Not Yo' Mama's Spaghetti Sauce

Ok, so your mom could totally make a spaghetti sauce like this. But mine doesn't, so hence the title! One day I'll post my recipe for a basic tomato sauce (from actual tomatoes), but I know that most of you will find this recipe more in your comfort zone.

Top three reasons why I love this recipe?

1. The Hubs likes lots of meat in his spaghetti sauce.
2. The house smells ah-maze-ing while this is simmering!
3. This sauce freezes easy for later use.

I make this and freeze in advance whenever we have family visiting. This way, I look awesome for making my own spaghetti sauce, but I don't have to waste precious visit time with cooking. Win win!

Freezing the sauce

Here's what you need to get started:

You also need 1 pound each of ground beef and ground, mild Italian sausage (somehow, they didn't make it into the picture).

I'm going to tell you all my secrets for making awesome spaghetti sauce… simmer, simmer, simmer and always allow your sauce to rest overnight before using. Seriously, my friends, trust me! These two things alone can make or break your sauce. Really wonderful sauce allows plenty of time for those delicious flavors to meld.

Let's get busy!

Add your ground beef and sausage to a large pot, along with ½ of a diced onion and 2 cloves of minced garlic. Brown the meat, and then drain the fat from this mix.

Next, we add in all our tomato products - 28 ounces of crushed tomatoes, 16 ounces of tomato sauce, and 12 ounces of tomato paste. Also add in a ½ cup of warm water (this keeps the sauce moist during all the simmering). Combine well with the meat, and let the mixture warm up a bit because we're going to add in all the yummy spices next.

For the seasoning mix, I use: 1 teaspoon of fennel seed, 1 tablespoon of fresh basil (chopped), 2 tablespoons of fresh parsley (chopped), 1 teaspoon of oregano, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, and… 2-3 tablespoons of white sugar.

Yep, you heard me right! SUGAR. This is of major importance, peeps. The sugar helps reduce the sharp acidic flavor of the tomatoes. You can add as much or as little as you like, but taste as you go. The sauce will become sweeter as it simmers, so don't add too much. Then, you just wait for the magic to happen! Let your sauce bubble and blend over low heat for at least 90 minutes. Stir it occasionally. Once in a while, sneak a taste. Relish in the joy that is spaghetti sauce.

At the end of 90 minutes, turn off the burner and allow your sauce to come to room temperature before you refrigerate it. This prevents too much condensation on your finished product. Cover and refrigerate overnight before using.

I particularly like to use this sauce in my lasagna recipe, which will hopefully be coming to the blog soon! But it's just as awesome on plain old spaghetti noodles with some garlic bread on the side.

Nom!

I'll be back soon, my friends. I've missed you during this family visit, and I can't wait to be back to blogging. As always, the standard recipe is below.

Until next time, happy cooking!

Thanks for reading, everyone!

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The Standard Form:

Not Yo’ Mama’s Spaghetti Sauce

Ingredients:

1 lb. Italian sausage

1 lb. ground beef

½ - 1 cup chopped onions

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes

2 cans (8 oz. each) tomato sauce

2 cans (6 oz. each) tomato paste

½ cup water

2 - 3 tablespoons white granulated sugar

1 teaspoon fennel seed

1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon oregano

½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

Begin by browning the sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic together in a large skillet or pot over medium heat until the meat is no longer pink. Drain the fat.

To the cooked meat, add the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, and the water. Stir well to combine. Stir all of the seasonings into the mixture. Simmer at least 90 minutes over low heat.

Remove sauce from heat and cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate overnight before using. Perfect for lasagna recipes or a spaghetti dinner.  

Biscuits and Sausage Gravy

When we're both home on the weekends, the Hubs and I love to cook breakfast together. It's my favorite Saturday morning routine. We sleep in a bit, wake up lazy, wander downstairs in our pjs, and see what we feel like cooking. One of our favorite dishes is biscuits topped with yummy sausage gravy.

I made this for The Kid whilst she was here… can you believe she'd never had it before??? Total insanity. This is a ridiculously simple dish to prepare. You can even make it the night before, and then just warm the gravy up in the morning. I've frozen this too. You simply thaw and heat, and you're ready to go again. This is perfect when I have company visiting, because I don't have to spend as much time in the kitchen when I already have frozen meals prepared.

The ingredients

The ingredients are simple (and of course, I forgot one in the picture! Mentally add 2 tablespoons of butter to that picture). You need 1lb. of ground sausage to get started. I've always used the Jimmy Dean sage flavored one, but lately I like using the organic sausages and just adding a tiny bit of sage to the pan.

Brown your sausage in a deep skillet, because this makes a whole bunch of gravy. Once brown, add two tablespoons of butter to the pan and melt. Then, stir in ⅔ cup of flour. At first, the flour won't absorb. Keep stirring it around until you can't see the whiteness of the flour anymore. Then, let it cook for 3 or 4 minutes. This additional cooking time helps reduce the flour-y flavor later on. We don't want that taste in our gravy.

Cooking the sausage, step by step

Once the flour is totally incorporated, and you've cooked it down a bit, it's time to add the milk. Slowly drizzle in 5 cups of whole milk (organic if you want, it's the best). You can you use a lower fat milk, but it's not as good. Seriously. Plus, it doesn't thicken as well.

Th gravy takes a while to thicken, so just keep stirring it over medium-low heat. Ten to fifteen minutes later, you'll have deliciously thick gravy.

Once thick, stir in a generous amount of fresh cracked black pepper (about 1 tablespoon). Pour over warm biscuits, then get on your knees and thank the cooking gods that someone invented sausage gravy!

Also, don't be like the Hubs and add too much pepper. Add a little, taste, then add more if you need it. You can always put more in it, but you can't take it out once it's in there. The Hubs learned this lesson the hard way.

Do you make sausage gravy at home? If you've got any tips, feel free to add them in the comments. Until next time, happy cooking!

Thanks for reading, everyone!

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The Standard Form:

Country Sausage Gravy

Ingredients:

1 pound sage sausage (or your favorite sausage)

⅔ cup flour

5 cups whole milk

1 tablespoon fresh cracked black pepper, to taste

2 tablespoons butter

Directions:

Crumble and cook the sausage in a large skillet over medium heat until browned. Add the butter and stir to melt. Stir in the flour until dissolved, then cook an additional 3-4 minutes.

Slowly drizzle in the milk. Cook, stirring often, over medium-low heat until the gravy is thick and bubbly, about 15 minutes. Generously season with the pepper, to taste. Serve over biscuits. Refrigerate or freeze leftovers.

DIY Taco Seasoning

Have you ever looked at the back of a taco seasoning packet? Like, specifically at the ingredient list? It isn't pretty, my friends.

The ingredients list varies greatly depending on what brand you choose. The one on the left (above) is Old El Paso brand, and the one on the right is McCormick's. As you can see, they are very different. This is why it's so important to read your labels. Or, just make your own!

The Hubs and I are slowly eliminating processed foods from our life. Yes, I do most of the work, but the Hubs is on board. I want to know what is in my food. I don't want artificial flavors or chemicals or any other crazy ingredients. It is very hard to change your whole life overnight. So instead, we pick one thing and change that. After we've mastered one new thing, we add another.

This week it was taco seasoning. Death to pre-packaged seasoning mixes!

The ingredients 

This might look like a lot of ingredients, but it's all spices you probably have in your cabinet anyway. I tested this by asking my pal Michelle, and she had everything except the cornstarch. Honestly, the cornstarch is used only as a thickening agent so you can do without if necessary.

The directions for this are so easy, even the Hubs can do it! You just mix all your spices together, and viola! Instant taco seasoning. We use 2 tablespoons of chili powder, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon onion powder, 1 ½ teaspoons paprika, 1 tablespoon cumin, 1 teaspoon of sea salt, ½ teaspoon oregano, 1 teaspoon coriander, a pinch of cayenne pepper (more if you like things spicier), and 1 teaspoon cornstarch.

When you make your taco beef, add 5 tablespoons of this seasoning mix for every pound of meat, along with ¾ cup of water. Simmer until the sauce thickens and the water is gone. Just like the kind you buy at the store!

This recipe makes enough for 2lbs of ground beef. The Hubs and I like leftovers, so I always use a whole batch. OR, I double (sometimes triple!) the recipe, and I keep it tightly sealed in an empty spice container. Then I don't have to make it every time we want tacos, I just grab it out of the cabinet.

Give it a try yourselves, peeps. Change up the mix, adding more of what you like or less of what you don't. And let me know how it goes for you.

Until next time, happy cooking!

Thanks for reading, everyone!

Follow me on Facebook @ OurArmyLifeAccordingToTheWife

or on Pinterest, my newest obsession @ ArmyLifeFromTheWife

Email me: armylifefromthewife@gmail.com

The Standard Form:

Taco Seasoning

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons chili powder

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon onion powder

1 ½ teaspoons paprika

1 tablespoon cumin

1 teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon coriander

Pinch cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon cornstarch

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Store tightly covered in an empty spice jar.  5 tablespoons of seasoning is used for each pound of ground beef. Brown your meat, drain the fat, and then add the 5 tablespoons of seasoning along with ¾ cup of water. Stir to combine. Allow to simmer until sauce thickens and clings to meat. Add more seasoning for a spicier dish, and less for a milder dish.

Spicy Shrimp Stuffed Avocados

Writing about our recent trip to Paris has made me crave some of the foods we enjoyed whilst there. On our first night, after our tour of Montmartre, we were cold and tired and hungry. Luckily, there were dozens of restaurants near our apartment. We chose one at random (I wish I remembered the name), and had a great meal.

But it was our appetizer that really stuck in my brain and just won't get out. It was creamy, a little bit spicy, and absolutely de-lish. Of course I had to recreate it!

Nom nom nom nom nom!

I love avocado anything, so this totally appealed to me. Shrimp salad stuffed inside an avocado? Heck yes! The nice thing is that you could serve this as an appetizer, but it makes a great main dish as well. The Hubs and I ate it for dinner.

I will forewarn you: This recipe is complicated. BUT, you can take some shortcuts that actually make the recipe extremely simple. For example, you can buy your shrimp already cooked. And you can use regular mayonnaise and simply add the spice to it, rather than making your own. So don't be scared, ok?

Ok, let's get this party started!

Cooking the shrimp

We'll begin by cooking the shrimp. If you choose, you can buy your shrimp pre-cooked and skip this step. I think they taste better when you do it yourself, though.

So, add 1 thinly sliced lemon, ½ thinly sliced sweet onion, and 2 tablespoons of Old Bay seasoning to a large pot of water. Bring it to a boil. Allow to boil for 5 minutes, then add 2 pounds of uncooked shrimp with the shells on (cooking with the shells adds extra flavor). Continue to boil for 4-6 minutes, until the shrimp are done. Then immediately plunge the shrimp into an ice bath. This stops the cooking process. You don't want your shrimp to become overcooked and rubbery.

When the shrimp have cooled sufficiently, you can peel them and set them aside for later use.

Next, we'll make our mayo. Again, you could purchase regular mayo and add seasoning to it rather than making your own. But it won't taste quite the same. And this isn't as hard as you think it is, I promise! Here's what you need:

Spicy mayonnaise ingredients 

As usual, I forgot an ingredient in the picture. Whoopsie! (You also need 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce). I highly recommend the use of a food processor for this task. You can make this with an immersion blender as well, or the really brave can whisk by hand. But that adds unnecessary difficulties to your life.

To your food processor add 1 teaspoon of paprika, ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 chipotle pepper in adobo, 1 large egg (at room temperature, very important!), 2 egg yolks (also at room temperature), ½ teaspoon dijon mustard, ¼ teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice. Whirl it all around until the mixture is nice and creamy.

Here is my best advice for making mayo… first, make sure your ingredients are as fresh as possible. Don't use old eggs. Second, make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature before you begin. And third, when you begin adding the oil (next step), do it as slowly as possible.

Like, it's ok if this next step takes you 5 minutes or more.

With your food processor whirring away, slowly slowly drizzle in 1 ½ cups of canola oil. Begin by barely dripping the oil into the mixture. If the oil doesn't properly incorporate, then your mayonnaise will break. That is no good, my friends. As you drizzle in the oil, you'll notice your mixture thickening. This is good! Once you've added all of the oil, your mayo will look something like this:

Spicy mayonnaise

Yum! Again, you could always spice up the mayo you already have in your fridge. But once you try this, you'll see how easy it really is and you'll never go back. The depth of flavor is worth it.

You're almost done now… Add 1 cup of the spicy mayo to your shrimp. The mayo actually yields about 1 ¾ cups, so I save the extra and use it on sandwiches during the week. You can also drizzle a bit extra over your dish once it's complete, if you'd like a little more sauce. Also stir in 1 diced bell pepper, 2 stalks of diced celery, and 1 finely minced shallot.

The rest is all assembly. Cut your avocados in half and remove the pits, then gently scoop out the pulp in one piece. I totally should have taken pictures of this process, but I was so excited to eat that I forgot! Luckily, Real Simple has an easy tutorial you can follow.

Fill the hole left by the pit in your avocado with the shrimp salad. Put a big old heaping scoop in there! Sprinkle a little cilantro on top, and serve with a salad on the side. My salad contained some spring mix, grape tomatoes, and radishes. Add a lemon wedge to the plate too.

Mmmmmm….. you're all ready to eat! Slice up your avocado and eat with the salad, squeezing the lemon wedge over the top of everything.

I'm so happy I can take myself back to Paris with just a bite of this dish. As always, the standard recipe is below. I'll be back soon with more tales of our adventures in the City of Lights. Until next time, happy cooking!

Thanks for reading, everyone!

Follow me on Facebook @ OurArmyLifeAccordingToTheWife

or on Pinterest, my newest obsession @ ArmyLifeFromTheWife

Email me: armylifefromthewife@gmail.com

Spicy Shrimp Stuffed Avocados

Ingredients:

For the shrimp:

2  lbs. uncooked shrimp, shell on

1 lemon, thinly sliced

½ sweet onion, sliced

2 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning

2 stalks celery, finely diced

1 small shallot, minced

1 red pepper, finely diced

For the spicy mayo: (all ingredients must be at room temperature)

1 teaspoon paprika

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 chipotle pepper in adobo

1 large egg

2 egg yolks

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

¼ teaspoon salt

2  tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 ½ cups organic canola oil

To serve:

4 avocados

2 pints grape tomatoes

Spring mix

1 lemon, cut into 8 wedges

1 bunch radishes, julienned

4 tablespoons cilantro, for garnish

Directions:

To cook the shrimp: Add 1 lemon (thinly sliced), ½ sweet onion (thinly sliced), and 2 tablespoons of Old Bay seasoning to a large pot of water. Bring water to a rolling boil. Allow to boil 5 minutes, then add the shrimp to the pot. Boil for 4-6 minutes, until the shrimp are done. Remove immediately and plunge into an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Once the shrimp has cooled, peel and set aside for later use.

To make the spicy mayo: Add all the ingredients except the oil to a food processor. Blend until smooth. With the food processor running, very slowly drizzle in the oil. It should take at least 5 minutes to drizzle in all of the oil. If this is done too quickly, then the mayo will not emulsify and it will break. Whir in the food processor until creamy.

For the shrimp salad: Mix the cooked and cooled shrimp with one cup of the spicy mayonnaise (save the remainder of the mayonnaise for use on sandwiches, etc). Stir in the red bell pepper, celery, and shallot. Set aside.

To assemble: Slice the avocados in half and remove the pit. Gently run a spoon around the edges of the avocado and scoop out the pulp in one solid piece. Place on a plate and fill the hole in the avocado with shrimp salad to overflowing. Sprinkle cilantro on top of the shrimp salad. Garnish the plate with a small salad of spring mix, grape tomatoes, and radish. Serve with a lemon wedge (this should be squeezed over the avocado and salad. They should be eaten together). 

Bell Pepper and Potato Frittata

With the summer months heating up, I've become really interested in recipes I can make and then freeze in individual portions. For breakfast, frittatas are a great solution. The combinations are endless, providing plenty of variety. And they warm up easy in the microwave. You might remember I shared my Bacon, Basil, and Feta Frittata recipe a while back, yes? It's so yum.

This is my newest combo. The potato adds some heartiness for those mornings when you just want a little something more.

Bell Pepper and Potato Frittata

Ready to get started, peeps? Ok, here goes:

The ingredients

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Then, in a large bowl, whisk together 8 eggs with ½ cup of half-n-half, 1 cup of pepper jack cheese and some salt and pepper (to taste). Set this mixture aside for now and pull out your cast iron skillet (10").

Warm the skillet over medium heat and add 8 slices of chopped bacon, like so:

* Note: I often prepare my filling the evening before, then cook the frittata in my cast iron the next morning. You can do this too if you want to save some time in the morning *

When the bacon is cooked through, remove it from the skillet with a slotted spoon and set aside to drain. To the bacon grease left in the skillet, add 1 diced yellow onion, 1 diced bell pepper (any color or combination of colors), 2 cloves of minced garlic, and 1 grated potato (I used a yellow one, but I think a red potato would be awesome too). Potatoes grate easy using a regular cheese grater.

Cook this over medium heat until the potatoes are tender and browned, about 15 minutes. Then stir in an ⅛ cup of fresh parsley.

Pour your egg mixture over the potato mixture in the skillet.

Cook in the skillet over medium heat, without stirring, for 5 minutes. Sprinkle an extra ½ cup of pepper jack cheese over the top and then transfer your cast iron to the pre-heated oven for another 10 - 15 minutes,  or until the center of the frittata is set. Cool at least 5 minutes before slicing.

As always, the standard recipe is below. Until next time, happy cooking!

Thanks for reading, everyone!

Follow me on Facebook @ OurArmyLifeAccordingToTheWife

or on Pinterest, my newest obsession @ ArmyLifeFromTheWife

Email me: armylifefromthewife@gmail.com

Bell Pepper and Potato Frittata

Ingredients:

8 eggs

½ cup half-n-half

1 small yellow onion, diced

8 slices bacon, cut into 1” pieces

1 ½ cups pepper Jack cheese, freshly grated

1 bell pepper (any color or combination), diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/8 cup chopped parsley

Black pepper and salt, to taste

1 small potato (either red or yellow), grated

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Whisk together the eggs and the half-n-half in a large bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste, and 1 cup of the pepper Jack cheese. Set aside.

Cook the bacon pieces in a 10” cast iron skillet over medium heat until cooked through. Remove from the skillet with a slotted spoon and set aside to drain. Add the onion, potato, bell pepper, and garlic to the skillet with the bacon grease (if necessary you can add 1 tablespoon of butter to the skillet). Cook over medium heat until the potatoes are tender and browned, about 15 minutes. Stir in the parsley.

Pour the egg mixture into the skillet. Cook over medium heat, without stirring, for 5 minutes.  Sprinkle the remaining  ½ cup of pepper Jack cheese over the top of the egg mixture. Transfer the skillet to the preheated oven.

Cook 10-15 minutes or until the center of the frittata is set. Cool 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Insalata Caprese

Whenever the Hubs is away, I revert back to simple comfort recipes like Welsh Rarebit or my Magic Avocado Sandwich. This Insalata Caprese is another of my quick, go-to dishes.

With the ingredients on hand, I can be eating in just a few minutes, that's how easy this is! This is what you need to get started: 

A couple Roma tomatoes, fresh basil, balsamic glaze (or reduction), olive oil, salt and pepper, and most importantly… you need fresh mozzarella. Please, please, please don't buy that vacuum sealed stuff. Fresh mozzarella is stored in water, and it is oh so delicious. 

You gotta trust me here, peeps. Without the fresh mozzarella there is no point in making this dish. It wouldn't even be close to the same. 

So, now that I've given you my standard mozzarella lecture, let's get to it! 

This dish is all about layers. Start with a layer of sliced Roma tomatoes, then top each tomato slice with a layer of basil leaves. On top of that, place a slice of fresh mozzarella (see how I sneak that in again?). Sprinkle the fresh mozzarella with some salt and pepper. Then sprtiz with a little extra virgin olive oil (I use my handy Misto for this). Drizzle it all with some balsamic glaze, and then you're ready to eat… 

How easy is that?! 

While I often have this as my lunch, this is also a great appetizer. I always whip up a batch for girls' night or when I have family visiting. No muss, no fuss. And the flavors are fantastic! 

As always, the standard recipe is below. Until next time, happy cooking!

Thanks for reading, everyone!

Follow me on Facebook @ OurArmyLifeAccordingToTheWife

or on Pinterest, my newest obsession @ ArmyLifeFromTheWife

Email me: armylifefromthewife@gmail.com

The Standard Form: 

Insalata Caprese

Ingredients:

2 Roma tomatoes, evenly sliced into 8 pieces

8 fresh mozzarella medallions or slices (1, 8 ounce fresh ball, sliced)

Fresh basil leaves

Olive oil

Balsamic glaze

Fresh ground black pepper

Salt

Directions:

  

Place the tomato slices on the plate, arranged in whatever pattern you prefer. Place one or two basil leaves over each tomato slice. Top each piece with a slice of fresh mozzarella. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then spritz with a bit of olive oil. Drizzle with balsamic glaze.

Serve and enjoy

Hard Rock Chicken Salad

Several years ago, I ate at the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square with my pal, Becky. That's right, people… I said years. When it comes to food, I always remember the good stuff.

While there, I chowed down on what I assumed would be a basic chicken salad. Instead, I received a sandwich that has stayed in my memory for so long, I now have to recreate it. Luckily, I was smart enough to take a picture of the menu description, whew! So I had a basic idea of what was needed for this beauty.

The menu description stated, "Poached chicken with celery and green onions, in a light citrus mayo with dijon and dill. Served on a toasted hoagie with spring mix, cranberries, and goat cheese".

I totally got this!

I started with the citrus mayo. Easy peasy, people.

Citrus mayo ingrediente 

Naturally, I forgot one ingredient in the picture above. Pretend there's salt in there, ok?

To make the citrus mayo, mix together ¾ cup mayonnaise with 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, 3 tablespoons fresh orange juice, ½ teaspoon orange zest, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. You could throw in a little lemon zest too, if you wanted. I just like the orange flavor a bit more. Sometimes I zest a little of both.

And that's it! See how simple that was? Now on to the chicken itself.

Start with 3 cups of cooked, diced chicken breast. I poached my chicken in the crockpot, because it is way too hot to turn on my oven right now. You can cook yours any way you like, but I love how moist and juicy poached chicken is.

How to poach chicken in a crockpot

 To your diced chicken, we're going to mix in a few things...

To the chicken, add the citrus mayo, 2 stalks of diced celery, 2 tablespoons minced green onions (just the green part), ¼ cup dried cranberries, and ¼ cup of chopped, honey roasted pecans. Your chicken salad should look a little bit like this:

At this point, chill the salad until you're ready to serve it. When you're ready to make sandwiches, we'll add a few more things.

I really want a sandwich now. Seriously might need to raid my fridge.

So.

Slice your bread roll in half. I prefer a crustier bread roll, definitely not plain sandwich bread. Look for kaiser or onion rolls, or maybe ciabatta bread. Yum. 

Add a little mayo to the top piece of bread. You can also add dijon to the bottom piece, but I found this to be overwhelming. If you want my advice, don't do it. But if you really want to… well, it's your sandwich.

Pile some of the chicken salad on the bottom half of your bread (this should make 4 sandwiches). Sprinkle about 1 ounce of crumbled goat cheese on top, and then about ½ teaspoon of fresh dill. Top with a bit of spring mix and the other side of the bun, and viola! Hard Rock Chicken Salad Sandwich.

Basic, simple, tasty, and perfect for that summer heat. Serve with some fresh fruit or a green salad. Later this week, I'll show you an easy recipe for creamy lemon salad dressing… it would go great with on a side salad for this sandwich!

What are your favorite recipes to beat the heat? Comment below with your favorites, or send me your pins. I love testing out new things.

Until next time, happy cooking!

Thanks for reading, everyone!

Follow me on Facebook @ OurArmyLifeAccordingToTheWife

or on Pinterest, my newest obsession @ ArmyLifeFromTheWife

Email me: armylifefromthewife@gmail.com

The Standard Form:

Hard Rock Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

3 cups poached chicken, diced

Citrus mayo (recipe below)

2 stalks celery, diced small

2 tablespoons green onion, minced

¼ cup dried cranberries

¼ cup honey roasted pecans, chopped 

4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

2 teaspoons fresh dill (about 2 sprigs)

Spring mix, for garnish

4 rolls, such as Ciabatta or Kaiser

Directions:

Combine the poached chicken with the citrus mayo, celery, green onion, cranberries, and pecans. Stir until well combined. Chill 1 hour before serving.

To serve, slice the bread rolls in half. Spread one side with a thin layer of additional mayo, or Dijon if desired. Mound chicken salad on the bottom half of the bread. Top the salad with 1 oz. crumbled goat cheese, ½  teaspoon of fresh dill, and spring mix. Add top piece of bread. Serve with a green salad.

For the citrus mayo: Combine ¾ cup mayonnaise with 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, 3 tablespoons fresh-squeezed orange juice, ½ teaspoon orange zest, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper.