Wedding shower tea party: Chicken salad cups

My Aunt Barb found this Cooking Light recipe for chicken salad. (We're a Cooking Light family). We made a few tweaks and ours looked something like this:

CREAMY CHICKEN SALAD

2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

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1/2 cup light mayonnaise

1/2 cup plain fat-free Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon honey

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup chopped celery

1/3 cup red grapes, halved

7 tablespoons (about 2 ounces) coarsely chopped almonds

One head butter leaf lettuce

Poach the chicken in a dutch oven or large frying pan. Once cooked through, allow chicken to cool completely.

Combine mayonnaise and the next 7 ingredients (through black pepper) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk until combined.

Add chicken, 1/3 cup celery, grapes, and almonds; toss well to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Serve on leafs of butter leaf lettuce.

A unique blend of flavors

This recipe was a recommendation from my mom. She found it in Sunset magazine and said I had to try it.

I cooked it up for dinner last night, and my mom was right. It is delicious. I really like the unique flavor blend of the orange zest and the spicy cayenne pepper. It's a unique dish and I definitely recommend it.

Chicken, Quinoa and Olive Stew

4 cups water
2 chicken breasts
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon ancho chile powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
2 teaspoons orange zest
1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup cooked chickpeas (garbanzos), rinsed if canned
1 cup black olives (the recipe calls for pimiento-stuffed small green olives, but I'm just not a fan of those).

Bring water to a simmer in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add chicken and lower heat to a simmer. Cook chicken, covered, 15 to 20 minutes, or until cooked through; transfer to a plate. Pour broth into a large bowl and set aside. Wipe out pot.

Add oil, onion, and salt to pot and cook over medium heat until onion softens and is starting to brown, about 10 minutes.

Stir in cumin, coriander, oregano, and garlic; cook 2 minutes. Add ancho chile powder, cayenne, tomatoes, reserved broth, orange zest, and quinoa. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until a white ring appears around each quinoa seed, 10 to 15 minutes. Meanwhile, shred chicken.

Add shredded chicken, chickpeas and olives and heat through.

Chicken Curry in a Hurry

The other week I had a dinner/movie date with my friend Cassy. Since it was a weeknight, I decided a slow cooker dish was in order, so I wouldn't have to hurry home from work and make dinner.

This chicken curry recipe was a recommendation from my mom out of the "Slow Cooker Revolution" cookbook.

Both dinner, and the movie, "The Muppets," were excellent. (If you haven't seen The Muppets, go rent it. It was brilliant!)

CHICKEN CURRY IN A HURRY

2 onions, chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 cups water
1 14-ounce can coconut milk
2 chicken breasts
12 ounces plum tomatoes, chopped (I used a can of diced tomatoes)
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 cup frozen peas
Fresh cilantro
lime, cut into wedges

Add oil to a frying pan over medium heat. Saute onion, jalapenos, garlic, ginger and curry powder until onions are soft.

Transfer to mixture to slow cooker.

To slow cooker, add chickpeas, water and coconut milk. Stir and nestle the chicken in the mixture.

Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours.

Transfer chicken to a cutting board and shred. Return chicken to cooker. Stir in tomatoes, raisins and peas. Cook about 15 more minutes.

Serve over brown rice or quinoa. Garnish with cilantro and lime.