Category: Summer
Grilled Vegetable and Goat Cheese Pitas
| August 17, 2011 | Filled under Lent, Light, Quick Weeknight Meals, Sandwiches, Shawn's Favorites, Summer, Vegetarian or Vegan |
As the days get shorter and the evenings start to get that fall chill to them, I’m making an effort to squeeze in every last little bit of grilling that I want to do. These grilled vegetable sandwiches are an old favorite that I had forgotten about until recently. I’m really happy that I remembered them though, because they’re super simple to make and are full of fresh summertime flavors.
These sandwiches were inspired by a lunch that I had years ago at Old Ebbitt Grill in Washington, DC. It was before I really started to get interested in cooking (between work and grad school and planning my wedding I had enough to concentrate on), but I remember making the sandwich for dinner just a few nights later in my tiny little apartment kitchen — it might actually have been the first time I ever tried to recreate a restaurant meal at home! The sandwiches have evolved over the years and my memory of the original has gotten fuzzy – I only remember the portobello, pita, and fresh basil — but they are every bit as delicious as I remember them being.
Chipotle Chicken Tostadas with Fresh Corn Salsa
| August 4, 2011 | Filled under Chicken and Poultry, Light, Mexican and Southwestern, Quick Weeknight Meals, Salads, Summer |
Tostadas bring me back to a bright, sunny kitchen in Alexandria where a standing order with Washington’s Green Grocer meant the basket hanging in the window was always overflowing with fresh produce. I loved how easy those deliveries made it to eat healthily, but it was always a struggle to get through so much produce before it went bad. Tostadas were one of my favorite ways to use up the odds and ends that needed to get eaten. (They’re also a great way to use up tortillas that have started to go stale.)
Chipotle Chicken Tostadas with Fresh Corn Salsa
Prep time: 10 minutes; Cook time: 35 minutes
Yield: 4 tostadas
- 2 Tbs Adobo (from a can of Chipotle peppers)
- 1/4 pound boneless, skinless Chicken (2 tenders or 1 small breast)
- 4 Corn Tortillas
- 1/2 cup Refried Beans
- 2 Plum (Roma) Tomatoes
- 1 ear fresh Corn on the Cob
- 1/4 cup minced Red Onion
- 1/4 cup fresh Cilantro, chopped (optional)
- 1 Jalapeno, minced
- 1 Lime, juiced
- 1 head Romaine Lettuce, shredded
- 2 ounces Cotija cheese, crumbled (or Feta or Monterey Jack)
Preheat the oven to 400F.
Coat the chicken liberally with adobo. Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Once the skillet it nice and hot, add the chicken. Cook for 3-5 minutes on each side, or until the adobo has blackened slightly and the chicken has cooked through. Remove from heat and let cool. Use two forks or your fingers to shred the chicken. Set aside.
Place the tortillas in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, or until they begin to get slightly crispy. While the tortillas are baking, prepare the salsa: Cut the tomatoes in half and discard the seeds and liquid-y pulp. Dice the tomatoes and add to a bowl. Cut the corn off the cob and add to the bowl of tomatoes. Add the onion, cilantro, jalapeno, and lime juice. Mix it all together until combined. Set aside until ready to use.
Spread each tortilla with 1/4 of the refried beans and return to the oven for 5 minutes or until beans are heated through.
To assemble the tostadas: Transfer each tortilla to a place and top tortilla with 1/4 of the shredded chicken. Allow each diner to add as much lettuce, salsa, and cheese as they desire.
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