CEiMB: Curried Chicken Salad

I’m late in posting my weekly CEiMB recipe because, quite frankly, I was hesitant to make it. For one thing, I was less than impressed with the last chicken salad we made. Also, I didn’t know if I would like curry powder, even though I recently discovered a love of Indian food.

I reconsidered, though, after reading through the recipe and realizing that it is not that different from my standard chicken salad. It is basically the same, except substituting almonds for walnuts and adding both curry powder and cilantro. Plus, I have heard about the popularity of curried chicken salad and even saw an episode of Barefoot Contessa where Ina Garten prepared it, so I gave it a try.

On a side note, I LOVE Ina Garten’s food. I think her show is a little very unrealistic and it drives me a little crazy (seriously, who entertains that much and has that many male friends?), yet I watch it daily and have prepared her food on many occasions.

Back to CEiMB: this week we were hosted by Sarah of Sarah’s Kitchen Adventures. To see the recipe, click here or visit Sarah’s blog.

I skipped the first part of the recipe, which called for poaching the chicken in chicken broth. I just pulled some frozen chicken breasts out and boiled them in water. I also did not toast the sliced almonds, but that was only because I forgot to do it!

Overall, I was pleased with the result of this recipe. The curry powder was not overwhelming but added a spicy warmth to the salad. I also liked the cilantro in the recipe because it made the chicken salad taste very fresh. I think this may be a permanent addition to my chicken salad, curried or not.

I ate the chicken salad as pictured, over greens, but I think it would be much more filling as a traditional sandwich. I also liked Sarah’s suggestion to serve it with pita chips, which I may try with the leftovers.

Thank you, Sarah, for a great CEiMB pick!

Experiments with cooking techniques

After reading Jenna's blog the other day, I was intrigued by whipped cottage cheese. I found some at the Fresh Market, so this morning I had some cottage cheese oats.

I used:

1/3 c. thick rolled oats
1/3 c. milk
1/3 c. water
1/3 c. whipped cottage cheese
1 T. ground flax
splash of vanilla extract
pinch of salt
sprinkle of cinnamon
handful of walnut halves

(Do you like all of my descriptive words for "just a little bit?")

This was an awesome combination that kept me full all morning while I ran errands.



Last night, I tried my hand at poaching. I had never poached food before (not even eggs) so I did a little research online and experimented on some salmon. I forgot to take pictures of the poaching process, but this is what I put in my liquid:

1 14 oz. can vegetable broth
8 oz. chardonnay
whole peppercorns
1 bay leaf
zest of one lemon (in strips, not grated)

I poached two pieces of salmon for approx. 10 minutes, and it was very good! The fish really picked up the flavors, especially the pepper. I also made some corn and stuffed summer squash, so I only ate half of my salmon.

So...today I ate the rest for lunch.

Before:


After, as salmon salad, with a few Kashi crackers.

For the salad, I added:

diced red onion

S & P

dried parsley flakes

capers (I love the little bursts of salty flavor!)

1 T. fat free mayo

I've never had a salad made out of fish other than tuna, so this was a nice change. I think I'll start cooking extra salmon when I make it for dinner for some new lunches.

I'm going to be traveling this weekend, so I'll see everyone on Sunday. Have a great weekend!

Back to school

Ugh, I need to be more consistent with posting. This week was tough because I'm still adjusting to my new job and a new eating schedule, then I started my graduate classes tonight. I only have four classes left, though!

I think I am getting pretty good at the whole lunch packing thing:

Today for lunch I had a pita (Joseph's Oat Bran & Whole Wheat) with some turkey, spinach, cheese, and mustard. I am starting to like turkey more now, but I still eat it in very small quantities - basically one or two thin slices, enough to add a little protein to my meal. I also had some grapes, a small cup of cottage cheese, and a seltzer.

My work schedule goes from 8:15 to 3:45, then my classes start at 5:30. Right now my choices are to eat a small lunch, then get dinner at 4:30ish and have a snack after school (I get home around 9:00 p.m.). The other option is to switch dinner and a snack, which would put dinnertime around 9:00. Tonight I did option one and ate a mini sub from Subway before class, along with an orange and a granola bar. I'm thinking it would be better to keep it light before bed time, but I know sometimes I'll still be really hungry when I get home at night. Thoughts?

I started my new job!

I woke up bright and early Wednesday morning, way before I had to be at work, so...I made a big breakfast! I wasn't sure when my lunch break would be scheduled or if I would have time for a snack, so I wanted to be nice and full for my first morning. I made the Whole Wheat Oat pancakes I posted earlier, but I added the last of my fresh blueberries. You can't see them in the picture, but they were there and really added a lot to the pancakes.

With one scrambled egg and one link of turkey sausage:



I also packed my first lunch, not knowing that the school was providing lunch the first day. Luckily we have a big refrigerator and a microwave in the library workroom, so I saved my lunch for Thursday. I made a wrap with a La Tortilla Factory Olive Oil Softwrap tortilla (I like these because they have 13 grams of fiber yet don't taste like cardboard), Jarlsberg light, cracked black pepper turkey, dijon mustard, spinach, and tomato.




I also took some sliced kiwi:




And a seltzer:


I'll close this post with a warning for new teachers:

Teachers, especially in large groups, really like to eat. If you start a job at a school, be prepared to take your willpower to work with you. So far, I have worked three days and have been provided with two breakfast buffets and two lunches and it has been very hard to make good choices. So far I've loaded up my plate with fresh fruit and tried to avoid the bagels and casseroles, but a piece or two of bacon may have found their way onto my plate.

Also, I may have had two or three (or four) cups of coffee over the past two days. At least it was decaf.

Monday

I have some catching up to do since I didn't post yesterday. I have been busy getting ready for my new job, and I start on Wednesday!

I wanted oatmeal for breakfast on Monday but didn't feel like standing over the stove, so I pulled out the instant steel cut oats. Monday's cast of characters:



All together:

I need to get another box of that oatmeal to make quick breakfasts. It was fast, easy, and filling. I don't know yet what time I will have a lunch break at work or if I will have an opportunity to eat a morning snack, so I need some breakfasts that are going to keep me full for awhile.

For lunch I had leftover veggie calzone and an orange. Look at all of that spinach stuffed in the calzone!

I was out doing some errands in the afternoon and got very hungry. Luckily I packed a snack and stuck my lunch bag in the car. I had some blackberries and a Fiber One bar.

I tried a new potato recipe for dinner, so look for it in the next post!