Can you believe I have been wanting to try this recipe since August 2006?  That was when it was first featured in Cooking Light and I knew then that it would be great.  Back then we didn’t eat as wide a range of foods as we do now, especially mrChaos.  I knew better than to even suggest a salad for dinner.  The horror.

These days we eat much more adventurouslyand can appreciate lighter dinners and dishes that don’t fit the box of our usual routine.  Not that there is anything adventurous about this taco salad-it is simply a fresh, filling salad that doesn’t leave you feeling heavy or stuffed.  We made cilantro-lime rice on the side for those who needed something a bit more substantial.  Combined on the plate, it was like eating at mrChaos’s favorite burrito place.

I think the success of a dinner salad relies heavily on powerful flavors and textures.  The ingredient list below appears long but this salad is easy and quick to put together.  I marinaded chicken breasts and grilled them before making the salad, however any chopped, cooked chicken will do.  You also don’t have to make the tortilla strips, but I think they lend a nice crunch to the mix.  I gave some proportions below but it is a salad, so feel free to adjust to your tastes.  Cooking Light also suggests adding rinsed, canned black beans and using grilled corn kernals.

Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad

Chicken Marinade (optional, marinade overnight)

• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed

Tortilla Strips

• 4 corn tortillas, sliced into strips
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• oil

Dressing

• 2/3 cup sour cream
• 1/3 cup fresh cilantro, minced
• 4 tsp lime juice, I added the juice from 2 limes
• 1 chipotle chili, minced (canned in adobo sauce)
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• salt to taste (quite a bit more than the 1/4 tsp called for)

Salad

• 2 cups chopped, cooked chicken breast
• 4 cups shredded romaine
• 1 cup diced tomato
• 1 large avocado, peeled and sliced
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
• 1/4 red onion, sliced

1. Marinade your raw chicken breasts if using, store in the fridge overnight.
2. Heat about one inch of oil in a skillet for frying.  Fry tortilla strips until golden brown and crisp.
3. Toss with spices and salt.
4. While preparing salad, place chicken breasts on a hot grill pan and cook until opaque all the way through.
5. Prepare dressing by combing all ingredients in a small bowl.
6. In a large bowl, combine salad ingredients, toss with dressing to taste.
7. Slice cooked chicken breast and toss with salad or serve over salad.
8. Top with tortilla strips.

This recipe is really cheap if made with leftover dark meat, such as chicken leg quarters. So what are you guys thinking about the Cost Analysis(es? Analysi?), do I need to keep them up? Are they helpful or interesting or have you gotten the point and enough already don’t you know it’s tacky to talk about money?

It’s summer! Wherever people are gathering around backyard grills, fajitas should be on the menu. Never fear, restaurant quality fajitas are one of the easiest grill meals you can make.

Beef Fajitas

• 2 lbs skirt steaks, trimmed of all possible fat and silver-skin
• 1 12oz beer, such as Corona
• 2 large limes
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1/4 cup kosher salt
• 3 tbsp tequila (optional)

Serve with flour tortillas, pico de gallo, shredded cheese, guacamole, and sour cream.

1. Combine marinade ingredients (squeeze limes into marinade then add peels) and pour over trimmed skirt steaks in a plastic or glass container or a plastic sealable bag.
2. Marinade as long as possible, overnight or all day. You can also do several of these on the weekend when skirt steaks are on sale and throw them in the freezer. Just take them out in time to thaw.
3. Remove steaks from marinade and rinse and pat dry.
4. Grill over a hot flame for about 10 minutes until medium.
5. Allow to rest then slice thinly across the grain. VERY IMPORTANT! If your fajitas are tough and chewy you either did not get enough fat off or you did not slice across the grain. If you cut them correctly, the meat will be tender and tear easily.

To cut skirt steaks across the grain: lay them out horizontally on a cutting board. The grain is running vertically. You will probably have to cut the meat vertically into smaller slabs then slice each slab horizontally (opposite the grain) into thin strips.

Fajitas actually make a great weeknight meal too. Keep them in the freezer in the marinade and move the bag to the fridge to thaw a couple days in advance, they will marinade as they thaw. Or just throw them in the marinade before bed the night before you want to grill them. With only 10-15 minutes of grill time they are a fancy schmancy alternative to tacos.

Cost Analysis:

• 2 lbs skirt steak: $4.98
• flour tortillas: $1.29
• mexican beer: $1.17
• Total Cost for 4 servings: $7.44 or $1.86 per serving

There are two different kinds of ice cream.  There are French style ice creams which involve freezing a custard base and there are Philadelphia style ice creams which consist of just a frozen milk base.  I have always, always made custard based recipes.  I like the rich, creamy texture and, frankly, it’s ice cream.  Shouldn’t an indulgence be an indulgence?  However, I see lots and lots of ice cream recipes in the Philadelphia style-with no egg yolks-and they sound fantastic.  Then I notice-gasp! no egg!-and I always hesitate.  They will be too icy, I think.  They won’t be creamy enough.  They won’t have the same flavorful punch.

There must be something worthwhile about them though.  My ice cream idol David Lebovitz has as many delicious looking Philadelphia style recipes as he does custard-style recipes (or so it seems at least to me).  So they must hold their own.  So what is it?  What are your opinions? Is ice cream is ice cream is ice cream?  Do the Philadelphia style ice creams have something on custard bases that I don’t know about? Click here for the recipe »

I love shrimp, risotto, and asparagus.  So I knew I would love this dish when I saw it in Gourmet magazine.  This is an excellent example of how frozen shrimp can be an great cheap protein.  Two pounds of frozen shrimp often go on sale here for less than ten dollars: making any shrimp dish a frugal choice.   I added some garlic and feta and served this with a fantastic Greek salad for a delicious, fresh meal.

This risotto is fantastic.  Creamy and satisfying like any risotto but still fresh and light tasting.

Risotto with Shrimp, Asparagus and Lemon

• 3 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 1 lb asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/4 cup Arborio rice
• 1/4 cup dry white wine*
• 2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 tbsp lemon zest
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta
• salt and pepper

1. Combine broth and water in a small sauce pan.  Bring to a boil.
2. Prepare and ice bath and add asparagus to boiling broth.
3. Boil for 4 minutes or until crisp tender, then use a slotted spoon to transfer the asparagus to the ice bath. Keep broth at a simmer.
4. Melt butter over medium heat in a large saucepan.
5. Saute onion until soft.  Add garlic and saute a minute or two.
6. Add rice and and cook another minute.  Add wine and simmer, stirring, until absorbed.
7. Continue adding 1/2 cup of hot broth and stirring until most of broth mixture is absorbed and rice is al dente.
8. Stir in shrimp, and cook until shrimp curl and turn pink, it only takes a few minutes.
9. Stir in asparagus, lemon zest, Parmesan and feta, and salt and pepper to taste. Thin risotto with remaining broth as desired.

Cost Analysis:

• 1 lb asparagus: $1.79
• 1 1/4 cup Arborio rice: $1.87
• 2 lb medium shrimp (frozen and thawed): $8.99
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta: $1.75
• Total cost for 6 servings: $14.40 or $2.40 per serving

* Apparently I was going to tell you something about dry white wine, but I forgot.  I like to use really acidic, grassy whites for risotto.  I like Marlborough Sauvignon Blancs: they are Sauvignon Blancs from New Zealand and are always crisp and grassy.  I like Starborough, Kim Crawford, and Whitehaven.