Appetizers, Main Dishes, Recipes, Salads

#HotSummerEats: Cherry Chipotle Chicken Salad with Cherry Lime Salsa

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 Chipotle Chicken Salad with Cherry Lime Salsa for #HotSummerEats | thepajamachef.com #salad #recipe #summer

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.

Cherry Chipotle Chicken Salad with Cherry Lime Salsa for #HotSummerEats | thepajamachef.com #salad #recipe #summer

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!

Cherry Chipotle Chicken Salad with Cherry Lime Salsa for #HotSummerEats | thepajamachef.com #salad #recipe #summer

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
  • 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, TwitterInstagram, Google+, and Pinterest for more information on their products. You can also find Casabella on Twitter and Facebook to learn more.

 

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Cookies, Desserts, Recipes

Cookie Days #1: Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies

Yesterday I referenced some cookies that were getting in the way of real meals around my house. I’d like to take the rest of this week to tell you all about them! How does that sound? Well, if it doesn’t sound good, then click away because that is the plan, Stan.

So, anyways. Cookies.

About a month ago, right before Thanksgiving, I received a holiday mailer from Sam’s Club. We’re members, so it wasn’t too big of a surprise. I normally toss that sort of thing, but for some reason decided to flip through the ads just to see what kind of goodies they were trying to sell me today. I mean, I already buy my carrots in 5 pound bags and can get enough oats to last a year [for real]. But lo and behold, from the pages of a Sam’s Club advertisement, a recipe caught my eye. A cookie recipe, to be exact, one that would have been the bane of my third grade school Christmas gift exchange: Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies.

See, as a third grader, I hated those little fake-sweet things with a passion, and arrived home in tears right before Christmas break because my Secret Santa got me a fancy box of them tied with a bow. This was devastating to the girl who only wanted a troll or a Barbie or whatever was in in third grade. Devastating, I say. Just ask my mom.

Now, many moons later, I can’t say that I adore chocolate covered cherries… but as I saw that recipe, memories of third grade abounding, I knew I just had to try them. The icing on the cake [or perhaps, the cherry on top?] was that the recipe submitter was none other than one Sarah Y. Before I got married, I was Sarah Y. Now I am Sarah K., but as a tribute to my third grade and maiden self, these Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies earned themselves a spot on my Christmas cookie plate. On their own merit, they have earned themselves a tasty award thanks to the abundance of soft, luscious chocolate coupled with the sweet satisfaction of a maraschino cherry. They are delicious, and just a smidgen different from your average Christmas cookie, so I hope you give them a try and come back the rest of this week for more cookie magic.

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies [from Sarah Y. via Sam’s Club, also online at BHG]
printable version

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 10-ounce jar undrained maraschino cherries
  • 6 ounces dark or semisweet chocolate pieces
  • 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

First, in a small bowl, mix together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside. Then, beat together butter and sugar until creamy. Add egg and vanilla, mixing well, then fold in dry ingredients.

Next, drain cherries, reserving juice. Shape dough into one inch balls and press down in the center of each ball with thumb, placing balls on baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Place a cherry in each indentation.

Lastly, heat chocolate and sweetened condensed milk in a small saucepan, stirring constantly until chocolate has melted. Remove from heat and stir in 4 tablespoons reserved cherry juice.

Working quickly, spread about 1 teaspoon frosting over top each cherry. Bake for 10 minutes then cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Time: 45 minutes.

Yield: about 36.

Notes: The original recipe claimed a yield of 48, but even if I had gotten that, my jar of cherries only contained 30 so I had to replace a few with dried cranberries instead… just as a fair warning!