Jenn's Favorite Curried Chicken Salad & Chickpea Salad with Lemony Salted Yogurt and Plenty of Dill

Jennifer's Favorite Curried Chicken Salad 

 Ingredients for Four Servings:

2 cups cooked chicken

, cut into bite sized pieces
1 apple, diced (Granny Smith is best if you have it)
2 tablespoons diced celery
2 tablespoons dried raisins
2 tablespoons chopped nuts (pecans are great, but any or none will do)
2 tablespoons diced onion (white, yellow, red or green)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons sweet curry powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Combine the chicken, apple, celery, raisins, nuts  and onions in a bowl. Whisk together mayonnaise, vinegar, curry powder, salt and pepper. Add enough of the mayonnaise mixture to the chicken combination to coat it well, but not have the chicken be swimming in it. Serve on top of greens.

Chickpea Salad with Lemony Salted Yogurt and Plenty of Dill

Ingredients for Two Servings

1 (15 oz.) can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 medium tomato, diced
1 avocado, diced
1/2 medium cucumber, diced
1 tablespoon diced red onion
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon dried dill
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 bunch of fresh dill and pita bread for serving

Gently combine all chickpeas, tomato, avocado, onion, olive oil, vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper and garlic powder in a bowl. Whisk together yogurt, lemon juice and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Divide chickpea mixture between two plates. Put 2 tablespoons of  yogurt mixture to side. Serve with pita and fresh dill.

Sunshine Spinach Salad

Years ago, Aunt Gayla brought a salad to a family holiday gathering. We all loved it so much that I tried to duplicate it and my attempts morphed into the spinach salad posted here. For a time, we ate it quite a lot; then we seemed to forget about it. Every now and then one of the girls will say, "Can you make that salad with the oranges and avocados in it when I come home?", and I wonder why I don't serve it more often. The dressing, which has Dijon mustard and a bit orange juice, seems to get in cahoots with the avocado slices and ends up coating the spinach in - family joke here - a "luxurious" way. Don't skip the step where the lemon is squeezed on the avocado because it just lends to the spectacular end result when everything is tossed together. This is truly a salad where the sum is greater than the parts! :) 

Ingredients for Four Servings

1 large bag baby spinach leaves ( 8 cups)
2 or 3 clementines or tangerines, depending on size
2 ripe avocados
1 small lemon
1 small red onion
1/2 chopped pecans
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 1/2 teaspoon country Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

If they are not already washed, then rinse, drain and blot the spinach leaves dry with paper towels.

Peel clementines or tangerines and separate into sections.

Peel and pit avocado. Slice and squeeze the juice of the lemon over the avocado.

Peel and thinly slice the red onion.

Place the spinach leaves, clementine or tangerine sections, avocado slices, red onion slices, and chopped pecans in a large bowl.

In a small bowl whisk together the olive oil, rice wine vinegar, orange juice, Dijon mustard, salt, garlic powder, and pepper.

Pour dressing over spinach and other ingredients and toss until the mixture is coated.

Divide between four serving plates. This is great served with salmon or chicken! 

A Great Grilled Sandwich - Spinach Melt!

Spinach Melt Grilled Sandwich

     The inspiration for this sandwich came from an intense craving for the Spinach Melt Sandwich at Smee's Place in Indianapolis. Smee's spinach melt is not too rich which allows you to enjoy it without feeling guilty and they offer to add sliced turkey to the sandwich as well. I hope you enjoy my copy cat version!

  

Ingredients for Four Servings

For the Creamed Spinach Filling:

2 (10 oz.) packages frozen spinach

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoon diced shallots

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup whole milk

1/3 cup parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 tablespoon flour

1/16 teaspoon ground nutmeg

salt

pepper

 

For the Spinach Melt Grilled Sandwiches:

Creamed spinach from above

8 slices of bread, buttered on one side

1/2 shredded mozzarella cheese

Slices of chicken or turkey breast

Directions:

Defrost the spinach in the microwave.  Use a colander and towels to squeeze as much water as possible out. 

Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan and sauté the shallots until tender but not brown.  Add the garlic and sauté one more minute.



Then, add the butter and when it is melted, stir in the flour and cook for a minute or two until it is smooth and bubbly.  Whisk in the milk and allow the mixture to thicken. Add the spinach, nutmeg, parmesan cheese, and salt & pepper to taste.  You could stop here and have a great side dish.

Or, you could spread a layer of creamed spinach on four slices of bread (buttered side down), sprinkle each one with 2 tablespoons of the shredded mozzarella cheese and sliced meat and top with another slice of bread, buttered side up. Place the sandwiches in a skillet and cook 3 to 4 minutes per side over medium heat to achieve a nice golden crust.  Yum! Enjoy!