Lynbrook | New Hyde Park | NY

summer recipe

Recipe of the Week: Grilled Chicken Caprese Pasta Salad

Yield: 6 to 8

Prep Time: 45 mins

Cook Time: 15 mins

Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

  • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • kosher salt and pepper
  • 1 pound spiral pasta, cooked
  • 12 to 16 ounces grape or cherry tomatoes, cut in half
  • 8 ounces fresh mozzarella, balls cut in half
  • 1 large handful fresh basil, about 2/3 cup basil leaves, chopped

Instructions 

  1. Prep the chicken first! You can make this a day or two before – even just marinating it or marinating it and grilling it. Place the chicken into a baking dish or resealable bag. Whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, garlic, dried basil and a big pinch of salt and pepper. Measure out about ¼ cup of the dressing and pour it over the chicken. Reserve the rest and store it in a sealed container in the fridge. This is your pasta salad dressing!
  2. Marinate the chicken for at least 30 minutes, or even overnight. When ready to grill, preheat your grill to the highest setting. Once the grill is hot, add the chicken (let the marinade run off into the dish) and grill for about 5 to 6 minutes per side, or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F. Once the chicken is done, let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Then cut it into chunks.
  3. While the chicken is cooking, you can cook your pasta! You can also cook it the day before and store it in the fridge. You can also chop the tomatoes and the basil!
  4. Now it’s time to layer or assemble the pasta salad. I like to do layers of the pasta, chunked chicken, tomatoes, mozzarella and basil, then repeat. But of course, you can also just toss everything together!
  5. Once it is layer or tossed, drizzle it with the remaining dressing. Toss to serve and serve immediately, or store in the fridge until ready to serve.
  6. Note: if you assemble the pasta ahead of time, I would wait to add the fresh basil until right before serving!

Original recipe from How Sweet Eats can be found here!

Recipe of the Week: Summer Buddha Bowls

Prep Time: 40 mins

Cook Time: 10 mins

Total Time: 50 mins

Servings: 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 cobs of corn
  • 2 cups cooked multi-colored quinoa
  • 2 cups arugula
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
  • 1 zucchini, sliced
  • 1 avocado, sliced
  • 1 cup sunflower sprouts

Dressing/Tofu marinade

  • 1 package extra-firm tofu, pressed
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 3/4 cup soy sauce or tamari
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 cloves garlic minced

Turmeric Chickpeas

  • 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 tsp dried turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Instructions

  1. Remove tofu from package and squeeze out excess liquid with a clean towel. Chop into 1-inch cubes. Mix together marinade ingredients and add tofu cubes, submerging in liquid and marinating for at least 20 minutes. Meanwhile, cook quinoa according to package directions and preheat BBQ to high heat.
  2. Slather cobs of corn with a bit of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook on grill for 8-10 minutes until charred a bit on the outsides. Remove from grill and let cool.
  3. Mix together ingredients under the turmeric chickpeas heading. Let sit 5 minutes while you prepare the rest of the veggies.
  4. Divide quinoa among bowls, followed by the rest of the veggies. Slice corn off cobs and add to bowls. Remove tofu cubes from marinade and add to bowls along with chickpeas, reserving tofu marinade as dressing for each bowl. Use as much dressing as you’d like for each bowl (you don’t need much) and serve!

Nutrition

Calories: 533kcal, Carbohydrates: 70g, Protein: 24g, Fat: 21g 

Original recipe from The Girl on Bloor can be found here!

Recipe of the Week: Crockpot Chicken Tacos

Prep Time: 20 mins

Cook Time: 6 hours

Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 12 corn tortillas
For the chicken
  • 1 lb chicken breasts
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 1 medium-sized yellow onion, diced
  • 4 cloves minced garlic
  • 2 tbsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/3 cup Finely chopped chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
Toppings
  • 1 (8oz) container store-bought salsa or pico de gallo
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro
Pineapple salsa
  • 1 cup frozen or fresh pineapple diced, change it up with peaches or mango
  • 1 tbsp lime juice
  • 1/3 cup red onion finely diced
  • 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Instructions

  • Add chicken, broth, onion, garlic, chili powder, cumin, paprika, salt and chipotle peppers to slow cooker. Cook on high for 3 hours or low for 6 hours.
  • When chicken is ready, shred right in the crockpot with a fork and knife.
  • Serve chicken on corn tortillas and top with pineapple salsa, pico de gallo and cilantro. Enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 386kcal, Carbohydrates: 56g, Protein: 30g, Fat: 6g

Original recipe from The Girl on Bloor can be found here!

Recipe of the Week: Cheesy Buffalo Brussels

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut in half
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons hot sauce
  • 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. In a small bowl, combine the coconut oil, hot sauce, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne, salt and pepper. Add Brussels sprouts to a medium bowl and cover with hot sauce mixture. Toss to combine.
  3. Spread Brussels sprouts evenly on the baking sheets and roast for 30–35 minutes, flipping once halfway through.

Serves: 4 | Serving Size: About 1/2 cup

Nutrition (per serving): Calories: 125

Total Fat: 6g; Sodium: 114mg; Carbohydrate: 16g; Dietary Fiber: 7g; Sugar: 4g; Protein: 7g

Original recipe from My Fitness Pal can be found here!

Salmon Salad Rice Bowl

PREP TIME: 5 mins       COOK TIME: 0 mins     TOTAL TIME: 5 mins

This quick and easy rice bowl makes a great high protein lunch that fits into your budget. This recipe serves one, but double up and make your meals ahead to save time, too!

Ingredients:

  • 1 5-ounce can skinless wild pink or red salmon (in water drained)
  • 1 tablespoon light mayonnaise
  • 2 teaspoons sriracha sauce (plus more for topping)
  • 2 scallions (white and greens separated)
  • Pinch kosher salt
  • 3/4 cup cooked brown rice (heated)
  • ½ cup chopped cucumber
  • Furikake or chopped nori and sesame seeds (for garnish)

Instructions:

  1. In a small bowl, combine the salmon, mayonnaise, sriracha, scallion whites and pinch of salt and mix well.
  2. In the bowl you plan to serve in, add the rice.
  3. Top it with the salmon salad, chopped cucumber, furikake and scallion greens plus more sriracha if desired.

Nutrition:

Serving: 1 bowl

Calories: 389kcal, Carbohydrates: 39g, Protein: 25g, Fat: 14g

Original recipe from Skinny Taste can be found here!

Recipe of the Week: Tomato Vegetable Gazpacho

The gym members at Peak Performance Fitness are also excellent chefs!

Thank you to JoAnn for sharing her recipe this week.

 

Ingredients:

  • 4 or 5 tomatoes (may be from a can)
  • 1 cucumber, peeled and seeded
  • 1 small onion
  • 1 pepper (I prefer red)
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 ½ cups tomato juice
  • 1 cup beef broth
  • 1 cup water
  • ¼ cup vinegar (I add some balsamic)
  • ¼ cup olive oil (I add to individual bowls on serving)

 

Directions:

  1. In food processor, start with onion then add garlic, peppers then cucumber then tomatoes. When pulverized put in bowl, add liquids and refrigerate.
  2. Serve cold with drizzle of olive oil.
  3. The longer it stays in the fridge the stronger the flavors. Will last at least 10 days.
  4. Enjoy!!