed the chicken & the chopped veggies with the spicy thai sauce.

Starting to look yummy!

Next I got out whole wheat tortillas & topped it with a bit of baby lettuce. I added the chicken, veggie mixture.
Thought I had made enough for dinner & lunch, but turns out that was WAY too much for one wrap! So ended up being two wraps & then another to take to the office!

So I ate one with a side of baked apples for dinner...


& ate one at work, with some more sliced veggies & left over baked apples! :D Guess living solo is going to make this a bit easier due to the leftovers. But still an adventure. I actually think the one for lunch was even better. Might be due to the fact that I loved it the night before & was ready for another serving or could be contributed to everything having more time to mingle together. Either way this is certainly a keeper of a recipe!

What too make next....

Balsamic Chicken Pasta Salad

I know, I know ... been a while. LOTS has happened, is happening...whatever. That is all for the other blogs. This one is all about the food.

Tonight I ventured back into balsamic territory.

With a recipe found at Blisstree.com for Balsamic Chicken Pasta Salad.

The picture alone had me drooling, so I sent it to a fellow foodie who made it & published her pictures on her blog, which made me crave it EVEN more! Lady gluten may hate you, but my stomach loves the encouragement!!! Seriously the asparagus addition, great call!

So here is my version of Balsamic Chicken Pasta Salad!

3 cups uncooked bowtie pasta
2 cups cooked, cubed chicken breast
1 10oz. container grape tomatoes, roasted lightly in oven under the broiler
handful of fresh brussel sprouts, sliced thin & roasted lightly
4 oz Gorgonzola cheese

1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup minced fresh basil (or a handful as I call it!)
1/4 cup fresh spinach (again I like to just grab a bunch & rip it up a little)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tb brown sugar
1 tsp chopped garlic (I minced 4 cloves)
1/4 tsp garlic salt (dash to taste)
1/4 tsp pepper (dash to taste)
grated Parmesan cheese (tried a blend of asiago, parmesan and mozzarella)

Cook pasta, drain then rinse with cold water. In a large bowl, & I mean a big one!, combine the pasta, chicken, sprouts, tomatoes, and Gorgonzola cheese.

In a small saucepan, mix the oil, balsamic, brown sugar, basil, garlic, salt & pepper and warm over medium heat. Drizzle over the pasta mixture and toss. Top each serving with the Parmesan cheese to taste.It is heaven in a bowl!!!

Friday the 13th Dinner

Recently I have been really into balsamic glazes. A favorite dish I have been craving is one that has pasta with an alfredo sauce that is topped with pieces of steak that are glazed. Yumm!

I also have a wonderful inspirational friend who keeps making all this delicious stuff, some with balsamic glazes, yet she makes it ALL look so stylish & easy in her blog. So I thought, why not?

I used her measurements of equal parts balsamic vinegar & sugar. Sounds easy enough.



I also had some chicken on hand that was just craving to be roasted. I topped the breast with a mixture of various herbs & seasonings & butter... plus a tub of the garlic butter stuff that comes with pizzas! (also found this stuff is incredible with eggs!) Popped it in the oven at 375 while I made the glaze, steamed some broccoli & made some blue box mac & cheese (the man avoids veggies like the plague!).

Everything smelled heavenly! I was really getting into this dinner. Even decided I would forgo my usual shredded cheddar for the broccoli & try it with the glaze.

Unfortunately, I guess I don't know when to stop. I also think I might have had the heat turned up a tad too high, because I didn't get glaze - I GOT BALSAMIC CARAMEL!

Course I figured it out AFTER I drizzled it all over my plate! I went to sneak a taste & dip my finger into one of the splatters on the plate & IT WAS HARD! Ug. The taste also was slightly scorched.

So I live & learn & was grateful that I didn't drizzle it all over all the chicken!

So choke it up to learning my lesson, the full moon, Friday the 13th or whatever. I tried. I know I will try again & I'm happy I am finding the time to test a few new recipes.

Feel free to share any advice you have. I know I need all the help I can get for my next attempt! I WILL master the glaze! :)

We begin.... Chicken Crunch Casserole

One goal of mine is to cook more & try new recipes. Some of this is just plain wanting to experiment & some is that I have got to lose some weight! Eating out too much has me at a highest every weight that I quickly want to lose sight of & get back to where I should be!

My EXboyfriend is of the opinion that if it grows in the ground, he doesn't want to eat it! This leaves me with a severely limited number of recipes since I love almost all veggies (other than mushrooms, yuck!). He luckily likes corn & potatoes so there is a little wiggle room. Not that his taste will dictate what I make! Still many times its just easier to go out to eat so that we can both be happy with dinner.

Thankfully there are a few recipes that I make that he loves but a gal needs more. I can only make Shepard's Pie, Beef Stew & Beef Sandwiches so often. So my thought is that if I have a blog, maybe I will experiment a bit more. Plus I have simply LOVED following a few food related blogs, such as Gluten Hates Me But I'm Surviving, which is done by a wonderful friend of mine as she learns to live gluten-free but still with great taste.

Yesterday I made an old favorite that is simple & cheap. Since I had leftovers for lunch & dinner, why not start this blog off with the blog I wrote about it on another one of my blogs?

It is one of those recipes that pleases almost everyone & is super easy & quick to make.

(had to edit that. Lost that boyfriend but certainly have kept the recipe!)______________________________________________________

What is it about chicken & cheese that can be so comforting?

Today was a long day. No really bad drama, just a long day. One where I wanted a home cooked warm meal that just makes you feel at home & secure.

Luckily I knew just the thing...

Chicken Crunch Casserole!

comforting, chickeny, cheesey & cheap....not only that its super quick & easy!



2 1/2 cups chicken chopped
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt (you can leave this out)
4 1/2 cups crushed chips
1/4 cup shredded cheese (I add more!)
1/2 tsp paprika (again I add more!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13 x 9 x 2 inch pan with cooking spray. Mix chicken, soup, milk & salt over medium high heat. Bring to a boil, then let simmer for around 5 minutes. Spread 1 1/2 cups of the crushed chips in the bottom of the pan. Pour the chicken mixture over the chips (rehydrates them so they become like cooked potatoes!). Top with the remaining chips. Sprinkle the shredded cheese over the chips then top with paprika. Bake for around 25 to 30 minutes.


I found this recipe online somewhere, I wish I remembered where. I can't take credit for it, but it certainly has become a favorite. I have shared it with friends & some interesting combinations have come up. You can vary the cheese type, the flavor of chips, add spices... whatever you feel like for the night. Next time I might add some mixed veggies. I have made it a few times to where now I don't really measure out the ingredients anymore, just eyeball it.

Trust me its goooood!