Weekend Cooking; Recipes of the week

{The Kitchn}

I made this wonderful pasta dish: Lemony Ricotta Pasta with basil.  I will definitely make this recipe again as it was easy and tasted great.  Groovy Girl's comment, "too cheesy," didn't even bother me one bit as I took another bite. I've got a lot of basil to use and am going to make a pared down pesto to freeze to use up my bounty.

I did make these healthy (and delicious!) swiss chard rolls.  It's a little like eating a sushi roll and the lemony flavor makes my mouth sing. They were very easy to make and it was my first time cooking with bulgar.

I plan to make this swiss chard risotto this week because I've acquired another huge bunch.  Candace at Beth Fish Reads suggested risotto.  I love risotto so it's perfect.

I made a blueberry pie as my grocery store had USA blueberries on sale.  And my husband LOVES pie.  He left for RAGRAI yesterday and I wanted him to leave with a belly full of pie.

I also made him my mother-in-law's famous chicken salad.  It's so easy (and worth it) to compliment someone on the food they make simply by asking for the recipe.  I found myself in Target thinking about making the chicken salad and so I called Phyllis to ask for a run-down of the ingredients.  As we were chatting about the recipe she relayed that Kaylee, my 22-year-old step-daughter, had called her and also asked for the recipe recently.  That's how simple it is to compliment someone on their cooking.

{the start of good chicken salad}

Curried Chicken Salad

Combine in a large bowl:

1 1/2 cups cooked (locally sourced or at least organic) chicken*, cut into bite-sized pieces (about 2-3 breasts) 
1/2 cups seedless grapes, green or red (I always use red as my preference)
1 can water chestnuts, sliced and drained
1 can mandarin oranges or pineapple, drained (look for low-sugar content)

Mix together 1/2 cup olive oil-based mayonnaise or healthy egg-free substitute, 1/4 tsp kosher salt, and 1 tsp curry powder (I always use extra curry powder).  Combine dressing with chicken mixture.  I serve this on top of a bed of salad greens.  It is delicious and a perfect meal for summer.  Thanks Phyllis for all your inspiration!  


This post is linked to Beth Fish Reads Weekend Cooking meme hosted by Candace.  Click to her link to find many other food-related posts.  Have a healthy weekend.