Chicken {or Tuna} Noodle Salad

There is one point on which my husband and I do not agree (okay, so there's a couple, but really, not very many!). 

Tuna. 

He hates it. I enjoy it. 

I grew up on tuna- my mom LOVES it! She eats it almost every day, on crackers, on sandwiches, in salads...her mom also loves it, so I guess it's hereditary. 

However, even though my husband grew up eating tuna casserole (and I did not...hmmm...maybe we've got something there), he does NOT like tuna. So, like a good wife (haha) I do not force him to eat it. 

However, this summer I've had a craving for my mom's tuna noodle salad. The perfect summer meal, it doesn't require an oven, requires minimal preparation and uses simple ingredients you probably already have. The only point my mom and I disagree on is the temperature. She likes to serve it while the noodles are still warm- I like to make it ahead of time so it will be chilled. 

Anyhow, back to the problem. Tuna. I decided to make a compromise. I'd make the salad, but substitute canned chicken for the tuna! Hardly anybody can tell the difference between chicken salad and tuna salad anyway, so why not? Hubby will be happy not to have to eat tuna and smell that fishy smell in the house and I can have my salad. :) Yum!

Chicken (or Tuna) Noodle Salad

(printable version)

serves 4-6

1 pkg. spiral noodles (or shape of your choice)

1 large can of chicken (or tuna), drained

about 1/2 cup chopped celery

about 1/2 cup diced cheddar cheese

1/4 cup mayonnaise, or more to taste

2 TB mustard, or more to taste

salt and pepper

Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water. Place in a large serving bowl.

Add remaining ingredients to noodles and mix thoroughly to combine. Salt and pepper to taste. If desired, cover and chill.

Spiraled Squash and Potato Bake

Don't you just love yummy beautiful food? Some foods taste delicious and look awful, and sometimes foods don't live up to their looks in the taste department. This pretty dish, however, is a winner on both counts. It looks lovely, veggies curled in a lovely spiral, and tastes fabulous as well.

The idea for this side dish has been floating around Pinterest for awhile, and I think it's actually called a "tian" or something like that, and includes tomatoes. I used golden potatoes, zucchini, and yellow crook neck squash in my version, but I have a feeling experiments involving summer squash, sweet potatoes, red potatoes and/or tomatoes, would be awesome!

Spiraled Squash and Potato Bake

(printable version)

serves about 4 as a side

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 of a med. yellow onion, diced

about 2 golden potatoes, sliced thin

about 1 med. zucchini, sliced

about 1 yellow squash, sliced

shredded Parmesan cheese

olive oil

thyme

Preheat oven to 375.

Heat olive oil in a frying pan over med. heat. Add onions and garlic and saute until fragrant and transparent, a few minutes.

Lightly grease a pie pan or other round dish. Spread onion and garlic mixture on bottom of pan.

Arrange vegetables in pan, layering in a fairly tight spiral, alternating potatoes and squash. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with thyme, and cover with foil. Bake about 35 min.

Remove foil and sprinkle with Parmesan. Return to oven and bake another 25-30 min. or until browned and potatoes are tender.

Meals for a Month {Aug-Sept}

I can hardly believe that by the next time I write a menu, it will be almost FALL! The summers just speed by the older we get, don't they? I for one have thoroughly enjoyed the long, warm days and all the beautiful little delights (I refer you to my last menu post!). And I plan on squeezing every memorable moment out of the last days of sparkling sunshine that we get! When you live in a place that can have snow on the ground 6 months or more out of the year, you learn to appreciate summer!! This menu is a little disjointed because we have several events breaking things up...this week is Pend Oreille County fair week and since the church has a booth, our meals will be a mix of fair food (hopefully only once) and quick portable or cold things I can take with us. The following week, we'll be visiting my parents in Oregon for a few days- my grandparents are home from Africa for the summer and visiting my folks. I haven't seen them in 2 years, so I'm really excited about that! When we get home, we have a two day mini conference for our mission organization at a nearby camp! Whew! It's going to be a busy next few weeks, and it all starts today! I'm just going to take a deep breath and hope I'm ready for it! :) Hope you have had a beautiful summer!

Week 1 (Aug. 14-18)

Tuesday

Entree: Double Bean Burgers with Avocado Cream

Side: Watermelon and Chips

Source: How Sweet It Is

Wednesday

Entree: Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad

Side: Fruit

Thursday

Entree: Chicken Noodle Salad

Side: Grapes?

Friday

Fair Food

Saturday

Entree: Sloppy Joes

Side: Chips

Week 2 (Aug. 21-25)

Tuesday

Entree: Three Bean and Grilled Corn Salad

Side: Garlic Bread

Wed.-Sat.

Gone to OR

Week 3 (Aug. 28-Sept. 1)

Tues.-Wed.

Mini Conference

Thursday

Entree: BBQ Chicken Salad

Side: Rolls

Friday

Entree: Pepperoni Pizza

Side: Fresh fruit and veggies

Saturday

Entree: Pork n' Penne

Source: Taste of Home Cookbook

Week 4 (Sept. 4-8)

Tuesday

Entree: Chicken Orzo Skillet

Source: Taste of Home Cookbook

Wednesday

Entree: Crock Pot Chicken Tacos

Thursday

Entree: Country BBQ Chicken

Side: Red Potatoes

Source: Taste of Home Cookbook

Friday

Entree: Pizza

Side: Fresh Fruit and Veggies

Saturday

Entree: Turkey Burgers

I also would really like to try some different frozen desserts this month- I got a gelato cookbook from the library and I am intrigued to try something like that!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Are you ready for a KitchenJoy original pizza??

If you can use Thai peanut sauce, strawberry jam, and refried beans in place of traditional pizza sauce (not all together, of course!), I thought, then why not barbecue sauce??! I have seen it done before and it always sounded good, so I decided to give it a try.

I baked some chicken with a special Dean's BBQ seasoning, shredded it, added some scallions, tomatoes, and garlic (oh, and don't forget CHEESE), and there you have it! A fantastic and different pizza to shake up the old routine. Yum!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

(printable recipe)

a KitchenJoy original recipe

makes 1 pizza

1 recipe pizza dough

about 1/3 to 1/2 cup barbecue sauce (our favorite is Sweet Baby Ray's!)

1 chicken breast, cooked and shredded, seasoned to your liking

shredded cheese (enough to cover- your favorite variety!)

1 scallion, thinly sliced

2-3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

grape tomatoes, sliced

Prepare dough as directed. Preheat oven to 500.

Spread crust evenly with BBQ sauce. Top with chicken, followed by cheese, scallions, garlic and tomatoes.

Bake 10-12 min. or until crust is golden and cheese is bubbly. Cool slightly, then slice and serve! 

Cheesy Zucchini Rice

Is your garden overflowing with summer squash yet? We didn't plant any this year, but I have bought some zucchini at the store and find myself wishing we had! Zucchini is such a wonderful vegetable and can be used in a variety of ways- it soaks up flavor so well! The latest way I tried zucchini was to put in rice!

Grated into thin strips, the squash practically melts into the rice, and combined with cheese and flavored with broth, this perfect summer side bears a strong resemblance to creamy risotto. It is also an eye-pleaser, being a delightfully bright green!

Cheesy Zucchini Rice

(printable version)

adapted slightly from Buns in My Oven

serves about 4

1/2 TB olive oil

1/2 cup white rice

1 cup chicken broth

1 TB butter

1 med. zucchini, grated

1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated

1/4 tsp garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

splash of milk, if desired

Heat olive oil in a saucepan over med. heat. Add rice and stir to coat. Toast the rice, stirring often, until it just begins to turn golden.

Pour in chicken broth, bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer 15-20 min or until most of the liquid is absorbed.

Remove from heat and add butter, zucchini, cheese, garlic powder and salt and pepper. Stir well to combine. Cover and let sit 5 min.

Stir again and add milk if desired.

Three Bean and Grilled Corn Salad

This salad is so good, I made it Saturday for dinner and couldn't stop eating it all weekend. We had leftovers for lunch after church Sunday, then I took a nap and when I woke up, all I could think about was eating more salad and granita. I think I practically had a dream about it. Sad, right?

Pre-grilling...

Post-grilling...

But seriously- this is so amazing! I think it just took up residence in the top slot of my "Favorite Summer Salads" list. The grilled vegetables and the abundance of lime juice take the flavors to a whole new level and the addition of creamy avocado is to die for. I went a step further and added a grilled chicken breast to "make it a meal" (the recipe was for a side dish), but it really isn't absolutely necessary. The beans are quite filling and there is plenty to go around.

Fresh, crisp veggies infused with smoky grilled flavor, colorful beans, juicy tomatoes, topped with buttery avocado and sparkling with zesty lime...

Is your mouth watering yet?

Three Bean and Grilled Corn Salad

(printable version)

adapted slightly from Myrecipes

serves 12 as a side dish, 6 as a main dish

1 cup halved grape tomatoes

1 tsp salt, divided

3 ears shucked corn

1 med. yellow onion, cut into 1/4 in. thick slices

1 jalapeño pepper

2 chicken breasts (optional)

about 1 TB olive oil

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/3 cup fresh lime juice

1 can pinto beans

1 can black beans

1 can kidney beans

2 diced, peeled avocados

Preheat the grill to med.-high heat.

Place tomatoes in a large bowl and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt. Let stand 10 min. Drain and rinse beans.

Brush corn, onion, jalapeño and chicken evenly with olive oil. Place on grill rack. Grill chicken until cooked through, turning once. Grill onion and jalapeño 8 min. or until lightly charred, turning halfway through. Grill corn 12 min. or until lightly charred, turning halfway through. Let vegetables stand 5 min. 

Cut kernels from cobs. Coarsely chop onion. Finely chop jalapeño, discarding stem and seeds. Dice chicken.

Add corn, onion, jalapeño and chicken to tomato mixture; toss well. Add remaining salt, cilantro, lime juice and beans to corn mixture; toss well.

Top with avocado.

Hasselback Potatoes

When I first saw Hasselback potatoes on Pinterest, I was intrigued! They are a beautiful, flavor-filled version of the baked potato (and I guess the name originated in Sweden).

The method of slicing the potato almost all the way through and then baking produces a texture that is crispy toward the top (almost like chips) and soft nearer to the bottom of the potato. Drizzle a little olive oil on top and stuff some garlic in the cracks...mmmm...

What a great new way to serve potatoes!

Hasselback Potatoes

(printable version)

adapted slightly from Seasaltwithfood

makes as many as you want!

potatoes (I used golden), 1 per person

1 clove garlic per potato, peeled and thinly sliced

olive oil

butter

sea salt

pepper

Preheat oven to 425.

Wash each potato and thinly slice almost, but not all the way, through. 

Stuff slices of garlic in the crevices.

 Place potatoes on a baking sheet and top each one with little bits of butter. Drizzle with a small amount of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake about 40 min. or until skin is crispy and flesh is soft.