Malibleu Beach Salad with Grilled Chicken

A co-worker introduced me to this salad years ago. We would go to dinner at Semolina’s Restaurant. She would always order the Malibleu Beach Salad with Grilled Chicken. I developed this recipe after our Semolina’s closed. It is delicious with or without chicken. The sweet raisins are great with the blue cheese. And I love the tart tang of the sun-dried tomatoes. This salad has a lot of great texture too; the apples and walnuts add great crunch. It makes a great chopped salad. Just chop everything in similar size pieces.

Malibleu Beach Salad with Grilled Chicken

Serves 2

Ingredients

For the chicken:

1 boneless skinless chicken breast

Salt, to taste

Black pepper, to taste

Red pepper flakes, to taste

Lawry’s Seasoned salt, to taste

Olive oil

For the salad:

1 bag of Spring Mix salad greens

6 sun-dried tomatoes, sliced

1 Granny Smith apple, chopped

1/4 cup Raisins

2 Tbsp walnuts, chopped

1 scallion, sliced

1/4 cup blue cheese, crumbles

Balsamic Vinaigrette (recipe below)

Directions

Preheat grill to medium-high heat (10 min).

Re-hydrate sun-dried tomatoes (if using dry packed).

Season chicken breast with salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes and Lawry’s. Drizzle chicken with olive oil and turn to coat. Grill chicken 4 to 6 minutes a side, until cooked through. Set a side to rest for 10 minutes. Slice chicken into bite size pieces.

Toss the salad greens with some(4 to 6 Tbsp.) balsamic vinaigrette and top with tomatoes, apples, raisins, walnuts, and scallion. Sprinkle with blue cheese and top with sliced chicken.

Balsamic Vinaigrette

Makes approx. 1/2 cup

Ingredients

3 oz olive oil

1 oz Balsamic vinegar

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 garlic clove, minced (approx. 1/2 tsp)

1 tsp honey

1 tsp parsley, chopped

1 tsp basil, chopped

Salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes, to taste

Directions

Mix vinaigrette ingredients in a small mason jar. Secure with lid and shake until emulsified. Store remaining dressing in the refrigerator for up to a week.



Linking to:
Life on Lakeshore Drive: A Bouquet of Talent Linky Party
Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo
This Gal Cooks: Marvelous Mondays
Jam Hands: Recipe Sharing Mondays
Buns In My Oven: What's Cookin Wednesday
Miz Helen's Country Cottage: Full Plate Thursday
Six Sister's Stuff: Strut Your Stuff Saturday Link Party
The Plaid and Paisley Kitchen: Show Me Your Plaid Mondays
Carole's Chatter: Food on Fridays - Salads
My Pinterventures: Summer Salads Party

Picadillo Empanadas with Tomatillo and Avocado Salsa

Watching an episode of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, I saw a chef make Picadillo Empanadas. He served them with a Tomatillo and Avocado Salsa. I remember watching and thinking I know how to make all those things. I could make that. His version was deep fried and the typical half-moon shape of an empanada. I decided I wanted to make it healthier and bake mine. All the components are great on there own. But everything together is really good. It has everything you could want. It is savory and sweet, tangy and spicy, and finally crispy and creamy. The only thing that needs work are my pastry skills. I need some practice making pretty crimp marks. I think I might try larger biscuits like Grands next time and fold the biscuit dough over to make half-moons. Definitely a recipe I plan to make again and again. Try the Picadillo on its own over rice or in lettuce leaves. It really is delicious.

Picadillo Empanadas with Tomatillo and Avocado Salsa

Makes 5 Servings

Ingredients

1 pound lean ground beef (93% lean)

1 small green pepper, chopped

1/2 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce

1/2 cup sliced pimiento-stuffed olives

1/4 cup raisins

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

3/4 tsp kosher salt, or to taste

1/4 tsp black pepper, or to taste

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste

1 can (12 oz) flaky layers refrigerated biscuits

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 teaspoon water

Tomatillo and Avocado Salsa (recipe below)

Directions

Heat oven to 375°F.

In a large nonstick skillet, cook the beef, pepper, onion and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Season with salt, black and red pepper. Stir in the tomato sauce, olives, raisins and vinegar. Cook for 5-6 minutes or until raisins are plumped.

Lightly spray large cookie sheet with olive oil cooking spray. Separate dough into 10 biscuits. Press or roll 5 biscuits into 4-inch circles on cookie sheet.

Place about 1/2 cup picadillo onto center of each circle. Press or roll remaining 5 biscuits into 5-inch circles; place over picadillo on each. Press edges with fork to seal. Mix egg and water; brush over filled biscuits.

Bake 13 minutes or until golden brown. To serve, garnish with Tomatillo and Avocado Salsa.

To reheat: Heat oven to 350°F. Place Empanada on a baking sheet, bake 8 minutes. Watch carefully so that the pastry does not get too dark.

 

 

 

Now for the Salsa! It is so good! My favorite Mexican restaurant Tacomania makes a similar salsa. It is on their salsa bar. I think theirs in made of raw ingredients. I decided to roast mine. It is tangy, spicy and creamy. The avocado emulsifies the salsa and makes it creamy. It keeps in the refrigerator for days. I guess the tomatillos must keep the avocado from turning brown. It was delicious on breakfast tacos with a little sour cream. I loved the sour cream with it. I did not have tortilla chips on hand. I plan to rectify that. Next time I make this salsa I will have a huge bag of tortilla chips ready for dipping. You should make this salsa even if you don't make the Empanadas. It would be great with any Mexican meal.

Tomatillo and Avocado Salsa

Makes about 3-1/2 cups

Ingredients

6 medium tomatillos, husked and rinsed

1/2 medium onion

1 jalapeno chile

1 Hatch chile (Anaheim)

2 cloves garlic

1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, loosely packed

1 avocado, stone removed and peeled

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Turn the ovens broiler to high. Lightly spray large baking sheet with olive oil cooking spray. Put the tomatillos, onion, jalapeno, hatch chile and garlic on the baking sheet. Broil until the tomatillos turn olive-green color, about 5-10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Transfer the tomatillos, onion, garlic and chiles to a blender. Add cilantro and avocado; blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to use.

 

Linking to:
Buns in My Oven: What's Cookin' Wednesday
Life on Lakeshore Drive: A Bouquet of Talent Linky Party
Love Bakes Good Cakes: All My Bloggy Friends
Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo 
Six Sisters' Stuff: Strut Your Stuff Saturday Link Party
Taste and Tell Thursdays
This Gal Cooks: Marvelous Mondays Link Party

Turkey Picadillo Lettuce Wraps

I discovered Picadillo a couple of years ago. I usually follow a Taste of Home recipe for Easy Cuban Picadillo. It is a beef picadillo served over rice. Today I set out to make lunch with what I had on hand. I wanted lettuce wraps but did not have some key ingredients for my usual recipe. I decided to re-invent picadillo as a lettuce wrap. It is delicious! Savory from the olives, vinegar and adobo. A little sweet from the raisins, onions and garlic. It is fresh, crisp and crunchy too, definitely the best fridge raid I have had in a long time.

Turkey Picadillo Lettuce Wraps

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

2 tsp olive oil

1 pound lean ground turkey (93% lean)

1 small onion, chopped

1 tsp garlic (2 cloves), minced

1 small yellow bell pepper, chopped

1 can (10 ounces) rotel tomatoes (original)

1 tsp adobo seasoning

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup sliced pimiento-stuffed olives

1/4 cup raisins

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

Romaine lettuce leaves (or any lettuce that looks good)

1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds

Directions

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet, cook the beef, onion and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Add bell pepper, adobo and cinnamon; cook, stirring until fragrant and pepper begin to soften. Stir in the tomatoes, olives, raisins and vinegar. Cook for 5-6 minutes or until raisins are plumped. Serve in lettuce leaves, garnish with almonds.

Nutrition Facts: Amount Per Serving - 1 cup picadillo with 2 lettuce leaves; 302 calories, 15 g fat (3 g saturated fat), 80 mg cholesterol, 19 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 25 g protein.

Adobo Seasoning is a new seasoning to me. I really like it. It is a basic seasoning in Puerto Rican cooking. It can be used for meats, poultry or seafood. It will add a little Latin flair to your food. This recipe comes from an on-line weight watchers friend. It is lower in sodium than the store bought packages.

Adobo Seasoning

Source: WW pal CrissyBear

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1/2 tablespoon salt

1/2 tablespoon black pepper

Mix all of the ingredients until well blended and store in a glass jar.

Use 1/2 to 1 tsp to season 1 pound of meat.

Yield: "4 tablespoons"