The Best Barbecue Chicken Sandwich Ever!

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[Sponsored]

It's my birthday and my one year Instagram anniversary! To thank everyone for being a part of my Instagram and social media journey, I've partnered with #Saucin' Sauces on this sponsored post to make this AMAAAAZING chicken sandwich and to offer you a giveaway!

To enter the giveaway, 1. LIKE #Saucin's Instagram account and 2. COMMENT on the above chicken sandwich picture, tagging two friends and mentioning what you'd like to make with their sauce. You have until Thursday, 5/4/17 at 2:30pm to enter! One winner will be selected to win two of Saucin' Sauces' Original barbecue sauce, which is absolutely divine!

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Now, this being my birthday, it is definitely a cheat day! I'm just sitting here stuffing my face with fried onions and dunking them in Saucin' every chance I get! I may be exaggerating a little, but it's not completely fiction either! Did I mention it's only 2pm as I'm writing this right now? Plenty of time to eat even more leftovers!

But if it's not your cheat day or your birthday, Saucin' is not only tasty, but it is also a pretty healthy sauce! This is because it has twenty less calories per serving than your average barbecue sauce and has real ingredients that you can recognize on the label! Pretty incredible in my dietitian opinion.

What I also love about Saucin' is that the sauce is versatile. You can put this delicious barbecue sauce on anything ranging from your breakfast eggs, to a chicken salad, to your favorite grilling protein. It's tangy, sweet, and has just a hint of spice that really helps to balance out the flavor.

Are you ready for the best chicken sandwich recipe ever yet?! I used a few great ideas to write this recipe from Serious Eats' article on how to make the best barbecue chicken sandwich. But I also decided to make some insanely delicious fried onion strings to top it all off with help from The Food Network. Everything else pretty much came to me on the fly! 

Be sure to check out Saucin's website and order some of their delicious Original Sauce! They have free shipping too, which makes it a great deal.

The Best Barbecue Chicken Sandwich Ever!

Total Time: 1 Hour, 30 Minutes
Hands-On Time: 30 Minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (~1.5 lbs)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (12 oz) bottle Saucin' Original Barbecue Sauce
4 slices sharp cheddar cheese slices
4 hamburger bun halves
1 small head iceberg lettuce
2 medium vine ripe tomatoes, thinly sliced

Fried Onion Strings
2 large onions, sliced thinly
2 cups buttermilk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp cayenne pepper
Canola oil, for frying

Directions
Soak two handfuls of oak chips (optional) in a bowl of water for at least 15 minutes and up to two hours. Drain.

Lay chicken flat onto a cutting board. Pound with a mallet or with the back of a heavy frying pan to reach an even 3/4-inch thickness. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and transfer to a medium platter. 

Combine 1 tsp of kosher salt and ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper in a small bowl. Sprinkle over chicken breasts evenly on each side. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Pat dry with paper towels. 

While the chicken brines, prepare fried onions placing them in a shallow baking dish and pouring buttermilk over the top. Press the onions down so they're submerged as much as possible and let them soak on the counter for 15 minutes and up to one hour.

In a bowl, combine the flour, salt, black pepper and cayenne, and set aside. 

Pour enough canola oil to cover your pot or Dutch oven to a 3-inch depth. Heat to 375 degrees F, or until a pinch of flour sizzles when sprinkled over the pot. 

Using tongs, remove a handful of onions from the buttermilk and immediately dunk into the flour mixture. Coat the onions in the flour mixture, and then tap them on the inside of the bowl to shake off the excess. 

Plunge the onions in the hot oil. Break them up with a spoon and fry for 1-2 minutes, until golden brown. Remove them from the oil and place on a paper towel-lined plate. Repeat with the remaining onion slices. Keep warm.

Clean and oil the barbecue grate. Preheat your charcoal grill by piling and lighting enough coals on one side to produce a medium-high flame. 

Wrap the drained oak chips loosely in aluminum foil, ensuring the ends are able to vent. Set oak chips over the coals, replacing the grate, and let sit for 7-10 minutes, until chips begin to smoke. 

Add 1/2 cup Saucin’ to a small bowl. Reserve for grilling.

Grill chicken for about 3 minutes on one side, basting with reserved Saucin’, and covering between basting. Flip chicken over, and cover, basting with Saucin’ for 2 more minutes. Add cheese to each piece of chicken and cook until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 160F. Transfer chicken to a large plate and keep warm.

Note: If the chicken is cooked well on the outside, but doesn’t reach the proper temperature, transfer to the the cooler side of the grill and cover until cooked through.

Add the buns to the grill. Flip over and cook until toasted on the other side.

Top the bottom bun halves with about 1 tbsp Saucin, followed by the cheesy grilled chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, and fried onions. Drizzle with a little Saucin’ on the top and close with the remaining bun half. Serve immediately and enjoy!

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If you liked this recipe, be sure to check out my recipes for Beet Rueben Sandwich, Whole Wheat Croque-Madames, and Salmon Burger with Chipotle Mayonnaise and Caperberries!

Fresh Pasta with Favas, Tomatoes, and Sausage

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Fava beans are growing like crazy in my garden right now and that makes me soooo happy! This season Adrian and I grew more favas than ever and we have enough to make a few different fava bean recipes. I bet you can see the smile on my face as I’m typing this.

Also known as broad beans, fava beans have actually been grown for ages! Humans have been growing them for consumption in the Mediterranean since at least 6500 BC and began cultivation even earlier in the Middle East.

I'm guessing one reason we've grown them this long is because they’re ridiculously healthy! One cup of fava beans will provide you with 44% of the folate you need per day, 36% of your manganese, and 37% of your fiber. They’re also buttery and sweet, so they’re the best combination of tasty and healthy in  my opinion.

One of our favorite fava bean pasta recipes is by Alex Palermo. It’s so good that it would be a shame for you to make any alterations, except maybe adding some red pepper flakes. I recommend making this recipe as is before making any substitutions or omissions. 

Also be sure to make this fava bean recipe with high quality Italian sausage, plum tomatoes, and Pecorino Romano so that your taste buds are guaranteed to be dazzled. We hadn’t tried this fava recipe in a few years and were taken aback by how good it was...AGAIN! Serve the pasta up with a little red or white wine and your meal is complete.

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Speaking of wine, Pulltaps sent me a free corkscrew to share with all of you and it’s pretty neat! Check out the corkcscrew below with my Diet Assassinista logo superimposed over one of my Instagram recipes!  

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To pull this off (if you don't mind my play on words!), Pulltaps used a sublimation technique, which can be used with any picture or logo. The quality is super top-notch. Is it okay that I feel a little extra special having my own personalized corkscrew? I hope so. Be sure to check out their website if you want to purchase your own personalized corkscrew too!

Back to the recipe, it is super easy to make. The only time consuming part is peeling fava beans, so I recommend two people for the task if you want dinner to be done in a jiffy. But if you only have two hands, the positive side of peeling favas on your own is that the process can be very meditative. Just turn on some nice music and get ready to get to know this delicious bean a little better. 

Do note: if you’re on an MAOI inhibitor or have G6PD, you will want to steer clear of the bean! I bet you probably already knew that anyway! 

Fresh Pasta with Favas, Tomatoes, and Sausage

Time: 30 Minutes
Serves 8

Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 large garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1/8 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1/2 pound Italian sausages, casings removed
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 3/4 cups chopped plum tomatoes
1 cup shelled fresh fava beans (from about 1 pound), blanched 3 minutes then peeled
3/4 pound fresh pasta sheets, cut as desired
2 tablespoons finely grated Pecorino Romano cheese plus additional for passing

Directions
Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add next 3 ingredients. Sauté until onion is translucent, about 6 minutes. Add sausages; break up with fork. Sauté until brown, about 3 minutes. Add wine; simmer 1 minute, scraping up browned bits. Add tomatoes and fava beans. Sauté until tomatoes soften, about 5 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta cooking liquid. Return pasta to same pot.

Add sauce to pasta. Toss over medium heat until sauce coats pasta, adding reserved cooking liquid as needed if dry, about 2 minutes. Mix in 2 tablespoons cheese. Transfer pasta to bowl. Serve, passing additional cheese.
 

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For more recipes, check out Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta with Garden Greens, Fusilloni Pasta with with Tomatoes, Cauliflower, Arugula, and Salami, and Fettuccine with Guanciale and Garden Fresh Tomato Sauce!

Ramen with Rainbow Chard in a Rich Slow-Cooker Bone Broth

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[Sponsored]

Ramen, it’s what’s for dinner! This ramen has a very rich bone broth made with my very own Numo Chicken Broth Kit and is infused with a lot of yummy asian flavors, as well as rainbow chard and hard boiled eggs. It’s absolutely delightful!

This ramen is so easy to make that this could be your dinner as well! No, you don’t have to have one ounce of jealousy, whether you’re a newbie to making bone broth, or you’re watching what you eat. This is because you get to see the very real ingredients going in at every easy step! And much of this is due to the fact that I made the dish with Numo's Chicken Bone Broth!

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Numo’s Chicken Bone Broth was breeze to make in my slow-cooker and had almost zero hands-on time. I simply popped the pouch of ingredients in a slow cooker for 12-15 hours and I had a seriously delicious broth on my hands. But this broth is not only delicious. It's ingredients are super transparent! Just seven simple and organic ingredients: pre-baked chicken bones, carrots, onions, medjool dates, cardamom, ginger, and bay leaf. Kind of amazing stuff, isn’t it?

This broth is so delicious, in fact, that when I made my first kit overnight, it woke me from a deep slumber. I was literally dreaming about leaning over a pot of boiling broth in my dreams and smelling some incredible aromas. But then my brain woke me up at 4 am to tell me “LOOK! This tantalizing broth is actually real!” So, I listened to what my brain had to tell me and I walked to the kitchen to taste it. Even before it was done cooking, it was incredibly rich and lovely, and I knew I would be in for a treat with this ramen.

Ramen can get a bad rap sometimes, but you can definitely make a healthy ramen if you make it at home and see every ingredient going into it. I purchased fresh ramen noodles with less than four ingredients, as well as organic soy sauce, and a bunch of other fresh organic ingredients like chard, garlic, ginger, and garden-grown chives. It’s so transparent and so delicious that you will love every bite, guilt-free!

Ramen with Rainbow Chard in a Rich Slow-Cooker Bone Broth

Total Time: 12 Hours, 25 Minutes
Hands-On Time: 25 Minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 Numo Chicken Bone Broth Kits (about 12 cups prepared)
4 large eggs
1 tbsp fresh garlic, minced
1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
3 whole star anise
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp mirin
1 small bunch rainbow chard, leaves cut into 1/2-inch strips, stems chopped
4 sheets nori, thinly sliced
20 oz fresh ramen noodles
1 small bunch chives, chopped
Togarashi pepper, to taste

Directions
Prepare 2 kits of Numo Chicken Bone broth per package instructions. Cool.

Heat 12 cups of water to 180F or a very low simmer. Add eggs and maintain temperature at 180F for 6 minutes. Cool in an ice water bath. Peel eggs when cool. Cut in half if desired and set aside.

Heat sesame oil in a large pot over medium heat, until shimmering. Add the garlic, ginger, and star anise, and cook, stirring, for a few minutes until softened. Add the soy sauce and mirin and stir to combine. Continue stirring for another minute. Add the prepared Numo Chicken Broth and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add chard and nori and cook for another minute, until tender. Add ramen and simmer per package instructions, about 1-2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Divide the noodles and broth into large bowls. Top with chives and soft boiled egg halves. Serve immediately with sprinkles of togarashi pepper.

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If you're looking for more recipes like this one, you're also going to love Thai-Infused Chicken Noodle Soup, Korean Beef & Daikon Radish Soup, and Thai Stir-Fried Noodles with Kale and Chicken: Pad See Ew!

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Do note that this post was sponsored by Numo Broth!

Crispy Pork Cutlet and Fried Egg Sandwich

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It’s officially hump day and I think we all need a pick-me-up to get through the week! This pork cutlet sandwich is gooey and crispy at the same time and is bound to delight all of your senses. 

To pull off this fine sandwich on a weeknight, I suggest getting home a little earlier from work since this recipe will take you a little longer than an ideal weeknight meal. But on the upside, wouldn’t you rather spend a few extra minutes in your kitchen than in your office? I thought so! 

If you think your boss will be upset that you left early, you’re sure be in the clear when you bring leftover cutlets to the employee break room. In fact, your boss will be so pleased that you might even be encouraged to leave early more often!

This sandwich is great because the ingredients listed below don’t have to be rigid, which leaves you a lot of room for creativity. Adrian and I recently pickled some kale and knew it would pair perfectly with this sandwich, but if you don’t happen to have something similar in your pantry, feel free to use your favorite minced pickle or relish. We also played around with different spread variations and garden-grown greens. Every variation was exceptional.

I decided on the ingredients below to ease your mind if you’re not feeling super creative mid-week. But if your brain is still high-functioning, feel free to add whatever you wish!

Now what are you waiting for? Get shopping and start cooking!

Crispy Pork Cutlet and Fried Egg Sandwich

Time: 1 Hour
Serves 8

Ingredients
1 tbsp fresh sage, chopped
2 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1.25 lb pork tenderloins, sliced crosswise into 3/4-inch-thick medallions
1/2 cup all purpose flour
12 large eggs
2 cups panko breadcrumbs
3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 oz baby arugula
1/2 cup garlic yogurt spread or Greek yogurt with 1 garlic clove, minced
1 large ciabatta roll, sliced crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices
1 tbsp capers, drained
1/2 cup pickled kale or other pickled green, finely chopped
Tabasco sauce

Directions
Combine sage and thyme in a small bowl with 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp black pepper.

On a large cutting board, pound the pork medallions with a mallet into 1/4-inch-thick pieces. Rub pork pieces on all sides with the herb mixture.  

Add flour to a large plate or shallow bowl. Whisk 3 eggs in a mixing bowl. Combine breadcrumbs and parmesan on another plate or small shallow bowl.

Coat each cutlet by first dredging lightly in flour, then dipping into the egg mixture, then fully coating with the breadcrumb  mixture.

In a large heavy skillet or Dutch oven, add 3/4 cups olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add pork pieces in batches, and cook until golden on each side, about 1-2 minutes. Transfer to a platter and keep warm.

In a medium bowl, combine arugula with 1 tsp olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. In another small bowl, add yogurt spread and mustard and stir to combine.

In a small shallow skillet, add enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan and heat over medium-high heat. Add remaining eggs, one at a time, spooning over olive oil, until the whites have set, but the yolk is still runny. Transfer to a plate, season with salt and pepper. Keep warm.

Baste ciabatta slices with olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Toast or broil slices until golden on each side. Top each ciabatta slice with yogurt-mustard spread, 1 tsp capers, and 1 tbsp kale pickles. Then top with the pork cutlet, fried egg, and garnish with arugula. Season with salt and pepper and serve with a few dashes of Tabasco if you so choose!
 

Goraasa be Dama: Sudanese Beef Stew over Easy Flatbread

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A little over a month ago, I received an e-mail in my Diet Assassinista inbox asking me to make Sudanese food from a very nice Instagrammer named Moyassar. Now, I am quite familiar with food from Ethiopia and Eritrea, which are nearby, but never even thought to cook food from Sudan. There’s a first time for everything, I guess!

With Moyassar’s suggestion, I knew I would be in for a treat, but didn’t even know where to look for Sudanese recipes. So I asked him what I should make and he knew right away: Goraasa be Dama! Goraasa is a quick flatbread and dama is a beef stew. 

Moyassar sent me a link to a couple Lazeez Haalis recipes, which I adapted them after researching several other methods. Then, I decided to make it all. And you know what? The meal was fantastic!

The stew itself is not unlike beef stew that we’re used to in the West, but it does take a lot less time to cook. Plus, the spices and peppers make it more interesting than beef stew. Instead of serving the stew as a soup, this stew is served a little thicker, like a curry, over amazing bread! 

And that flatbread. Wow. Goraasa is so easy to make! I’ve made several quick flatbreads and this is my far the easiest flatbread recipe I’ve ever made. Even if you’re making Indian food and you forget to pick up some naan at the store, I suggest making Goraasa in its place because it’s likely you’ll have all the ingredient in a well-stocked pantry.

So if you’re craving cuisine you haven’t tried before, this meal is definitely a great one  to make. Many thanks to Moyassar for pointing me in a fun and tasty direction!

Goraasa be Dama: Sudanese Beef Stew over Easy Flatbread

Time: 35 Minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients
3 large yellow onions, chopped
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 lb flat iron steak, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 cups water
5 small vine ripe tomatoes, chipped
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
3 serrano peppers, chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp cardamom
1 tsp cinnamon

Goraasa
500g whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
4 cups water
1 tsp Kosher salt

Directions
In a large skillet or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and fry until translucent, about 5-6 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes, steak, bell pepper, serranos, cardamom, and cinnamon. Season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, adding additional water if the sauce is too thick, and simmer for another 10 minutes, until the steak is cooked through and the peppers are tender. Keep warm.

To prepare the goraasa, sift whole wheat flour into a large mixing bowl. Add baking powder, salt, and stir in water to form a thick batter. 

Brush a medium cast-iron skillet or mitad with very thin layer of olive oil and heat over medium heat.  Pour in a ladle-full of batter and work quickly to flatten out with a spatula, shaping the bread into round. Flip when golden, and cook until golden on the opposite side. Repeat with remaining batter to make additional rounds.

Serve dama over goraasa and enjoy!

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If you liked this recipe, you might like my Ethopian recipes too! Check out Gomen Besiga: Ethiopian Collard Greens with Lamb, Ethiopian Yellow Split Peas with Kale & Spicy Red Lentils, and Doro Wot, an Ethiopian Chicken Stew, with Gomen

Steelhead Trout with Fiddleheads and Ramps

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You know what I get really geeky excited about? Ingredients that are only available seasonally! 

Living in California, I’m fortunate in that I can eat a lot of fruits and vegetables year-round. My Whole Foods Market in San Francisco probably looks a whole lot different than the NYC Whole Foods in February.

But when it comes to foods that I can only eat once a year for a few months, I’m extremely grateful for that opportunity. Every time.

This week, fiddleheads and ramps are officially in season! Fiddleheads are ferns that grow wild in California. They’re tasty. Some compare them to asparagus, but I wouldn’t really say the texture or flavor are too similar. You’ll just have to try them for yourself to find out! They are definitely their own unique thing. 

Do note that you’re not supposed to eat fiddleheads raw because they can cause some stomach upset. They’re also WILD, so they actually need to be cleaned really well too. 

As for the ramps, a.k.a. wild leeks, they’re very similar to green onions in flavor, but leafier, and a lot more fun to cook with. Yum.

So this week, I've prepared steelhead trout with fiddleheads and ramps. And you want to know what my favorite part about this recipe is, besides it just being extremely healthy? That someone actually went out into the forest to forage all of these wild ingredients for me. I love it! Spring is such a great time of year.

Steelhead Trout with Fiddleheads and Ramps

Time: 45 Minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients

Trout
8oz fiddlehead ferns, washed thoroughly
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (24 oz) steelhead trout fillet
2 bunches ramps, about ½ lb, trimmed
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
3 tbsp melted butter
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp capers
2 tbsp fresh rosemary, coarsely chopped
Juice and zest of 1/2 lemon
¼ cup dry white wine
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Lemon Rice
2 tbsp butter
2 large shallots, thinly sliced
1 cup long grain rice
2 cups chicken broth
Juice and zest of ½ lemon
Lemon pepper, to taste
2 tbsp parsley, chopped

Directions
Preheat broiler.

Bring a medium pot of boiling salted water to a boil. Add fiddleheads and blanch for 2 minutes. Drain immediately and add to a large bowl of ice water to cool. Drain again and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, heat butter over medium-high heat. Add shallots, and cook until soft, about 5-6 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add broth, lemon juice, zest, and salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender. Fluff rice with a fork, stirring in lemon pepper and parsley. Set aside and keep warm.

Meanwhile, season trout with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Add steelhead, skin-side down, to the center of a foil-lined baking sheet. On a second foil-lined baking sheet, add ramps and coat with olive oil and salt to taste.

In a small bowl, combine melted butter with garlic, capers, rosemary, lemon juice, zest, and white wine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour half of the lemon mixture over the steelhead.

In another mixing bowl, add blanched fiddleheads. Combine with remaining lemon mixture. Scatter fiddleheads around the fish.

Broil trout in the top third of the oven and the ramps on a lower rack for 5 minutes. Transfer trout to the lower rack and bake at 325F for 10 more minutes, until the fish is cooked through and the ramps are lightly browned and crisp.    

Portion trout into four even fillets and divide between plates with fiddleheads and ramps. Serve with lemon rice. 

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If you like fish as much as I do, you should definitely check out my recipes for Hoisin Glazed Salmon with Shiitake Mushrooms Salmon in Galangal-Tomato Compote, and Salmon with Beurre Blanc and Sautéed Greens!

Mexican Barbecue Pork Tacos

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Is it Taco Tuesday already?! Awesome! I made these Mexican Barbecue Pork Tacos, aka Cochinita Pibil, which are super delicious. The pork, black beans, avocado salsa, cabbage, and pickled onions were all pre-prepared thanks to my Good Eggs’ dinner kit, but that doesn’t mean I can’t provide you with a recipe to replicate this dish! 

Googling around for some of my favorite bloggers’ recipes, I found a great way to make easy-peasy Mexican slow cooker pork as well as pickled red onions. While I haven’t cooked up these exact recipes, I already know they’re great because 1. I trust their cooking skills, and 2. I’ve made very similar dishes before! 

What about the rest of the ingredients? They’re all pretty easy to buy at a conventional grocery store, so if you want to make taco night an easy night, I suggest picking up a can of black beans and avocado salsa! 

If you want to make this recipe even easier, you don't have to fry the tortillas! Good Eggs actually recommended wrapping them in foil and warming them in the oven. But because I enjoy frying my tortillas, I included those instructions in the recipe below. The rest of the recipe is adapted pretty much per Good Eggs' original instructions.

Also, if you do live in the San Francisco Bay Area, I recommend checking Good Eggs out. Their grocery delivery is exceptional and these dinner kits are too darn tasty to pass up! If you don't live in the Bay, sorry for bragging, but at least you have this recipe below!

Mexican Barbecue Pork Tacos

Time: 4 Hours, 15 Minutes
Serves: 12

Ingredients
Mexican slow cooker pork
1.5 cups pickled red onions
2 cups shredded cabbage
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp sugar
Kosher salt
4 limes, cut into wedges
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Canola oil, for frying
24 corn tortillas
2 (15 oz) cans refried black beans
2 cups avocado salsa
1/2 bunch cilantro

Directions
Prepare the slow cooker pork and pickled red onions per the recipes linked above.

Add cabbage to a medium bowl. In a small skillet, heat vinegar, sugar, and 1 tsp salt over medium heat until the sugar and salt dissolve. Add to shredded cabbage and toss with the juice of one lime, olive oil, and a pinch of salt. 

Heat enough canola oil to line the bottom of a small skillet and heat over medium heat. Add one tortilla at a time, and fry on each side, flipping with tongs, about 20-30 seconds, until crisp. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate, separating each tortilla with a paper towel to blot out excess oil. Keep warm.

Reheat the pork and and beans separately in the microwave or on the stovetop over medium heat until warm. 

To assemble the tacos, pile the pork onto the tortillas, and top with avocado salsa, pickled red onions, and a couple sprigs of cilantro. Serve with warmed beans and cabbage salad!

One-Pot Citrus Chicken with Farro

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Check out this One-Pot Citrus Chicken with Farro! One-pot meals are my favorite because I’m able to concentrate all of my cooking energy into one cooking vessel at a time. 

What made this recipe even more fabulous is that some of my ingredients were pre-prepped! I ordered a dinner kit from my local grocery delivery company, Good Eggs, which consisted of three super easy to make meals. In this meal, the farro was cooked in advance, which saves time (and one pot!) and other items were portioned out perfectly, like the thyme and zahtar. That means that this meal kit was made in the blink of an eye. Yes! 

Even though I really do enjoy cooking in-depth dinners on a regular basis, it’s nice to have a break sometimes. I love when that break is full of healthy, delicious food and not a lot of clean up in the kitchen.

With that being said, even though this dish is probably not in your local meal kit this week, I wanted to provide you with Good Eggs' recipe below so you can use it for your easy week off too!

One-Pot Citrus Chicken with Farro

Time: 40 Minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients
3 cups cooked farro
5 tbsp olive oil, divided
1 cara cara orange, thinly sliced
2 lemons, thinly sliced
1 large fennel bulb, thinly sliced, reserving fronds
1.5 lbs bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
6-8 sprigs thyme
5-7 garlic cloves, smashed, skin on
1.5 tbsp zahtar
5 oz spring mix
1/4 cup red wine vinaigrette

Directions
Preheat oven to 475F. Toss farro in 1 tbsp olive oil and allow to come to room temperature. 

Toss chicken thighs fennel, thyme, garlic cloves, zahtar, and citrus with a big pinch of salt and 4 tbsp olive oil in a mixing bowl.

Pour the chicken mixture into an oven-safe deep pan or Dutch oven, nesting thighs skin-side up among the citrus and fennel.

Roast for 35 minutes, or until the chicken is golden brown and cooked through. Remove from the oven, and transfer the contents of the pan to a platter. Keep warm.

Heat the same pan on a stovetop over medium-low heat, adding the cooked farro and tossing in the citrusy juices until warm. Top the farro with chicken thighs, citrus, and fennel. Finish with the torn fronds. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Toss spring mix with vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve chicken on plates with spring mix.

Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta with Garden Greens

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Who is craving pasta today?! This Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta with Garden Greens has everything your taste buds need to get excited! 

One of the first pasta dishes Adrian and I ever made together was a puttanesca recipe from Epicurious. We loved it because it was sooo flavorful and found that the secret ingredient to a lot of great pastas is actually anchovies! If you don't believe me, try it! The pasta won't taste like fish at all, but WILL be packed with heavenly umami flavors. 

With our early discovery, we made the same recipe about 50 times over the last 10 years. It’s now semi-retired, but we still love to cook pasta with hints of puttanesca. This recipe is similar to a degree, but is a whole lot healthier with whole grains and garden greens. 

While we still used canned tomatoes, jarred anchovies, and capers, we used Baia Pasta’s Whole Wheat Lilies instead of spaghetti, we added garden-grown arugula for added nutrition, and we packed a flavorful punch with sun-dried tomatoes and vermouth. No olives required because the sun-dried tomatoes stand in their place! Yum.

In a nutshell, this sun-dried tomato pasta is absolutely delicious! Make it and you will enjoy!

Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta with Garden Greens

Time: 20 Minutes
Serves 4-6

Ingredients
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
8 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, sliced
1/4 cup vermouth or dry white wine
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
6 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
2 tsp red pepper flakes
3 tbsp capers, drained
16 oz dried campanelle pasta or Baia Pasta’s Lilies
1 cup packed fresh arugula, trimmed
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano + more for serving

Directions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. 

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 20-30 seconds. Stir in sun-dried tomatoes and vermouth and simmer until vermouth evaporates. Add crushed tomatoes, anchovies, red pepper flakes, and capers. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the sauce reduces, about 8-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, add pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente, about 7-9 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid.

Add pasta and reserved liquid to tomato sauce and simmer over medium heat, stirring to combine, about 3 minutes. Stir in arugula until wilted. 

Divide pasta between four bowls and garnish with additional Parmigiano-Reggiano. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

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If you liked this pasta recipe, check out a few of my other pasta recipes for Whole Wheat Maccheroni Pasta, Surf & Turf Spaghetti, and Fettuccine with Guanciale!

Spicy Chicken Tacos with MAIO

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[Sponsored]

Happy Taco Tuesday, Everyone!

I’m excited to announce that I’ve partnered with Bolthouse Farms to bring you a GIVEAWAY to make your Taco Tuesday even happier! One lucky winner will receive a free package with three flavors of MAIO’s Yogurt Spread and Dressing! To enter, simply 1. LIKE my taco image on Instagram AND 2. SIGN UP for my mailing list to the right of the blog ---> to get my recipes straight to your inbox! 

These Spicy Chicken MAIO tacos are super, uber good. MAIO’s chipotle spread definitely added that extra touch because it’s so delicious and satisfying.

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But there’s one other thing that I love about it as a dietitian: it has 20 calories per tablespoon vs. mayonnaise’s 57. How is that for awesome! 

MAIO’s product is currently sold in Northern California’s Safeway stores. So if you live in Northern California like I do, you’re one lucky duck! Whether or not you’re in Northern California, be sure to sign up for my mailing list to enter to win this delicious giveaway!

Note: this giveaway IS sponsored (MAIO sent me free product!) and is in no way associated with Instagram or Square Space.

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Spicy Chicken Tacos with MAIO

Time: 35 Minutes
Serves 4 (8-10 Tacos)
Ingredients
1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into ½ inch pieces
2 chipotle chilies from 1 (7 oz can), sauce reserved
2 tbsp MAIO yogurt spread and dressing
1 tsp fresh oregano
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp cumin
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 small red onion, finely chopped
2 medium jalapeños, finely chopped
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Juice of 1 lime
Canola oil, for frying
8-10 corn tortillas tortillas

To Finish
1 avocado, cut into ½ inch cubes
8 green onions, sliced thin
4 oz queso fresco, crumbled
MAIO yogurt spread and dressing
Fresh cilantro, chopped 1 lime, cut into wedges

Directions
Adjust oven rack to the top position. Preheat broiler. 

In a large mixing bowl, add chicken, minced chipotle chilies, 2 tbsp reserved chipotle sauce, MAIO spread, oregano, 1 tbsp olive oil, and cumin. Season with salt and pepper and stir to combine. Let marinate for 15-20 minutes. 

Meanwhile, prepare salsa by combining tomatoes, red onions, jalapeños, cilantro, 1 tsp reserved chipotle chili sauce, and lime juice in a bowl. Season with kosher salt and pepper to taste. 

Add marinated chicken to a foil-lined baking sheet. Broil for 6 minutes on each side until browned and crisp. Transfer to a plate and keep warm.

Meanwhile, heat enough canola oil to line the bottom of a small skillet and heat over medium heat. Add one tortilla at a time, and fry on each side, flipping with tongs, about 20-30 seconds, until crisp. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate, separating each tortilla with a paper towel to blot out excess oil. Keep warm.

To build the tacos, add the chicken to the center of each tortilla. Top chicken with salsa, avocado, green onions, queso fresco, MAIO dressing, and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges on the side. 

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For more tacos, check out my recipes for Chipotle Chicken Tacos, Tacos Tres Amigos, and Chile Verde Tacos.