Grilled Chicken Shawarma Salad

My love affair with any kind of Greek, Mediterranean, or Middle Eastern food began in high school when I participated in a life changing 5 week study abroad trip to Germany. Set a dozen small town central Illinois teenagers loose in Munich, Berlin, and the Rhine Valley aaaaaaand, yeah. It was fun. One of the popular fast foods we quickly discovered was the Doner Kebab, which is basically a Turkish gyro. Think layers of savory spicy meat, cucumbers, chopped veggies, creamy sauce, all wrapped in a hot and chewy pita, yum. I've been obsessed with anything even closely related to a kebab ever since.

Recently I discovered the AMAZING Middle Eastern deli here in Chicago, Sultan's Market, and had another epic chicken pita sandwich, so when this recipe for Chicken Shawarma and Hummus popped up in my blog roll I was immediately inspired to try out my own version! It was actually really easy to make the chicken, especially since I'm a spice hoarder and had tons of seasonings on hand. I've been making an effort to think about dinner a little earlier in the day so I can start using marinades more often. They make such a huge difference!

p.s. This recipe is completely 21 Day Fix friendly. I served it with naan bread for Ben to make it husband-approved!

Grilled Chicken Shawarma Salad

Serves 4

Ingredients

Chicken
+ 1 lb chicken thighs or tenders
+ Juice of 1 lemon
+ 2 T olive oil
+ 2 t curry powder
+ 1 t smoked paprika
+ 1 t cumin
+ dash of cinnamon
+ 4 cloves minced garlic
+ salt and pepper

For salad
+ Romaine
+ 4 Roma tomatoes, sliced
+ 1 cucumber, sliced
+ 1/2 red onion, sliced
+ Kalamata olives
+ Hummus
+ Italian parsley
+ Red wine vinegar
+ Garlic powder

Directions

1. Combine the chicken and all ingredients in a large ziplock bag, and marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
2. Heat a grill pan until a drop of water sizzles. Cook the chicken for 8-10 minutes, or until it's cooked through.
3. Assemble salads, top with chicken and hummus, drizzle the whole bowl with vinegar and a sprinkle of parsley and garlic powder. Enjoy!

NOTE: This recipe is also AMAZING on pita or naan bread!

21 Day Fix: 2 green, 1 red, 1 blue

xo Anna

BBQ chicken chopped salad

How is it Sunday night already? Weekends always go too fast, no matter how much or how little we have on the schedule. This weekend was a much needed low-key break from the summer craziness! Ben and I saw Guardians of the Galaxy, went out for our weekly froyo trip, cleaned and organized the apartment, stopped by our local wine shop for their free Sunday tasting, and finally made it to church for the first time since .....Easter?? I'm so happy I don't have to work on Sundays any more! 

Speaking of work, I'm officially down to my last two weeks at the zoo before launching out on my own. It is exciting, surreal, and starting to kind of freak me out, but I'm doing my best to enjoy this phase of life and trust that everything will work out! I know for certain that I'm headed in the right direction, I have the support of everyone who matters in my life, I truly do believe in myself, and heck--we never really know what the future will bring so why not pursue what makes you happy? 

Nothing is for certain, so don't ever settle for a life that is leaving you aching for something more. Write down what you want to ultimately achieve, do some work, and get out of that comfort zone! I'm looking forward to blogging more and focusing on my Etsy shop which has been languishing in neglect all summer! So many exciting projects and goals that I want to transfer from my mind into reality. 

So that's my quick life update! Let's get to the recipe!

Giant "more is more" dinner salads are apparently becoming a thing in our household. They are just so fresh and tasty, and a perfect way to take advantage of all the summer produce!

Like all my recipes these days, this dinner is fast, easy, and not really a recipe at all. Just keep adding all the produce in your fridge or anything else you think might go well with the flavors! (Blue cheese? Hard boiled egg? Leftover pulled pork?) 

Salads are like a blank canvas, and I love creating delicious works of art.

Oh, and this salad is husband approved. It's extremely hearty and you can eat a ginormous portion because it's mostly veggies! The BBQ Vinaigrette is maybe the best part.

BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad

Serves 3-4

Ingredients

-2 heads of romaine, chopped into bite size pieces

-3 chicken breasts, diced

-Seasoning for the chicken (I used a BBQ seasoning mix plus Chipotle Mrs. Dash)

-Bacon! (As much as you want. I've been loving the uncured nitrate-free thick cut bacon at Aldi!)

-1 ear of sweet corn (you can slice off the kernels raw, if it's fresh!)

-1 can white beans (or black beans)

-1 avocado

-Tomatoes

-Red onion

-Other random veggies that you love

-Cilantro

BBQ Vinaigrette

-1/4 cup BBQ sauce (I was going to make my own, but then got lazy and used Sweet Baby Ray's)

-1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (Bragg's is the best)

-2T olive oil

-a big squirt of yellow mustard

Cook the bacon until desired level of crispiness, then set aside to drain. Leave half the bacon grease in the pan, season the chicken, and saute the chicken in the hot grease until browned and cooked through. Chop all your veggies, and then shake all the vinaigrette ingredients together in a jar. Assemble all salad ingredients, drizzle with vinaigrette, and enjoy with a bold red wine!

the EPIC bacon and nectarine summer salad

I think I might have just concocted the best salad of my life.

A few days ago, I was scrolling through my blog reader (guilty pleasure when I get a spare five minutes at work), quickly and mindlessly skimming titles and pictures until I came across THIS salad from one of my favorite food blogs, How Sweet It Is. Oh my goodness. It's been on my mind ever since, and tonight our nectarines were finally ripe enough to throw together my version of this bowl of summery goodness.

This salad has it all. Crispy radishes, creamy avocado, juicy and sweet nectarines, salty and crunchy bacon, goat cheese, a tangy lemon vinaigrette, juicy chicken, and whatever else you might have picked up at the farmer's market! It's my favorite kind of "kitchen sink" concoction. When it comes to salads, more is always more.

Seriously. Go make this.

Epic Summer Salad with Bacon and Nectarines

Serves 2

Inspired by How Sweet It Is

Salad ingredients:

- 4 to 6 cups mixed greens

- 1/2 avocado, sliced

- 1 ripe nectarine, sliced

- 4 radishes, thinly sliced

- red onion, sliced (to taste)

- 4 slices nitrate free bacon

- 1 chicken breast, chopped

- crumbled goat cheese (to taste)

- salt and pepper

Cook the bacon until desired level of crispiness, then set aside on a plate lined with paper towels. Drain all but ~2 T of bacon fat from the hot pan, and cook the chicken in the bacon fat with a sprinkle of salt, pepper, and your favorite spices. Let the epicness commence.

Assemble salads with your desired proportions of all ingredients, drizzle with Lemon Vinaigrette, and enjoy with a glass of rose!

Lemon Vinaigrette

Makes approx 3/4 cup dressing

- juice of 2 lemons

- 1/4 cup olive oil

- 1/4 cup unfiltered apple cider vinegar (Bragg's)

- 1 clove garlic, minced

- 2 tsp maple syrup (more to taste)

- salt and pepper

Shake all ingredients in a jar, and store in the fridge!