The Pajama Chef

Appetizers, Main Dishes, Recipes, Salads

#HotSummerEats: Cherry Chipotle Chicken Salad with Cherry Lime Salsa

June 3, 2015June 2, 2015 Sarah

Inspired by your favorite summer drink, this tangy sweet ‘n savory Cherry Lime Salsa is phenomenal with tortilla chips or atop a crunchy chicken salad. Salads in summer just taste better. Fresh ingredients, lots of textures, veggies, fruit… what’s not to love? This is a new favorite!

Cherry Limeade is the quintessential summer drink, isn’t it? Whether you have a Sonic nearby or not, it just sounds like summer! Cherries, limes, sugar… mmm. This fantastic summer salad/salsa combo is inspired by the refreshing beverage and I’m sure you’re going to love it! Before I tell you all about it, can I let you in on a little secret? I don’t think I’ve ever had a whole Cherry Limeade of my own! Seriously. I think I just steal sips from Ben’s. 🙂 But that’s okay, this salsa MORE than makes up for it. The salsa is incredibly simple–only three ingredients. Cherries, a lime, and some Cherry Chipotle Not Ketchup. “No’chup” as Ben calls it is fantastic. I’ve been able to try a few flavors, and this one is amazing. It’s sweet and smoky with a hint of spice. Thanks, Erika, for your sponsorship! The salsa is sweet, smoky, and tangy all at once. I was sampling it with tortilla chips when I had a flashback to this BBQ chicken salad I made every other week last summer and decided to shake it up with some cherry chipotle flavors.

The combination of crisp romaine, crunchy corn, and sweet tomatoes is awesome on its own. But add in that Cherry Lime Salsa and some chicken tossed in more of the Cherry Chipotle Not Ketchup and you have a masterpiece! Admittedly, this salad is simple but it is very tasty and looks fancy to impress your friends and family. You can purchase Not Ketchup online or in select stores in CA, MI, and a few other states, but in a pinch I think you could get some of the same flavors with cherry jam and chipotle peppers. [Not Ketchup is awesome and I’d purchase it on my own for sure but I always like to give people options, ya know?!] This salad is full of all things delicious and I’m excited to eat the leftovers for lunch today!

By the way, making this salsa was made a zillion times easier with the help of a cherry pitter. I received one as part of #HotSummerEats from Casabella and it’s quite easy to use. I highly recommend it and can’t wait to use it to make my first cherry pie later this summer. Thanks for the gift! 🙂 You can win one and some great other prizes as part of #HotSummerEats this week. Go here for the giveaway! Good luck!

one year ago: Dark Chocolate Double Coconut Macaroons
two years ago: Blueberry Burgers

Cherry Chipotle Chicken Salad with Cherry Lime Salsa

Servings: 4
Time: 15 minutes
Print

Ingredients:

for salsa

1/2 pound cherries [approximately 1 1/2 cups]
1 lime, zested and juiced
3-4 tablespoons Cherry Chipotle Not Ketchup

for salad

2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
3/4 cup Cherry Chipotle Not Ketchup
1 medium head romaine lettuce, torn
1 cup corn [frozen or sliced off the cob]
1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced
crushed tortilla chips, for topping

Directions:

Wash and pit cherries, then slice into quarters and place in a bowl. Stir in zest and juice from 1 lime, then add 3 tablespoons Cherry Chipotle Not Ketchup. Taste and add another tablespoon or so if desired. Set aside while preparing salad.

In a small bowl, stir together cooked, shredded chicken and Cherry Chipotle Not Ketchup. Heat on the stove or in the microwave until warm. Divide lettuce, corn, and tomatoes between four plates or large bowls. Top with chicken, cherry lime salsa, and crushed tortilla chips. Enjoy!

For more delicious #HotSummerEats recipes, check out the link below!

Disclaimer: Thank you to Not Ketchup and Casabella for providing samples and product to use for#HotSummerEats recipes without additional compensation. I was not asked to provide positive feedback. All opinions are my own. Please check Not Ketchup out on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, and Pinterest for more information on their products. You can also find Casabella on Twitter and Facebook to learn more.

Musings

What I’m Into (May 2015 edition)

June 2, 2015June 1, 2015 Sarah

It’s already June! Ahhh! I’m going to interrupt #HotSummerEats to update you on what I did in May. 🙂

What’s Been Happening

Well, we moved into our house in mid-May. So there’s that. 🙂 Hard to think of other updates, honestly!

https://www.instagram.com/p/2pAHv-MCBl

We love our neighborhood and have met some of the nice neighbors [and not a mean one in sight!]. That’s been fun. My parents also brought down some furniture and fun items [like an extra freezer!] which was super nice of them. Now, in addition to unpacking our normal belongings and hitting up Home Depot for everything on the planet, I’m also going through boxes of my memories. Time consuming to say the least! Fortunately, I have room to do this now so I’ve been able to do it a little at a time. Anyone want to come play American Girl dolls with me?! I have my Kirsten doll now. 🙂

https://www.instagram.com/p/3B46NaMCBQ

We also celebrated six years of marriage on Saturday, May 23. My parents were here and their anniversary is two days before ours, so we celebrated with a great cake and a delicious dinner. Here’s to many more! 🙂

https://www.instagram.com/p/3DCCRnsCP-

What I’m Reading

This month was PITIFUL for reading. I only read 6 books… and half of them were audiobooks. #fail

I know six books is a lot to some of you so I won’t lament too much but moving + packing truly got the best of me. Thank goodness for audiobooks! Drive time between our old apartment and new house is about 40 minutes so they were truly my savior during those drives. Haha. I listened to the first two books of the Callahan Garrity Mysteries by Kathy Hogan Trocheck and they were entertaining [albeit they have a bunch of bad language so beware!]. They’re set in the 90s so they are dated but that adds to the amusement, I thought. I also listened to Paris is the Place, set in 1980s Paris and dealing with the expat life, immigration, HIV/AIDS, family, and other tough topics. Kind of confusing to listen to but maybe it’d be better as a sit-down read.

Out of the other three books I read, Recipe for Disaster by Stacey Ballis was probably my favorite. Absolutely hilarious!! And timely as it was about, partially, remodeling a house. I’ve been meaning to read Liane Moriarty’s What Alice Forgot for years and finally did. I felt pretty so-so about it. Definitely good parts–like the ending–but also parts that dragged onnnn and onnn and on. A new book–The Residence–by Kate Andersen Brower was the last book I read in May. It’s about the private life of the White House and talks about the families who live there [mainly since Eisenhower] and the residence staff who make the world go round. I’m a bit of a nosy person [ask my former roomies/my husband! ha!] so this book was perfect for me… though I have read criticisms that it hinders the privacy of the First Families, so there’s that. I thought it was still respectful of them though–nothing absolutely earth-shattering and all in all, it’s very apolitical and leaves the families still looking good at the end. Read it if you like politics, or am nosy like me! I need to step up my reading in June so I meet my reading goal on Goodreads [follow me?]. It is 120 books this year and I’m behind! Sob!

I’ve also made a point to save some of the great articles I read online to share here… so in no real order you should check out these articles:

Come Thou Fount – one of my favorite hymns seen through the lens of outrage… interesting stuff!
Rituals: Reading to Sleep – yes! And it’s even written by the wife [that I’ve never met but randomly encountered on the internet] of some I know from my hometown… random!
On scaling up – “Take your time. Don’t fill it up.” … thoughts on moving to a bigger space. Trying to take this to heart!
11 fresh menu substitutes – great tips from Ellie Krieger!
On a simplified wardrobe – good thoughts. I wouldn’t do this but I have tried to pare down my wardrobe in recent years.
Stats on how much stuff we actually own – ugh! These aren’t all true for me, but with our recent move I did see how much stuff I own and am trying to pare it down to things I actually use.
The Last ‘Mad Men’ – I read quite a few Mad Men analysis pieces after the show ended [tear!] but this was one of my faves.
We need our jobs to survive, but we need our hobbies to make a life – loved this! While I enjoy my job immensely, it isn’t the end all-be all that it could be, and while I can’t relate to all of the author’s experiences, her sentiment makes sense to me.
Discover the kitchen style for your Myers-Briggs personality type – do you agree? I’m an ISFJ and I looove Farmhouse kitchens. But I also love about half the other kitchens on this list soooo yeah. Do I love kitchens? Or am I mix of personality styles? Or is this list just wacked out? Who knows but it’s fun!

What I’ve Been Cooking

The first half of May… lots of weird dishes to use up ingredients in our old pantry. The last half of May… eating out wayyy more than usual as we unpacked. However, after about a week I started to settle in and cook. So I made some yummy whole wheat peanut butter chocolate chip pancakes for a breakfast treat. My mom and I made Giada’s linguine with shrimp and lemon oil for our anniversary feast!

https://www.instagram.com/p/3DBv13MCPq

I also had my Bible study over for an end of the year dinner. We had hoped to grill kebabs but a) we don’t have a grill yet and b) it was pouring [as it has been in Nashville for the past week+.] So I made enchiladas–my sister’s chicken enchiladas [try them! They are SOOO good.] and an adapted version of these sweet potato and black bean enchiladas.

https://www.instagram.com/p/3T8Ig0MCHT

I also have wanted chocolate chip muffins for like a MONTH but haven’t baked so I made these on Saturday morning instead of going running. It was glorious. 🙂

What’s On The Blog

My most popular new recipe of the month was Green Goddess Dressing. Definitely try it this summer!

My top three popular recipes from the archives were: Cinnamon Sugar Apple Cake, Buffalo Pretzels, and
Funfetti Cookies. Again! They are pretty good. 🙂

What were you into in May?

Linking up with Leigh Kramer to share what I’ve been into lately.

Main Dishes, Pasta, Recipes

#HotSummerEats: Southwestern Cilantro Mac and Cheese

June 1, 2015May 31, 2015 Sarah

An easy, creamy baked macaroni and cheese with corn and tomatoes… and a kick of Southwestern flair!

Welcome to day 1 of #HotSummerEats! Don’t forget to read all about the event and check out the giveaway here. There are lots of great items up for grabs and I’d love for my readers to win. 🙂 </end plug> When I first started thinking about the concept of hot summer eats, barbecue foods were the first to come to mind. And thanks to the sweet lady who served as our cook in my sorority house in college [shout out to RV!], when I hear barbecue, I also think “mac and cheese.” She’d always serve BBQ chicken with mac and cheese, and that combo is fabulous!

There are several mac and cheese recipes that I love–a stovetop version and a baked version–but both can be kind of fussy and time consuming. In the summer, especially when preparing food for a party or barbecue, speed is imperative. So when I found a recipe for a baked mac and cheese dish that used sour cream and shredded cheese for the sauce, I was pumped! That is SO easy and sounded fabulous. I also stirred in some of my kitchen staples–canned tomatoes and frozen corn–to kick up this dish a notch.

For flavors, I used some Gourmet Garden stir-in pastes: cilantro and chili pepper. I’ve used these so much in the past and am so glad to say that they’re a sponsor of #HotSummerEats! They’re so easy and convenient to use, and add a ton of flavor in one easy package! The result? This mac and cheese was super cheesy, super flavorful, and super delicious! The easy sauce was just as tasty as some of its more fussy counterparts, though you do have to give it a good stir after baking to evenly distribute to cheese. Small problems though, when this dish is so good! I hope you love it as much as we do. 🙂

one year ago: Black Bean and Rice Soup
four years ago: Lemony Kale Pasta

Southwestern Cilantro Mac and Cheese

Servings: 8
Time: 60 minutes
Print

adapted from Good Cheap Eats

Ingredients:

1 pound cavatappi pasta
8 ounces Jalapeno Light Cheddar Cheese, cut into chunks [I used Cabot; a pepperjack would also work]
4 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded – divided
1 cup sour cream
1 – 10 ounce can diced tomato and green chiles, drained
1/2 cup corn, from an ear of cooked corn or frozen works too
1/4 cup Cilantro Paste – from Gourmet Garden [or about 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro]
2 tablespoons Chili Pepper Paste – from Gourmet Garden [or other spice like red pepper flakes or hot sauce, to taste]
Lightly Dried Cilantro – from Gourmet Garden, for topping [or chopped fresh cilantro]

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees while a large pot of water comes to a boil. Grease a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray.

Cook pasta until just under al dente, since it will cook further in the oven. In a large bowl, stir together Jalapeno cheese, half of the shredded cheddar cheese, tomatoes, corn, cilantro, and chili pepper paste.

When pasta is done, drain and add pasta to the sauce in the bowl. Stir together to combine, then transfer to the baking dish. Note: there will not be tons of extra sauce, just enough to coat the noodles. Place in preheated oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Stir pasta and sauce together in baking dish to recombine and then serve with additional cilantro.

For more #HotSummerEats recipes, click the link below:

Disclaimer: Thank you to Gourmet Garden for providing samples and product to use for#HotSummerEats recipes without additional compensation. I was not asked to provide positive feedback. All opinions are my own. Please check them out on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest for more information on their products.

Reviews

Welcome to… #HotSummerEats!

June 1, 2015June 1, 2015 Sarah

Hot Summer Eats is here. Rallied by Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla, a talented group of 18 food bloggers will be posting recipes for a week. From June 1st through June 8th, we hope to inspire you for your summer grill dates and cookouts, provide you with ideas for your beach bonfires, and get you planning those ice cream socials and cocktail hours. Not only will you find over a hundred summery recipe posts, but you can enter to win our awesome giveaway, courtesy of some amazingly generous donations from sponsoring companies. See details below.

The Sponsors

(with links to their homepages, in alphabetical order)

The Prizes

BenBella Vegan will provide one winner with one print copy of each of their Spring 2015 releases:Love Fed, by Christina Ross (March 2015); PlantPure Nation Cookbook, by Kim Campbell (March 2015); Plant-Powered Families, by Dreena Burton (May 2015); Happy Herbivore Guide to Plant-Based Living, by Lindsay S.
Nixon (May 2015); and China Study Quick & Easy Cookbook, by Del Sroufe (May
2015).

Casabella will provide one winner with a trio of kitchen gadgets that are perfect for summer entertaining: a set of two large ice cube trays; a citrus juicer and reamer; and a cherry pitter.

Gourmet Garden will provide one winner with each of their stir-in pastes (basil, chili pepper, cilantro, dill, Italian herbs, garlic, chunky garlic, ginger, lemongrass, oregano, parsley, and Thai seasonings), each of their lightly dried herbs (basil, chili pepper, cilantro, ginger, and parsley), and two Gourmet Garden logo coolers.

Not Ketchup will provide one winner with a prize pack of four fruit ketchups – Blueberry White Pepper, Cherry Chipotle, Spiced Fig, and Smoky Date.

Quirk Books will send one winner a copy of their cookbook Summer Cocktails by Maria Del Mar Sacasa, photography by Tara Striano.

Spicely Organics will send one winner their Backyard Barbeque Gift Box.

T.Lish will provide one winner with each of the three current flavors: Sweet Garlic, Asian Sesame, and Chipotle.

Members of the Sauceology Group have donated a summery prize pack that includes six delicious products. You will receive either the Calypso Kick or Island Thyme Spice Rub from Caribeque, Garlic Goodness Hot Sauce and Chai Curry Chup from Intensity Academy, Roasted Tomato Vinaigrette from Out of the Weeds, Guava Girl Gourmet Grilling Sauce from Pirate Jonny’s, and Southern Gold Barbeque Gold Sauce from Voodoo Chef.

The Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: Thank you to #HotSummerEats sponsors BenBella Vegan, Caribeque, Casabella, Gourmet Garden,
Intensity Academy, Not Ketchup, Out of the Weeds. Pirate Jonny’s, Quirk Books,
Spicely Organics, T.Lish , and Voodoo Cheffor providing the prizes free of charge. These companies also provided the bloggers with samples and product to use for#HotSummerEats without additional compensation. All opinions are my own.

Menu Plans

Menu Plan

May 31, 2015 Sarah

Week of June 1

Monday: panko-coated pork tenderloin
Tuesday: black bean burrito bowls
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: chicken stir fry
Friday: transforming the pork leftovers into pork sandwiches… I think 🙂
Saturday: out to eat
Sunday: kale & sweet potato frittata