Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad

Posted by: Annie

I am probably the last person on Earth to discover Greek yogurt, but boy did I discover it!

I cannot stop eating it, and am so pleased that my latest food obsession is significantly more nutritious than my last food obsession (Nutella on toast every morning of the summer, anyone?)

I am particularly obsessed with Fage Greek yogurt, and have chased this brand all over NJ. I am a tad bit food store loyal to Wegmans, and when I say a tad bit loyal, I mean I worked at the store for almost six years and used to drive thirty plus minutes to shop there when I lived in Philly. Now that I am back in NJ, I live a mere five minutes from the nearest Wegmans, but have been grossly disappointed with their Fage stock. They are out every single time I'm there. This has forced me to go to their "nameless competitor" - that is how desperate I am to get my hands on Fage.

So, last Wednesday I went off to the "nameless competitor." I rushed inside and grabbed eight, yes eight, containers of my prized yogurt, checked out, ran out to my car, and it wouldn't start. Battery = dead. Sad story, but I moved on because let's get real - nothing could ruin my day, I had Greek yogurt goodness.

Monday of this week, I went to Wegmans to give them another chance at fulfilling my Greek yogurt needs. Well, before I even went in my car battery died, AGAIN. Long story short, I didn't get yogurt, but I did get a new car battery. Today I had a successful trip to the store for Fage, sans dead car battery, and made a delicious chicken salad with a yogurt-based dressing. Enjoy fellow Greek yogurt lovers!

What you will need:

For the salad:

2 cooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts (mine weighed a total of 1 pound,) chopped
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1/3 cup diced onions and diced celery (mixed)

For the dressing:

8 ounces plain, fat-free Greek yogurt
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
1 squeeze lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl, mix chicken, cranberries, almonds, celery, and onion. In a separate small dish, prepare dressing by mixing yogurt, curry powder, soy sauce, lemon juice, and salt and pepper together. Combine dressing with the salad ingredients and mix well. Serve on your favorite bread, or on top of fresh greens!

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Adapted from: Iowa Girl Eats

Roasted Butternut Squash Orzo

Posted by: Maggie

"Remember when Ross tried to say butternut squash, and it came out squtternut bosh?" 

Yeah, that line was replaying in my head on a loop the entire time I was making this recipe.

Around this time of year, I usually get my butternut squash fix by purchasing as many of the Lean Cuisine Butternut Squash Ravioli meals as my grocery store gets in stock. While those are mighty tasty, I kind of feel like garbage when I overdo it on the frozen food, so I turned to this recipe instead.

This was my first time cooking butternut squash, and it really reminded me that I need to upgrade from my $6 knife I purchased at a grocery store back in 2004. (Ahem. Hint. Christmas is in 3 months.) Those suckers are hard to cut. I had several close calls, but I managed to get through the recipe with all of my fingers intact, and ended up with a delicious and healthy dinner.

Also, for those of you who don't follow my word vom on Twitter and may have missed it, I attended the DC VegFest on Saturday, and wrote about it for DCEventJunkie.com! I would love if you'd go over there and check it out!

Here's what you'll need:

1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed, and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 small red onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup orzo pasta
1 cup (packed) baby spinach, chopped
3/4 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and line a baking sheet with foil. In a large bowl, toss squash, onion, and garlic with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Spread out in a single layer on the baking sheet, and roast for 40-50 minutes, or until the squash is tender. Give the vegetables a good stir a couple times while they're roasting.

While the squash is roasting, cook the orzo pasta according to directions on the box. Drain and set aside.

After the veggies are done, chop the roasted garlic. Add the squash, onions, garlic, spinach, and cranberries to the orzo. Toss with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.

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Adapted from: Two Peas and Their Pod

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Posted by: Maggie

These ugly muffins aren't going to win any beauty pageants.

They're kind of flat. They're brown and bumpy. They're not covered in colorful frosting and pretty sprinkles like their more attractive cousin, the cupcake.

But...they're damn good. They don't need to be pretty because they have personality. They're super moist, with banana flavored batter and chunks of banana and loads of delicious chocolate chips. I shoved two of them in my mouth this morning, and promptly put the rest in the freezer because I really don't want to be forklifted from my apartment someday as a result of eating too many baked goods.

Make these the next time you have a couple overripe bananas sitting around. Your home will smell heavenly and if you live in an apartment building like me your neighbors will be jealous. I get some kind of perverse satisfaction out of making my neighbors jealous with delicious food smells. They probably don't even notice, but I like to pretend they do.

Here's what you'll need:

1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 overripe bananas
1/2 cup light brown sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips (I used half milk chocolate and half semi-sweet)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, and line a muffin tin with 12 liners.

Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. In a small bowl, roughly mash one of the bananas so that it's still slightly chunky and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat together the brown sugar and the other banana on medium speed for 3 minutes. Add the melted butter, egg, and vanilla, and mix well. Gradually add in the dry ingredients, mixing only until just combined. Fold in the mashed up banana and chocolate chips with a rubber spatula.

Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups, and give the pan a good thwack on the counter to release any air bubbles. Bake in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in muffin tin for 3 minutes, and then turn out on a wire rack to cool completely.

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Source: adapted from Tyler Florence via Food Network