Grilled Chicken Recipe with Lemon, Capers, and Oregano

Grilled Chicken with Lemon, Capers, and Oregano and a simple salad of cucumber and olives tossed with my favorite Caesar Dressing.

(Updated with better photos and step-by-step instructions, June 2013.)  How do you feel about capers?  I'm a big fan of these little unripened flower buds that are used in cooking to add flavor to salads, dressings, sauces, vegetables, and meat dishes, so this chicken recipe that adds some caper brine to the marinade is one of my favorites.  The recipe also has dried oregano and lemon, two ingredients that I think really bring out the flavors of grilled chicken. This recipe was originally part of a series on how to make juicy grilled chicken breasts that are perfect every time, and if you're not that experienced at making grilled chicken breasts (or especially if your chicken breasts get dry on the grill) you may want to read that post before you make this.

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Recipe for Steak and Mushroom Kabobs

Pieces of steak and mushrooms are marinated and then grilled for an easy and delicious dinner!

(For Phase One Fridays I highlight Phase One recipes from the past that have been my personal favorites, and I love these kabobs with steak and mushrooms that are marinated for just a short time before they go on the grill.  I hated the original photos from this post, so I re-did the photos, just in time for a big grilling week coming up!)

Meat-eaters love a juicy steak on the grill, and who doesn't love grilled mushrooms, and this is a recipe that combines both these grill-time favorites into easy kabobs that are delicious and quick.  You start with pieces of tender steak, marinate them for one hour in a flavorful mixture, add the mushrooms to marinate for another hour, and then grill and enjoy!  If cutting the meat and making kabobs seems like too much trouble, you could also marinate the whole steaks, then cook them along side the mushrooms in a Vegetable Basket for the Grill. Happy grilling everyone!

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Google Reader is Going Away but I Hope You'll Stick Around!

  If you're using Google Reader, you need to make a switch!  I switched to Feedly.com.

A lot of people visit this blog from Google Reader, and if you're one of them you need to know that on July 1 Google Reader is shutting down for good.  If you're using Google Reader and don't move your feed subscriptions to another service, you won't be able to transfer them after July 1. 

After investigating different options, I downloaded my reader data from Google (here's how) and switched feeds for the many blogs I follow to Feedly.com.  I've been using Feedly for several weeks now and I'm very happy with it.  There are also other feed reader options such as NetNewsWire, The Old Reader, or Blog Lovin'.

To make sure you never miss an updated recipe on Kalyn's Kitchen, the most dependable way to follow the blog is by signing up for e-mail updates.  (This method is most dependable because updated older posts don't show up on many RSS Readers, but they do go out on e-mail updates.)

You can also follow Kalyn's Kitchen by following me on Twitter, Pinterest, or Facebook.  No matter which way you choose, I appreciate your support of my blog and sincerely hope you'll stick around!

 

20 Favorite Beat the Heat Summer Salad Recipes to Make with Leftover Rotisserie Chicken

Keep your kitchen cool with these 20 favorite salads to make with leftover rotisserie chicken!

It's officially summer, and Salt Lake has already had lots of hot days, with more to come.  I love salads all year round, but when it's hot outside a cool salad is absolutely the perfect lunch, and I've posted hundreds of salad recipes on Kalyn's Kitchen through the years.  Leftover rotisserie chicken is one ingredient that often inspires me to create new salads, and here are 20 of my favorite salads using leftover rotisserie chicken.  Hope these salads will help keep your kitchen cool; enjoy!

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Slow Cooker Spicy Brown Rice with Sausage and Peppers

Spicy Brown Rice with Sausage and Peppers cooks in the slow cooker to keep your house cool!

If you're someone who usually doesn't like slow cooker recipes where you have to brown the ingredients before they go into the slow cooker, I hope I can still convince you to give this one a try. Seriously, this Slow Cooker Spicy Brown Rice with Sausage and Peppers was so, so, so delicious.  It took me about 25 minutes to cut up and brown the sausage and chop the veggies and then it cooked in two hours in the slow cooker (without heating up the house!)  I shared some of this with my sister Pam who pronounced it very good, but said she'd prefer a bit less heat.  If you're not sure about the spicy factor I'd recommend using the smaller amount of cayenne pepper.  The recipe I adapted this from called it Dirty Rice, but personally I didn't think it can really be called Dirty Rice without using chicken livers.  If you like chicken livers though, I think they'd make a perfect addition!

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Sauteed Zucchini Recipe with Spinach and Basil Pesto (And Ten More Meatless Ideas for Amazing Zucchini)

Zucchini is quickly sauteed in garlic-flavored oil, and then mixed with a small amount of Spinach and Basil Pesto for a perfect summer side dish.

(Updated with better photos and step-by-step instructions, June 2013.)  A few days ago I shared the updated recipe for Spinach and Basil Pesto and this delicious recipe for Sauteed Zucchini with Spinach and Basil Pesto is one great way to use the delicious pesto.  If you're growing a vegetable garden, you probably don't have any zucchini yet, but bookmark this recipe now so you can find it in August when the zucchini are in overdrive.  I don't have zucchini planted at my new house this year, so I'll be visiting the farmer's market in my new town to satisfy that zucchini craving.  For those of you who are lucky enough to have a garden, you can never have too many zucchini recipes, so check after the main recipe for some more zucchini dishes I've enjoyed.

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Recipe for Chicken and Avocado Salad with Lime and Cilantro

I thought this Chicken and Avocado Salad with Lime and Cilantro had a perfect combination of flavors!

(For Phase One Fridays I highlight Phase One recipes from the past that have been my personal favorites, and this salad is something I've made over and over since my sister Pam first told me about it.  I wasn't too fond of the original photo of the finished dish, so when I made it again recently I also updated the photo; enjoy!)

I love the way social media spreads good ideas around the web, and this salad is my version of one my sister Pam got from a friend, who found it on Pinterest.  The e-mail I got from Pam had just a list of ingredients and some suggestions, so when I made the salad I kind of made up my own directions.  Then when I got ready to post my salad, I wanted to credit the source if I could find it, and when I copied what Pam had sent me and entered it into the search on Pinterest I found Avocado Chicken Salad from Becoming Betty.  My version has larger chunks of chicken and avocado, and I made the lime and mayonnaise into more of a dressing, while the original version is more mixed together.  This salad was so good that the amount I made above didn't even last a day at my house (although I *did* have help eating it from Jake.)  If you like these ingredients, I promise this salad is going to be a keeper!

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Tuna and Macaroni Salad Recipe with Dill Pickles, Capers, and Green Onions

It's the dressing of mayo mixed with the tuna oil, lemon juice, pickle juice, and Spike Seasoning that makes this Tuna and Macaroni Salad so spectacular!

This Tuna and Macaroni Salad Recipe with Dill Pickles, Capers, and Green Onions is something I came up with one day when I was hungry and wanted to cook with pantry ingredients.  I usually take photos and write down the recipe when I'm experimenting in the kitchen, but even though I did that, I wasn't sure I would post this recipe, because after all, does the world really need another recipe for Tuna and Macaroni Salad?  Then I noticed that all day after I made this I kept going back to the fridge to get a little more of the salad, and the next day when my nephew Jake came over he ate a big bowl full, and I decided this tuna and macaroni salad was really pretty fabulous.  Flavor additions here include a generous amount of chopped dill pickles, capers, and green onions, but I think it's the dressing that's a mixture of mayo, olive oil drained from the tuna, lemon juice, dill pickle juice, and Spike Seasoning that makes this salad so spectacular.

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Spinach and Basil Pesto Recipe (and Ten More Interesting Pesto Variations)

In early summer, make this Spinach and Basil Pesto to stretch out your basil!

(Updated with better photos and step-by-step directions June 2013.)  One of my favorite things about having a garden is Pesto,  something I make many times every summer.  Pesto is a great way to use and preserve huge bunches of basil, but this Spinach and Basil Pesto is something I make early in the summer when my basil is just starting to come on.  (Later when I have a surplus of basil, I freeze some of the fresh basil for winter and make some into Basil Pesto with Lemon, which I also freeze.)  This double green pesto is delicious on grilled or sauteed vegetables, grilled chicken, fish, or pasta.  Of course, there are as many ways to make pesto as there are cooks who make it; check the list after the recipe to see some of the interesting pesto variations other bloggers have created.

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Slow Cooker Vegan Brown Rice Mexican Bowl with Black Beans, Bell Peppers, and Poblano-Avocado Salsa

Slow Cooker Brown Rice Mexican Bowls have a vibrant combination of flavors, with just enough spicy heat to keep it interesting!

I don't remember my mother cooking black beans when I was a kid, but sometime after I left home she must have started using them, because they became my father's favorite type of bean, and any dish that had black beans was something he would enjoy.  I was thinking about that as I missed him on Father's day, and remembered all the black bean salads I made for him the last few years of his life when he was in an assisted living center where I'd visit twice a week and cook lunch.  My dad could be a picky customer when it came to trying new dishes, and I doubt he ever heard of vegan food, but I'm betting he would have enjoyed these Slow Cooker Vegan Brown Rice Mexican Bowls with Black Beans, Bell Peppers, and Poblano-Avocado Salsa, if only because of the black beans, rice and avocados; three foods he always loved.   Using the slow cooker to cook the rice and then heat together the chopped peppers, green chiles, and black beans kept the house cool, and I thought one of these Mexican bowls made a perfect Slow Cooker Summer Dinner.

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Capturing Austin Food Photos by iPhone: Curra's Grill, La Condesa, The Salt Lick, and El Sol Y la Luna

A Weekend of Fun and Good Food in Austin Texas, plus BlogHerFood 2013!

Back when I was a relatively new digital camera user, I used to do a blog feature called Friday Night Photos.   I was taking lots of photos then partly to learn to use my new camera, and it was fun sharing some of them on the blog.  Then I guess it started to feel like work, because I quit doing the photos and started Phase One Fridays, a feature that might be more useful to most of my readers.  But fast forward a few years and now I'm the proud owner of a brand new iPhone5, which takes amazing pictures.  I'm having so much fun snapping photos with my phone that I decided to share them on the blog once in a while.  This first batch is from my visit to Austin, Texas last weekend, where I was attending BlogHerFood 2013 and hanging out with a few of my favorite blogging friends.

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Easy Recipe for Grilled Mushrooms

Grilled Mushrooms taste fantastic with just about anything!

(For Phase One Fridays I highlight Phase One recipes from the past that have been my personal favorites, and these delicious grilled mushrooms would be perfect to accompany most anything you're cooking on the grill this weekend!)

This is one of those recipes that's so ridiculously easy to make, so delicious, and so healthy, that you'll wonder why you shouldn't make it at least once a week. A recipe couldn't get much easier than this one with only two ingredients. It does help a lot to have a pan like the one below, which looks like a small wok with holes and sits on the top of the grill. If you don't have one of these pans, you might be able to cook this right on the grill if your grill slats are not too wide.  If you're still looking for a Father's Day gift, a grill pan like this one might be a perfect idea!

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Spicy Chicken Salad Recipe with Sugar Snap Peas, Cucumber, Red Bell Pepper, and Basil

I love every ingredient in this Spicy Chicken Salad with Sugar Snap Peas, Cucumber, Red Bell Pepper, and Basil, but it's the spicy peanut butter dressing that really makes this good!

(Updated with improved photos and step-by-step instructions, June 2013.)  When I taught school I had a Friday-night routine of stopping at Costco, where I'd pick up rotisserie chicken for dinner and then over the weekend I'd use the leftover chicken in a variety of dishes.  Even now that I'm working at home, I still love those rotisserie chickens, and since I've indulged in this rotisserie chicken fondness so many times, I've tried many variations of things to make from the leftover chicken. This Spicy Chicken Salad with Sugar Snap Peas, Cucumber, Red Bell Pepper, and Basil is one of my favorites, partly because I love the spicy peanut butter dressing!  This salad is so good, whenever I make it I wish I had more leftover chicken so I could make it again right away.  I love this with regular fresh basil, but if you have Thai Basil on hand, that's even better.  I guess it's time to pick up another chicken from Costco!

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Recipe for Grilled Halibut with Basil Vinaigrette (And Ten More Ideas for Using Basil Vinaigrette)

I think Basil Vinaigrette is one of the best things about summer, and it's perfect spooned over Grilled Halibut.

(Updated with better photos and step-by-step instructions in June 2013.)  For many summers now I've been infatuated with Basil Vinaigrette, which I love to eat drizzled over tomatoes or grilled vegetables.  I first posted this Grilled Halibut with Basil Vinaigrette as an idea for using leftover basil vinaigrette, but this combination is so wonderful that I'd make basil vinaigrette just so I could cook this.  The dressing will keep in the refrigerator for a week or a little longer, so check after the recipe for other ideas for using it.

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Spicy Chopped Greek-Style Salad with Peperoncini (and Ten More Greek Salads for Summer!)

 Chopped Greek Salad with Peperoncini is perfect for Meatless Monday!

I've been a pretty devoted Greek Salad fan for years, as well as being seriously addicted to Peperoncini, so it's no surprise that I'd be crazy about a salad combining these two flavor favorites.  I think the combination of tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, and Feta that define Greek Salad are pretty amazing no matter what you put with them, but in this salad I really kicked it up by using the brine from the Peperoncini in the dressing and adding sliced Peperoncini to the salad.  I used Mezzetta Greek Peperoncini, a product I've had lots of fun experimenting with since it first appeared in two-packs at my Costco.  This type of slightly-spicy Peperoncini is often used as a garnish on restaurant salads, and if you like them at all you'll probably love this salad.  When the weather really heats up, I'd eat salad like this any day for lunch or dinner; hope you enjoy!

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Grilled Salmon Recipe with Maple-Sriracha-Lime Glaze

Grilled Salmon with a glaze of sugar-free maple syrup, Sriracha, and lime juice.  So easy and delicious!  (With the fish is Barely Blanched Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad with Red Bell Pepper, Radishes, Red Onion, and Cashews.)

It's definitely grilling weather in Utah, and I've been cooking on my grill quite a bit, which always makes me happy.  My latest grilling experiment was this Grilled Salmon with Maple-Sriracha-Lime Glaze, adapted from Salmon with Sriracha Sauce and Lime featured in Self Magazine.  I loved the recipe idea of maple syrup, lime juice, and Sriracha on salmon, but I wanted lots more of the glaze ingredients, and for me this kind of salmon dish was just begging to go on the grill.  Rather cheeky of me to adapt a recipe from a famous movie star (although you do know that these movie stars don't write their own books, don't you?)  But definitely my version was a huge success, and I'm thinking this same type of sweet and spicy glaze would taste great on chicken.

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Recipe for Chicken, Black Bean, and Red Pepper Salad with Spicy Avocado Dressing

Chicken, Black Bean, and Red Pepper Salad with Spicy Avocado Dressing!

(For Phase One Fridays I highlight Phase One recipes from the past that have been my personal favorites, and this tasty salad with chicken, black beans, and red peppers with avocado dressing is something I love when the weather gets hot.  I normally post my Phase One Friday favorites on Friday morning, but I'm sharing this one early because tomorrow morning I'll be heading out bright and early to attend the BlogHer Food 2013 Conference.  This year the conference is in Austin, Texas, where it's definitely hot enough to make you crave this type of salad; enjoy!)

It's hot, hot, hot outside, and whether you're looking for a cold side dish to take to a party or just something that's an eat-it-cold meal idea, this Chicken, Black Bean, and Red Pepper Salad with Spicy Avocado Dressing is going to hit the spot, I promise.  If you really want to avoid cooking you can make this with leftover rotisserie chicken, but if you don't have that poaching two chicken breasts is still pretty quick and easy.  This salad stayed good in the fridge for several days, especially if you stir in a little more of the spicy avocado dressing to perk up the flavors.  Enjoy!

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Kalyn's Kitchen Picks: Cholula Hot Sauce

Cholula Hot Sauce from Mexico is great for adding spicy flavor to Mexican or Tex-Mex dishes!

Since I'm heading to Austin today to eat barbecue and Tex-Mex food (and attend the BlogHer Food 2013 Conference), it seems like an appropriate time to give an official nod to original flavor Cholula Hot Sauce, which my favorite Mexican hot sauce!  (My other hot sauce pick would be Green Tabasco Sauce, which is made in the U.S.)  I'm not sure why I only tried this for the first time a few years ago, but since then Cholula is the sauce I've been using to add spicy flavor to Mexican or Southwestern dishes, and now it's something that's always in my fridge, with an extra bottle in the pantry.  My Costco carries a two-pack of the large 12 ounce bottles, and that's my favorite way to buy it, but if there's not a Costco where you are, a Mexican market is a good place to get this.

Keep reading to see the recipes I've made that use this flavorful sauce.

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Vietnamese Cabbage Salad with Chicken and Cilantro

This Vietnamese Cabbage Salad is perfect to make with leftover chicken, and I love that the dressing has no oil!

(Updated with better photos and step-by-step instructions, June 2013.)    Way back in 2007, Glenna from A Fridge Full of Food posted a recipe for Vietnamese Cole Slaw, and the minute I saw the recipe, I knew I'd be making some version of it.  Glenna had a Vietnamese co-worker who told her that in Vietnam the dressing for this type of salad would never contain oil, and I love the light but highly flavored dressing here that includes fish sauce, rice vinegar, and lime juice.  And since I have a hard time walking by those rotisserie chickens at Costco without having one jump into my cart, I'm always looking for salads ideas to use the leftover chicken.  With the light dressing, chicken, radishes, and crunchy cabbage, I think this Vietnamese Cabbage Salad with Chicken and Cilantro is perfect for summer.

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Recipe for Chickpea and Brown Rice Patties with Parsley, Mint, and Yogurt-Tahini Sauce

Chickpea and Brown Rice Patties with Parsley, Mint, and Yogurt-Tahini Sauce make a great Meatless Monday dish!

I was excited when I spotted a recipe for Chickpea-Brown Rice Burgers in Meatless, a new cookbook from Martha Stewart Living, but if I hadn't been patient you would have never seen my version of the recipe.  That's because it took Jake and I four tries to get Chickpea and Brown Rice Patties with Parsley, Mint, and Yogurt-Tahini Sauce so they were flavorful but sturdy enough that they didn't fall completely apart when we tried to cook them.  In the final keeper version we used the food processor to buzz the chickpeas and brown rice to a chopped texture and blend in the herbs, and made eight small patties to keep them to hold together better, but you still need to handle these carefully when you're frying them.  I'm glad we persevered though, because these were so, so, so tasty with the yogurt-tahini sauce!

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South Beach Diet Phase One Recipes Round-Up for May 2013 (Low-Glycemic Recipes)

It's salad season, and my favorite Phase One Recipes for May 2013 were Leafy Green Salad with Roasted Chickpeas, Leftover Chicken Asian Chopped Salad, Barely Blanched Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad, and Pinto Bean Salad with Avocado, Tomatoes, Red Onion, and Cilantro.

It doesn't take more than a peek at the South Beach Diet Phase One Recipes Round-up for May to see that food bloggers have made the mental switch to summer eating.  There are lots and lots of salads, an abundance of foods cooked on the grill, plenty of fish, very few soups or stews, and recipe titles with summer ingredients like Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Basil, or Pesto.  Everyone loves summer don't they, (even people who haven't spent 30 years of their life teaching elementary school!)  I get so inspired by the fresh bright flavors that come with summer eating, and I think this recipes round-up has enough good ideas to keep you eating delicious food for weeks, whether or not you're doing Phase One.

(You can use the label Low-Glycemic Recipe Round-Ups to see all the posts like this one.)

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