Chopped Buffalo Chicken Salad

It's going to be another scorcher in Minnesota today.  We are in yet another heat advisory which means I will melt...I wish I was kidding.  I am not looking forward to the walk to the bus this afternoon.  It's absolutely miserable.  Sweat, people, crabbiness.  You don't want to see me around 4:40 this afternoon, it won't be pretty.  

When it is hot like this, the only think I can even think of eating is salad.  I know, I'm on a salad kick.  Between the Backyard BBQ Salad, the Thai Chopped Chicken Salad and the Teriyaki Chicken Salad I just can't help myself.  

This Chopped Buffalo Chicken Salad has become a quick favorite.  We always have the ingredients on hand and it's pretty substantial with the sweet and spicy buffalo chicken on top.  This is what will be on our dinner table tonight.  

Start by chopping up  a few veggies.  Carrots

And celery.  Easy as that.

Meanwhile, grill up a few chicken breasts or as you see here, chicken tenders.  These were awesome for this recipe.  Remember to season them with salt and pepper.

While the chicken cooks, mix up a bit of buffalo chicken sauce.  You could just use the bottled stuff but, this really takes it to another level.  Pour some in a little sauce pan.

Add a bit of butter.

And brown sugar.  Stir it up and let it bubble away.  The brown sugar is keeey. Thanks Mr. Schwartz for that addition.  He doesn't mess around with buffalo chicken.

Get a bunch of lettuce.  We used one bag lettuce mix and chopped up one heart of Romaine.

Toss in the celery

And carrots.

Like so.

Add in some cheese as well.

By then your chicken should be grilled up.

Chop up that chicken

And pour the buffalo sauce over it. 

Toss the chicken in it and set it aside for now.

Pour some ranch dressing over the veggies and cheese.  I used this semi-homemade recipe. 

Toss the salad.

To serve, plate the salad and top with the buffalo chicken.

Now, someone get me a spiked popsicle.

Chopped Buffalo Chicken Salad:

2-3 chicken breasts or about 8 chicken tenders
Salt and pepper to season

1 1/4 cup Buffalo Sauce (we like Frank's Red Hot)

1 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 large carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 bag of lettuce mix
1 heart of romaine, chopped
3/4 cup cheddar cheese
3/4 cup (or so depending on your taste) ranch dressing

Start by grilling the chicken breasts in a grill pan, on the grill or just in a large skillet on medium heat.  Make sure to season with salt and pepper and drizzle the pan with a bit of oil to prevent sticking.  Cook the chicken until it is no longer pink in the middle.

While the chicken grills/cooks, add the buffalo sauce, butter and brown sugar to a small sauce pan.  Place it on the stove on medium heat and let it bubble away for about 3 minutes or so.  Remove from the heat.

When the chicken is fully cooked, remove from the heat and chop into small pieces.  Pour the buffalo sauce over the chicken and toss to coat.

Chop the veggies and lettuce. Put them in a large bowl and add the cheese.  Pour over the ranch dressing, a little at a time until everything is fully coated.

To serve, take the salad and add it to a large plate.  Top with chicken.

Enjoy!

Recipe by: Mrs. Schwartz

Teriyaki Chicken Salad with Grilled Pineapple

I've done it again kids, made another salad that you have got to try.  With it being approximately one bazillion degrees outside with about 157% humidity (that's just a guess), there is nothing I want to eat besides a salad.  I need crisp, I need refreshing, I ned cooold.  

Remember when I made this BBQ Chicken Salad?  Yeah, I know, how could you forget right?  Well, it just so happens that since I gave a little shout out, Jimmy's Dressing sent me some products (and a sweet t-shirt that reads "Dont'cha be messin' with my dressin'" I know, fantastic right?) to try.  The Pineapple Cole Slaw dressing just called to me.  Do you want to know what it said?  It said and I quote "make me into a Teriyaki Chicken Salad pa pa pahleeeease."  So I did.  And it was good.  The end.  

Oh and fun fact, Jimmy's Dressing put my BBQ Chicken Salad post up on their website.  Pretty cool stuff.  You should check it out.  Here's the link: Jimmy's Dressing

Okay, let's do it.

Start by taking two chicken breasts and placing them in a baking dish.

Smother them with about 1/2 a bottle of store bought teriyaki sauce.  Yeah, you could make your own but, that seemed like a lot of work last night.

Flip them around so they are evenly coated.  And pop them into the oven and bake them for 30 minutes.  I know, seems weird, it is not.  It makes the most wonderfully moist and flavorful chicken.  Trust me.

Next, work on the pineapple.  Uffda (yes, I'm from Minnesota), I have a love hate relationship with fresh pineapple.  But, it was necessary.  So, here is a tip, when looking for a pineapple, to test if it is ripe, gently pull off one of the leaves.  If it comes out easy, you've got a freshie.

The hard part is over.  Praise J.

Cut it into spears and spray each side with a bit of cooking spray because...

We be grillin'.  Just a few minutes on each side.  You could also actually grill these on a grill but no way was I going outside last night. No.way.

Then you will need to chop some stuff up including: romaine, green onions, cilantro and red pepper.  You will also need some bagged cole slaw mix.  It makes things easier.  Get them all lined up because it's almost time to assemble.

Take the chicken out of the oven and look at the huge mess you will have to clean up.  Remember to spray your pan with cooking spray--I didn't and paid for it.  That sticky mess is still soaking in my sink.

But look at that chicken.  Absolute perfection.  Slice it up like so.

Now it's time to dress.  Here she is in all of her sweet, sour, creamy glory.

In a large bowl combine the romaine and cole slaw.  Pour over some of the Pineapple Cole Slaw dressing.  Just a little at a time

Toss together, if needed add more dressing.

Then assemble the salad.  I didn't do each step because Mr. Schwartz was at softball and my hound was wanting to play.  So, here is the breakdown.  First, romaine/cole slaw, then red peppers, then green onions, then cilantro, then cubed grilled pineapple, then teriyaki chicken, then wonton strips.

Perfect.  But wait...

Oh yes, we saved some of that teriyaki sauce.  Drizzle.

Now, there we have it.  I'll take a bucket of this please.  And thank you.

Teriyaki Chicken Salad
(makes 2 large salads)
2 chicken breasts
1 bottle teriyaki marinade (I used the store brand 30 minute marinade)
1/4 of a fresh pineapple, cut into spears
A few sprays of cooking spray
1/2 red pepper, diced
4 green onions, diced
4 tablespoons of cilantro, chopped
2 cups romaine lettuce, shredded
2 cups cole slaw mix
1/2 cup (or so) Jimmy's Pineapple Cole Slaw Salad Dressing
1/4 cup crispy wonton strips

Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees.

Place the chicken in a baking dish and pour 3/4 of the bottle of teriyaki marinade over them.  Flip them around with a pair of tongs until they are fully coated.  Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.  Once fully cooked, take out of the marinade and slice into thin strips.  Set aside.

While the chicken cooks, preheat a grill pan (or a real grill) to medium high heat.  Spray the pineapple spears lightly on each side with cooking spray.  Grill for a minute or so on each side.  Take off the grill, let cool slightly and cut into cubes.  Set a side for now.

In a large bowl, combine the romaine, cole slaw mix and Pineapple Cole Slaw Dressing.  Add just a little dressing at a time while tossing to coat.  Add more or less depending on your taste.

To assemble the salad, plate the romaine/cole slaw, then top with red pepper, green onion, cilantro, grilled pineapple, chicken and wonton strips.  Drizzle with remaining teriyaki sauce.

Enjoy!

Recipe by: Mrs. Schwartz

Noodles and Company Review and Backyard Barbecue Chicken Salad Recipe

A little while ago I was approached by Noodles and Company to try out their new premium entree summer salads.  I didn't have to think very long because a. I love free stuff b. I like salads and c. I love Noodles and Company.  I'm not just saying that either--their Japanese Pan Noodles slay me--incase you want to pass on that recipe hint hint.   

Anyway, Mr. Schwartz and I had a nice little lunch date at Noodles and Company and I'm here to write about our experience and give you a recipe to make the Backyard Barbecue Chicken Salad at home! Let's do it to it. 

Musical Selection: None today, boo.  My music player isn't working correctly.  

Okay, let's start with my salad, I had the Chili-Lime Ginger Salad with Seared Chicken.  Holy mother of flavor-town!  This salad was awesome.  Just as the description says it's like a spring roll in a salad.  Crisp veggies, cold noodles tossed in a sweet dressing.  This is definitely a winner.  I have the recipe for this one too so stay tuned, I have a feeling I will be making that as well.

On to the Backyard Barbecue Chicken Salad.  This is what Mr. Schwartz had but for "blogging purposes" I had to try it.  It was fantastic!  The creamy dressing, sweet corn and barbecue chicken?  Unstoppable combination.  It was hard to distinguish which salad I liked best since they were both so good.

I do have to say Mr. Schwartz was also surprised by how much he liked this salad.  Being a Minnesotan man, he wasn't really thrilled that we would be having salad for lunch but he licked that plate clean (minus the tomatoes) and said he stayed full longer than he expected.

Close up.

Perfect little lunch.

Now, on to the making of the Backyard Barbecue Chicken Salad in my kitchen.  I started with a head of romaine lettuce, chopped.

Added a cup and a half of cole slaw mix, I just used the bagged kind.  I'm fancy like that.

Added 3/4 of a cup of pre-made cole slaw dressing.  I'm sure you could make your own but, we love this stuff.

Here's the dressing we LOVE.  Made in Minnesota, doesn't get much better than that.

Toss so the lettuce and slaw are evenly covered with the dressing.

For this I used a rotisserie chicken.  Mr. Schwartz picked it up and honestly it was the best rotisserie chicken we have had.  Guess who is going to be getting groceries for us now on?  Juuust kidding, I love grocery shopping.

Here is where I deviate from the recipe I was given.  It says "use your favorite BBQ sauce" for the chicken.  Noodles and Company, I love ya, but I'm calling BS on that one.  The sauce on the chicken was creamy and BBQey (not a real word but maybe it will some day).  So, I mixed ranch dressing and BBQ sauce.  It was close but not exact.  It never is at home.

Moving on, shred some of that great chicken

Toss with the BBQ and ranch

Top the salad with the chicken, sweet corn (I just steamed it and cut it off the cob) and corn chips (also diverted from the recipe--it needs some crunch).  You can also add tomatoes but as you may know, they aren't our favorite.

Toss it all together and top with additional corn chips if you wish.

We were both pleasantly surprised how similar this tasted to the in restaurant recipe.  This salad will be a summer staple in our house.

Lucky for you, Noodles and Company sent me an update yesterday as well.  Apparently they are giving away free salads on June 7th!  If you like free stuff as much as I do, you might want to check it out.  Here are the details:

On Thursday, June 7th, Noodles & Company -- www.noodles.com --- will be giving away a free summer salad to the first 50 people in line at the restaurant's opening. (Restaurants open between 10:30 and 11. Visit www.noodles.com/locations for details on your nearest location and hours.) Each of the lucky first 50 customers will also receive three garden stakes that are good for a free salad to share with friends.

Here are the details:

• On June 7th, Noodles & Company will give a free summer salad to the first 50 people in line at each Noodles location - you'll find 32 Noodles & Company restaurants throughout the Twin Cities.
• In addition to the free salad, the first 50 customers will also receive three garden stakes that are each good for a free salad to share with friends.
• Each Noodles order is made fresh-to-order, giving customers the freedom to customize their entrees to their tastes or diet preferences.
• Noodles' three summer salads include: Backyard BBQ Chicken with fresh summer corn; Spinach and Fresh Fruit with blue cheese and balsamic fig; and Chili-Lime Ginger with Seared Chicken.

Thanks Noodles and Company for letting me review these salads.  We had a great time and now a new recipe we will be making time and time again.  Readers, please know that I was given free vouchers to try the salads but ALL of the opinions are my own, I really do like Noodles and Company and these salads.  Over and out. 

Backyard Barbecue Salad

1 head romaine lettuce, chopped

1 1/2 cup cole slaw mix (we used the bagged kind) 

3/4 cup cole slaw dressing

2 ears of corn on the cob, cooked and cut off the cob

2 chicken breasts (we used rotisserie) 

4 tablespoons ranch dressing

2 tablespoons BBQ sauce 

1 tomato, diced (optional :)

1/2 cup crushed corn chips 

Place the romaine and cole slaw in a large bowl.  Pour in cole slaw dressing and toss to coat.  

Cook the corn on the cob and cut the corn from the cob.  Let cool.  

Meanwhile, shred the chicken.  Combine the BBQ sauce and ranch in a small bowl.  Pour over the chicken and toss.  

To assemble the salad, top with corn, corn chips, tomato and BBQ chicken.  Toss together to serve.  I would suggest serving immediately.  

Enjoy!  

Recipe adapted from the one Noodles and Company gave me.  : )