Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps: 5 Minute Dinners

Pick up a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store and you’ve got dinner ready to go in no time. The possibilities are very literally endless: enchiladas, casseroles, soups, pasta, whatever you feel.
And if you’ve got a chicken, why not buffalo it? The classic two-ingredient sauce comes together in mere seconds and the addition of chopped celery and blue cheese crumbles makes this dish like a whole plate of wings wrapped up in one bite. Our version here uses lettuce as a refreshing carb-free option, but you could obviously sub in tortillas here to make it a little heartier.

Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Serves 4
¼ cup hot sauce
4 tbsp. butter
1 rotisserie chicken, meat shredded
2 stalks celery, chopped
8 romaine or butter lettuce leaves
1 cup blue cheese crumbles
1. In a large skillet, melt butter with hot sauce over medium heat. Stir in chicken and celery until heated through.
2. Divide mixture among lettuce leaves, top with blue cheese, and serve

Chickpea Tabbouleh: 5 Minute Dinners

Take 5 is a PEOPLE Food series with a mission: Get a star-worthy meal (or dessert or cocktail) on your table in either 5 minutes or using only 5 ingredients. Each recipe has been bravely tested, tasted and approved by our food editors for your eating pleasure. If you’re hungry for more recipes, we’ve got you covered.

Tabbouleh is a classic Middle Eastern dish made with chopped veggies, herbs, olive oil, lemon juice, and usually a starch like bulgur or couscous. For our recipe, we swapped in another favorite from the region: chickpeas. Because they’re packed with protein, this works great either as a side dish for grilled meats or as a vegetarian main course.

Chickpea Tabbouleh

Serves 4 as a main dish or 6 as a side
2 15.5-oz. cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 medium cucumber, chopped
2 tbsp. lemon juice
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 ½ cups parsley leaves
½ cup mint leaves
Pita bread, for serving (optional)
In a large bowl, add chickpeas, tomatoes and cucumber. In a food processor, add remaining ingredients, season generously with salt and pepper and pulse until smooth. Toss dressing with chickpea mixture and serve with warm pita bread, if desired.

Source: people

Caesar Salad Dressing

One of our summer favs! Chicken Caesar Salad.





INGREDIENTS

4 chicken breasts
3 romaine lettuces

2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup lemon juice (or concentrate)
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup parmesan cheese


DIRECTIONS

I cook my chicken in a little olive oil, salt and pepper, until it's browned a little.

Start with the garlic and lemon juice, blend for a minute and slowly drizzle the oil. It will be smooth and creamy. Add the worcester and blending again slowly add the cheese.

That's it very simple, the dressing will last about a week but I usually use all of it. You don't need the chicken but with it but makes a perfect light summer meal. If you find it a little spicy you can cut the garlic and lemon juice down slightly.

 

Cooling Down

Cooling down this summer can be a delicious experience. Salads are back in season and with so much variety to choorse from you can put your recipe book away and get creative with your own favorite ingredients.

My favorite way to make salads in summer is very simple, with a family of 9 everyone has different likes and dislikes, so to please everyone I chop everything up into separate bowls and they can add what they want to make their salads with a choice of salad dressing. My MIL calls it a rainbow salad, very appetizing name for little ones! Put leftovers in the frig for lunch the next day. Carrot, celery, zucchini sticks make a great snack choice with this awesome organic hummus dip from Costco. Get your friend to take you there for some if you're not a member.

 

Rainbow Salad Recipe - Epicurious.com

Mix blueberries and walnuts into your greens with raspberry vinigarette, add lemon juice for a zest twist on a shrimp sald, or create a chilled vegetable salad full of crunchy vegetables.

Kids also love cold treats on a hot day, so why not combine some juices in ice pop molds with chopped fruit. Get family and friends together this summer and cool down with these yummy ideas and some of your very own.

See more Fun Food Snacks on my Pinterest board.

 

Free Kindle Books for Lo-Carb and Salad Fans

 

Carb Swapping: Swap Your Favorite Recipes with Nutrient Dense Superfoods To Create Delicious, Low Carb Healthy Alternatives

 

 

Salads To Go

 

 

and if you'd like some breakfast recipes you can sign up for a free ebook here


 

Spicy Asian Noodle and Chicken Salad

Ingredients

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter (do not use old-fashioned style or freshly ground)
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoons chili-garlic sauce
1 tablespoon (packed) golden brown sugar
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
3 tablespoons (or more) low-salt chicken broth

3/4 pound linguine or dried chow mein udon noodles
4 cups thinly sliced cooked chicken, cut into strips
2 large carrots, coarsely grated (about 1 1/4 cups)
6 green onions, chopped
1 red bell pepper, cut into matchstick-size strips
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves


Preparation


Combine peanut butter, soy sauce, rice vinegar, chili-garlic sauce, brown sugar, ginger, and 3 tablespoons broth in processor; blend until smooth. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper.

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain pasta; rinse with cold water to cool and drain again. Transfer pasta to large bowl. Add chicken, carrots, green onions, bell pepper, and cilantro; toss to blend. Pour dressing over and toss to coat, adding more broth by tablespoonfuls if dressing is too thick. Season salad to taste with salt and pepper.

Makes 4 main-course or 8 side-dish servings


Epicurious.com

Thai Chicken Salad with Rice Noodles

Ingredients

4 1/2 ounces rice stick noodles (maifun)*
4 large garlic cloves
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon smooth peanut butter
2 teaspoons chopped peeled fresh ginger
1 1/4 teaspoons hot chili paste (such as sambal oelek)*
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 purchased roasted chicken breast halves, boned, skinned, shredded
3 cups shredded Napa cabbage (I substituted with lettuce)
1 cup coarsely grated carrot
1 cup red bell pepper strips
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
2 medium cucumbers, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced crosswise
1/3 cup coarsely chopped roasted salted peanuts


Preparation


Cook noodles in small pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 3 minutes. Drain; cut noodles in several places with scissors. Spread out on platter.

Puree next 7 ingredients in blender. With machine running, gradually add oil and blend until dressing is smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Combine chicken, cabbage, carrot, pepper, onion, and cucumbers in large bowl. Toss with enough dressing to coat. Arrange atop noodles, sprinkle with peanuts, and serve, passing remaining dressing alongside.


*Available in the Asian foods section of some supermarkets, at Asian markets, and from amazon.com.


Makes 4 servings


Epicuriuos.com

Frittata

I was happy to find a little salad left in the frig, so I collected all the ingredients and made the best frittata ever! Here's what was in it.

chopped onion

chopped orange pepper

crumbed feta cheese

grape tomatoes, halved

arugula & spinach

salt, pepper, oregano

It was so good all of it didn't even make it to my plate!