Posted at 9:11 am by NativeNM, on February 12, 2021
Southwest Chicken Salad also referred to as a Santa Fe Chicken Salad is a healthy alternative for dinner that is loaded with flavors. It’s a popular salad that can be made at home to taste just as good or even better than your favorite restaurant. Nearly always you will find a bed of greens topped with grilled chicken, corn and black beans along with avocado, tomatoes and cheese. These are things that most of us already have in our pantry or refrigerator. The toppings vary and you can always add or leave out ingredients that work for you. The salad dressing is a personal choice but there are many recipes for dressings that enhance the flavors of this salad. I chose a chipotle ranch dressing that paired well with all the toppings and gave it a spicy kick. If you have some or all of these ingredients handy, you too could put together a salad for dinner that is scrumptious and healthy which is ways a plus!
Posted at 12:41 pm by NativeNM, on September 18, 2020
Some of the best gyros I’ve ever tasted were from our time in Detroit and Kansas City. We moved to from Albuquerque to Detroit in 1990 where I got to see where Joe grew up in the great state of Michigan. At that time we had two little boys under the age of 3 years old and didn’t get to eat out much. One time Joe surprised me with tickets to go see the Detroit Red Wings play hockey. Growing up in New Mexico I knew nothing about hockey but the experience was thrilling and I immediately became a fan. Joe Louis Arena was located downtown and we would park and ride the people mover transportations rails to get to the arena. Greektown which had some amazing food was located on one of the people mover stops so we would park there and grab a bite to eat before heading over to the game. If you are ever in Detroit and need a great place to eat, visit Olga’s Kitchen or any one of the great restaurants in Greektown. We also had some great Greek food in Kansas City. I loved the gyros at Mr. Gyros which was one of our frequent haunts in KC. One thing about Mr. Gyros is that the servings are huge and everything tastes fresh. This year has been challenging at best to find those those “little known” restaurants here in Albuquerque, especially not being able to sit down and experience a meal indoors. We rarely go out except for takeout and I haven’t found a great Greek restaurant yet to recommend here in ABQ. I’m sure it’s out there, I just haven’t found it! Sorry for the long story but I have been craving a gyro which always brings back memories. I went with grilled chicken gyros which tasted so good with homemade warm flat breads wrapped around Greek and lemon seasoned chicken. The marinade made the chicken tender and juicy. With some tzatziki sauce and freshly sliced tomato and red onion it was one of the tastiest wraps I’ve ever had. I’m a tough critic when it comes to gyros and this one is one of the best!
If you’ve ever had Tuscan chicken pasta or pizza you might like to try Tuscan Chicken Lasagna. It’s packed with grilled chicken, spinach, sun dried tomatoes, garlic and loads of mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Most Tuscan chicken recipes are made with a cream sauce but I opted for a traditional red sauce instead and it was quite delicious. Instead of making a big pan of lasagna, I made two smaller ones and placed one in the freezer for later. We enjoyed a side salad and fresh sliced bread to make this meal complete. It easily made 4 meals for the two of us.
Posted at 1:42 pm by NativeNM, on December 4, 2015
I had this sandwich in mind when I made the Spicy Brown Sugar Bacon. It may be the ultimate chicken sandwich with so many layers of flavors to tempt your taste buds. The grilled chicken is seasoned with some chiles and spice. Then I topped it with a thick slice of tomato that’s been warmed on the grill, 3 slices of brown sugar bacon and an avocado cilantro mayo that brings it all together. And just one more thing, add some candied jalapenos on the side. It gives this sandwich a little kick of sweet heat. Here’s another idea, add olive oil to any leftover avocado cilantro mayo to make a salad dressing. Drizzled over a grilled chicken salad with brown sugar bacon crumbled on top would taste so good!
Egg rolls are known for being a fun finger food, an appetizer that tides you over until the main entree is served. That might be the case at a restaurant but homemade egg rolls are a special treat. Southwest Egg Rolls are packed full of colorful veggies with grilled chicken and bound together with melting pepper jack cheese. And since they are packed with so much goodness, I serve them straight out of the fry pan hot and crispy onto plates where they are quickly devoured.
I love this time of year when I can grill outdoors. So many things to grill and everything always tastes so good. One of my easy go to meals is grilled chicken. This time I’m trying out a soy sauce and ginger marinade for the chicken that will pair with a fresh pineapple salsa. Pineapple salsa brightens up grilled chicken with it’s citrusy fresh taste and looks beautiful on a plate. This recipe will make up to six pieces of chicken. Since it’s just Joe and I most days, I grilled what we wanted for one meal and saved the rest to grill the next.
An Inspired Cook 