Category Archives: Recipes

Romaine Salad with Chicken, Cheddar, Apples, Spiced Pecans and Cranberry Vinaigrette

Posted on September 20, 2011 by Veronica

This is another recipe I made earlier in the spring and waited to post until the transition from summer to fall because, while salads are typical summer fare, this one incorporates fall flavors like cranberries, apples, and spiced pecans.

If you want to know how this salad tastes, just read the title. And imagine all those things together on a plate. There is a lot going on here and you get such a wonderful symphony of flavors and textures with each bite–salty from the nuts & cheese, sweet & tart from the apples & vinaigrette, crisp lettuce & onions, savory & tender chicken, crunchy spiced pecans. It’s a glorious thing!

Romaine Salad with Chicken, Cheddar, Apples, Spiced Pecans and Cranberry Vinaigrette

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1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 3-4 medium)
Salt and black pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil
1/2 cup water
1 large head romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces (about 8-10 cups)
8 ounces sharp or extra-sharp cheddar cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 Granny Smith apple, cored and chopped or sliced thin
1/2 red onion, sliced thin
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 cup spiced pecans, store-bought or following the simple recipe below

Dried Cranberry Vinaigrette (recipe below)

Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season both sides with the salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until the oil is shimmering and hot. Add the chicken and cook until it is nicely browned on one side, about 3 minutes. Flip the chicken over, add the water, and cover the skillet. Cook the chicken, letting it poach, until it is cooked through, about 5-7 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and let it cool slightly before carving.

Toss the lettuce, cheese, apple, pecans, onion and dried cranberries together. Divide the salad among the serving plates. Slice the chicken on a diagonal and arrange over the salad. Serve with the vinaigrette.

Quick Spiced Pecans:
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
2 cups pecan halves
1 tablespoon sugar

Melt the butter in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Stir in the spices and then the pecans. Toast the nuts, stirring often, until the color deepens slightly and they are lightly toasted, about 5-7 minutes. Transfer the nuts to a bowl and toss with the sugar. Let them cool completely before tossing with the salad.

Dried Cranberry Vinaigrette:
*Makes about 1 1/2 cups dressing

1/4 cup cranberry juice or water
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup red wine or raspberry vinegar
1 shallot, peeled and quartered
1 small garlic clove, peeled
2 teaspoons fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Combine the cranberry juice (or water) and cranberries in a small microwave-safe bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high for one minute until hot. Process the hot cranberry mixture, vinegar, shallot, garlic, thyme, mustard, salt and pepper in a blender until the shallot and garlic are finely chopped. With the blender running, add the oil and continue to blend until the dressing is smooth and well-combined. Thin the dressing, if needed, with additional cranberry juice. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Recipe source: Mel’s Kitchen Cafe

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Posted in Lighter Fare, Meats, Salads. Bookmark the permalink.

Garlic Chicken & Bacon Spaghetti Squash Alfredo

Posted on September 16, 2011 by Veronica

I made this recipe in the spring and thought it would be nice to share in the fall when it was starting to get chilly. Not so chilly that you are ready to dig into the really heavy foods, but are just starting to think about it. That day has come a lot sooner than I expected! Does it seem like an early fall is coming on in your neck of the woods as well?

If so, here’s a fantastic meal that seems pretty hearty and is totally comforting while still managing to be quite healthy and diet-friendly. Debbi, the creator of this recipe, calculated it as only about 200 calories per serving (1/8th of the recipe) so even if you ate half of the whole casserole (which would be quite a feat!), you’d probably still be eating less calories than a restaurant alfredo dish would have, and it’s so much healthier!

I thought this dish was absolutely positively scrumptious and although it takes some time to prepare because you have to pre-roast the spaghetti squash, it’s very simple. I eat a lot of spaghetti squash, but this is only one of two dishes I’ve ever eaten it in with such gusto. I don’t even like alfredo sauce, especially jarred, and I L-O-V-E-D this meal. I really felt like I was indulging because meals this delicious usually have a ton of fat and calories. Not true in this case–it really is like having your cake and eating it too!

Garlic Chicken and Bacon Spaghetti Squash Alfredo

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1 large spaghetti squash, about 2 1/2 lbs.
1 (15 oz.) jar Classico Garlic Alfredo Sauce
8 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded
9 oz. chicken, cooked & chopped
6 slices turkey bacon
1 onion, sliced
Salt and pepper

Split spaghetti squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking oil. Place the squash face-down on the sheet and roast in oven at 375 for about 45 min – 1 hour or until tender when poked with a fork on the underside. Let cool until you can handle the squash without burning your hands, and scrape the squash out with a fork into a 9 x 13 pan sprayed with cooking spray. Leave the oven on.

While the squash is cooling enough to handle, cook bacon until crispy and remove to a plate to cool. Grill onions in the small amount of bacon grease in pan, using additional oil or cooking spray if needed. If you want your onions to get crispy dark edges, let them sit for a minute or two before stirring each time. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. Crumble the cooled bacon.

Spread alfredo sauce over the spaghetti squash in the pan, sprinkle on half the cheese, top with chopped chicken, bacon and sauteed onions, then top with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, for about 25 minutes until heated through and cheese is melted.

Recipe source: Debbi Does Dinner Healthy

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Posted in Italian, Lighter Fare, Main Dishes, My Favorites and tagged alfredo, bacon, chicken, diet, diet-friendly, grilled onions, hearty, indulgent, recipe, spaghetti squash, Weight Watchers. Bookmark the permalink.

Miracle Pan Release

Posted on September 14, 2011 by Veronica

I bake a lot of cakes. It’s kind of my thing. I even have a T-shirt that says, “Real Girls Eat Cake.” Because I want people to know that the reason I eat so much cake is that I’m real, and not because I have a problem. Although I may not be fooling anyone but myself with that shirt.

Anyway, because of all the cake-baking happening in my kitchen, I usually also have a can of Baker’s Joy or a bottle of Wilton’s Cake Release in my pantry because they make such an easy one-step job of greasing and flouring my cake pans, which nearly every cake requires. With a push of a spray nozzle or a swirl of a pastry brush, my pans are covered in seconds and there is never a pile of flour laying around my trashcan.

However, I can be kind of a tightwad, so when my friend, Suzie, sent me the link for a miraculous recipe to make my own “Cake Release”-type product, I was overjoyed. And let me tell you, it works SO much better than Baker’s Joy. And just as good as Wilton’s product at a fraction of the price. I’ve never had a cake slide out so easily, except when using Wilton’s Cake Release! It is very shelf-stable and easy to make, so I encourage you to whip up a batch to keep on hand for your own baking projects.

Miracle Pan Release

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1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Whisk thoroughly until everything is incorporated and smooth. Store in airtight container at room temperature. To use, dip a pastry brush or impeccably clean fingers into the mixture and spread a thin layer over the bottom and sides of pan(s) for any recipe that calls for “greasing and flouring” your pans.

*Note: you can make any size batch you’d like, just make sure all amounts of each ingredient are equal to each other.

Recipe source: Apron of Grace

186 Comments

Posted in Cake & Frosting, How-To & DIY, My Favorites, Tips & Tricks and tagged Baker's Joy, DIY, do-it-yourself, homemade, miracle pan release, recipe, Wilton Cake Release. Bookmark the permalink.

Vanilla Buttercream

Posted on September 2, 2011 by Veronica

I’ve come to realize that there is a simple, basic frosting recipe that is missing from my blog. Sure, I’ve got recipes for white, cream cheese, chocolate, chocolate cream cheese, egg white chocolate, cherry chocolate, chocolate fudge, caramel, whipped caramel ganache, peanut butter, Oreo, raspberry, and lemon frostings (phew!), but no vanilla.

With as much cake as I obviously make, you may well be wondering why in the world I haven’t shared a basic vanilla buttercream recipe with you yet. And the truth is, I haven’t posted one because before last week, I’d never made it. Not once. Seriously!

I prefer cream cheese frosting for most cakes, so I never needed to make something so simple as a basic vanilla frosting. Until I started making my nephew’s 6th birthday cake and realized (*gasp*) I was out of cream cheese. But as soon as I realized it, I was excited to make a new frosting, even if it was such a basic no-frills attached kind of buttercream.

If you don’t like cream cheese frosting, and your cake doesn’t have to be perfectly white, this is the one for you. I based the recipe off of my celebration (white) frosting recipe and prefer it MUCH more because, come on, it’s made with real butter. The only downside, which won’t matter in most cases, is that it is ivory colored, even if you use clear vanilla, because butter has a soft yellow hue. This does affect the resulting color of your buttercream when you add icing colors to it, lending them warmth rather than the pure color advertised on the bottle. My Mom once made a baby shower cake with real buttercream rather than white frosting and the pink turned out peach. It was OK, but if the color scheme is very important to your cake, you should stick with the white celebration frosting recipe.

If you want to fancy this up a bit, use vanilla bean paste or scrape out a real vanilla bean in place of the vanilla in the recipe. I imagine the little black flecks would make your cake so pretty!

Vanilla Buttercream

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2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter
1 (2 lb.) bag powdered sugar
4 teaspoons real vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
Milk or cream to thin, if desired

Cream the butter with an electric mixer. Add remaining ingredients and beat on low until powdered sugar is moistened, then increase speed to medium and continue to beat for a few minutes longer, until smooth and creamy, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally. I don’t thin mine, but if you want yours more creamy, add milk or cream a teaspoon at a time until desired consistency is reached.

*For celebration buttercream, use two teaspoons crème bouquet flavor emulsion and two teaspoons vanilla extract. If you want to keep the color as light as possible, use clear vanilla extract.

Just for fun, here are the cakes I’ve made for Owen through the years. His first birthday was teddy-bear themed, and his cake was one of the first I ever decorated. The trouble I had with it inspired me to learn how to decorate cakes so that it wouldn’t be as stressful in future.

His Mom (my youngest sister, Lacey), made his second birthday cake, which is the only one I didn’t make for him. I guess I was slacking that year! I thought this was a really cute and simple idea–using cereal to make a picture on top.

Lacey had a Sponge Bob luau for his third birthday, by which time I’d finally taken the basic Wilton cake decorating class. I used a trick I learned in the class to transfer a picture from the internet onto the cake in clear gel so I could trace over it with colored icing.

We went to the zoo for Owen’s 4th birthday so I gave his cake a zoo theme, cheating with some plastic toys and animal crackers.

He requested a “monster” party for his 5th birthday, and I had no idea how to make a monster cake so I asked him how he imagined his cake. I made it exactly how he described it, which was a lot simpler than I would have done if left to my own devices, and he loved it!

This year’s dragon cake was the first shaped cake I’ve ever done. Using that flat frosting tip pictured above really eased the frosting process–all I had to do was squirt and smooth. (I actually use that tip for all my cakes, but it was especially handy frosting an uneven surface.) Although I don’t enjoy decorating and do it only because I enjoy baking cakes and people, for some strange reason, expect birthday cakes to be decorated, I’m kind of excited to make future shaped cakes now that I know I can do it. It was a lot easier than I thought! I used the tutorial for the cake on Instructbables. Creating an account is free, and if you make one, you can view each full-size step-by-step photo, which helped me a lot.

Update: Here’s his 7th birthday cake:

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Posted in Cake & Frosting and tagged basic, birthday cake, decorating, vanilla bean, vanilla buttercream. Bookmark the permalink.

Amish Friendship Creamed Cornbread

Posted on August 31, 2011 by Veronica

I don’t enjoy eating hot, hearty meals in the summer. It makes me feel icky. And yet I’ve been eating them like crazy. Enchiladas, chicken noodles, meatloaf and creamed corn, chicken and rice, pot roast. Today? Pinto beans and cornbread. All foods I associate with cold winter months, and that have no business being in my belly this time of year.

OK, so I have some excuses. The enchiladas? I had all the ingredients without even planning for it. The chicken noodles, meatloaf, chicken and rice, and pot roast I made all in a single day with Teri because she was teaching me to cook more homestyle-type foods. So that’s a pretty good excuse. And today, with the winter beans and cornbread? Four words.

AMISH FRIENDSHIP BREAD STARTER.

(Click here if you want to make your own starter. But you might want to read the rest of this blog first. As a warning.)

It’s taking over my life. Sparking creative neurons in my brain and making me want to bake things with it that I’d rather not eat this time of year. But I just couldn’t resist the idea of turning this round of starter into cornbread, despite having no desire to actually eat it. (Until I baked it of course, and then I couldn’t stop eating it!) I was inspired by the Miller-family’s creamed corn to incorporate the same ingredients into this recipe, which made the most moist cornbread I’ve ever had. It almost melts in your mouth!

Debbie left a comment yesterday on the creamed corn recipe that made me LOL: “Oh sure, stick a brick of cream cheese and a whole stick of butter on it and you could make your shoes taste awesome!!” Can’t argue with that, or with what the magic of excessive cream cheese and butter do to this cornbread. There is not a dry crumb to be found on this bread. It is so moist, it’s almost a cross between cornbread and corn pudding. The starter has enough sugar to give it a very nice, sweet, Northern-cornbread feel, and I love the sharp and salty edge the cheddar on top imparts.

If you decide to make this during the winter months, particularly for a holiday gathering, I’m going to tell you right now to go ahead and shred the whole block of cheese and add the other half to the batter. But if you’re making it right now…well, I hope you’ve at least packed away your swimsuit for good until next summer. Just sayin’.

Amish Friendship Creamed Cornbread

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Remaining starter after you’ve divied up three bags for friends
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick butter, room temperature
2 eggs
1 ½ cups cornmeal (I used stone ground)
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoons salt
1 can corn, drained
4 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9×13 dish with cooking oil and set aside.

Add the cream cheese and butter to the starter in a large bowl and beat until fairly smooth. Beat in eggs until combined. Stir in cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt just until combined. Stir in corn and mix until well combined. Spread into prepared dish and bake for 30 minutes or until tester inserted in center comes out clean. Sprinkle cheese on top and allow to cool for ten to fifteen minutes before serving. Cheese will melt while the cornbread cools.

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Posted in Bread and tagged amish friendship bread, baking, cornbread, creamed corn, recipe, starter. Bookmark the permalink.

Creamed Corn

Posted on August 30, 2011 by Veronica

Until I married Dennis, I defined creamed corn as that uber-sweet yuck that comes in a can. My first Thanksgiving with my in-laws, however, brought to light the real stuff that puts the canned goop to shame. My sister-in-law, Joan, is in charge of the creamed corn in the Miller family, and she brings it to every single family gathering we have, for which my husband is eternally rejoicing and thankful.

It’s a Miller-family staple, and one of Dennis’ favorite foods. At Thanksgiving, the creamed corn is just as important to him as the turkey. Although I’ve brought it to my own family reunion before, I rarely make it at home (I prefer to indulge in desserts rather than side dishes), so he is super excited to pile it on his plate at every holiday gathering. He got lucky recently, however, because I decided to make it in lieu of the usual mashed potatoes to go with our meatloaf.

Creamed corn the Miller way (OK, I know lots of you already make it this way, but to me, it will always be the Miller way) is buttery, creamy, has just a bit of tang to offset the sweet corn, and is crazy delicious. It’s homestyle comfort food at it’s finest! If you want to do it up completely Miller-style for a big gathering, triple the corn, double the other ingredients, and throw it in a crockpot to heat all day, stirring to combine everything once it’s hot, until it’s time to eat.

Creamed Corn

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1 bag frozen sweet yellow corn
1 (8-oz) package cream cheese
1 stick salted butter*

Melt the cream cheese and butter together in a large saucepan over medium heat. Once they are melted and pretty smooth, stir in the corn. Continue cooking, stirring every few minutes, until heated through. Serve hot.

*If using unsalted butter, add 1/4 teaspoon salt to the recipe.

**The above recipe is the long-loved and family-approved version, but I tried adding 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder to the latest batch since Teri adds it to hers, and Dennis loved it. He doesn’t like sweet in his savory foods and usually adds extra salt to combat the corn’s sweetness, but he didn’t have to do that with the addition of garlic powder. I like this corn either way, so it’s up to you.

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Posted in Side Dishes, Slow-Cooker/Crockpot and tagged butter, cream cheese, creamed corn, crockpot. Bookmark the permalink.

Choco-Cherry Cheesecake Cookie Bars

Posted on August 29, 2011 by Veronica

*Update 10/4/11: I won the editor’s choice award for these bars. Whee!

Editor's Choice: Choco-Cherry Cheesecake Cookie Bars

It’s Secret Recipe Club time again! Members of the club are assigned a secret food blog each month and they can pick any recipe(s) they want to make from the blog. On reveal day, nobody knows what other blogger was assigned their blog so I find it really fun.

This month I was super stoked to get assigned to Big Bear’s Wife, because Angie (who also happened to be my group’s host this month) has plenty of dessert recipes to choose from. I think you all know by now that dessert is both my strength and my weakness!

I thought of Dennis when I saw these bars because he loves cherries and chocolate. Chocolate-covered cherries (aka cherry cordials), black forest ice cream sundaes, cherry mudslides (layers of ice cream, cherry pie filling, and hot fudge), black forest cake. He loves it all. And I think I’ve mentioned my little cheesecake problem. So yeah, I pretty much had to make these. And then I pretty much had to get them out of the house as soon as possible so I didn’t eat the whole pan. I managed to inhale two rows before he got them out the door to bring to work. Doh!

I never buy packaged cookie dough (perhaps it’s hypocritical to be for cake mixes but against premade cookie dough-lol), so I adapted the recipe with homemade, but you can use a package of store-bought to save time.

Be sure to check out all the other secret recipe club blogs at the bottom of this post! ***Something is up with the linky thing so there may be no links at the bottom. While it is getting figured out, you can go to Big Bear’s Wife at the bottom of her post to see all the links.***

Choco-Cherry Cheesecake Cookie Bars

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Sugar Cookie layer:
½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened to cool room temperature
½ cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 large egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt

Filling & topping:
1 egg, separated
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)
¼ teaspoon almond extract
3 drops red food color
1 jar (10 oz) maraschino cherries, finely chopped, drained on paper towels
1 (12 oz) bag semisweet chocolate chips (2 cups)
½ cup butter or margarine
½ cup whipping cream

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars for 3-4 minutes, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the egg and extracts and mix until blended. Add half the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix. Add remaining flour and mix just until flour is incorporated and the dough is smooth and soft. Spread and press dough into the bottom of a 9”x13” baking dish. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until light golden brown. Meanwhile, in small bowl, beat 1 egg white until frothy. Brush egg white over crust. Bake 3 minutes longer or until egg white is set.

Meanwhile, in large bowl, beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add egg yolk, 2 eggs, the condensed milk, almond extract and food color; beat until well blended. Stir in chopped cherries. Pour cherry mixture evenly over crust. Bake 20-25 minutes longer or until set. Cool completely, about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, in medium saucepan, heat chocolate chips and butter over low heat, stirring frequently, until melted and smooth. Remove from heat. Cool 20 minutes. Stir whipping cream into chocolate mixture until well blended. Spread over cooled bars. Refrigerate about 30 minutes or until chocolate is set. For bars, cut into 8 rows by 6 rows. Store in refrigerator.

Recipe source: adapted from Big Bear’s Wife

61 Comments

Posted in Brownies & Bars, Secret Recipe Club and tagged baking, bars, cheesecake, cherry, chocolate, cookie, recipe, secret recipe club. Bookmark the permalink.

Caramel Chocolate Chip Bars

Posted on August 26, 2011 by Veronica

I like to have an arsenal of easy emergency recipes on hand for gifts, and recently added this one because I happened to have a caramel cake mix and dulce de leche in my cupboard when I was scrambling to get something ready for a friend with a birthday, who I was going to see later in the day. If you can’t find caramel cake mixes in your grocery store, you can request them at your customer service counter like I do, or purchase them online.

Caramel Chocolate Chip Bars

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1 (18.25 oz) Duncan Hines caramel cake mix
2 eggs
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup butter
¼ cup water
1 (12 oz) package semisweet chocolate chips, divided
1 (14 oz) can dulce de leche

Preheat oven to 375 ºF.. Spray a 9×13 dish with oil. Combine cake mix, eggs, water, brown sugar and butter in large bowl. Stir until thoroughly blended. Mixture will be thick. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread in greased pan.

Bake for 24 to 27 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. While it’s still hot and fresh from the oven, spread dulce de leche over the top and sprinkle chocolate chips over that. Wait five minutes, then use a butter knife or spatula to swirl the chocolate into the caramel. Cool completely in pan. Cut into bars.

Recipe source: adapted from Duncan Hines

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Posted in Brownies & Bars and tagged bars, caramel, caramel duncan hines cake mix, chocolate chip, easy, fast. Bookmark the permalink.

Homemade Miracle Whip & Tartar Sauce

Posted on August 24, 2011 by Veronica

OK, which side are you on? Mayonnaise or Miracle Whip? In our house, my husband goes for the mayo, and I reach for the whip. I just love the sweet tanginess of it! So when I discovered how easy making my own mayonnaise was, I very quickly adapted it to taste like my preferred sandwich spread. I don’t know what took me so long to share it with you. Enough delaying, here you go!

Homemade Miracle Whip

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1 egg
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon white vinegar
½ tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon mustard powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon onion powder
1 ½ cups flavorless oil

Place all ingredients, except the oil, in the bowl of a food processor fitted with blade attachment. Have the oil measured and at hand. Turn on the food processor and pour the oil through the feed tube in a thin, steady stream. Gradually increase the flow until all oil is in the mixture. Continue to process until a thick mixture. Refrigerate.

To make tartar sauce, stir in finely chopped onion and dill relish (or finely chopped pickles), as much as you desire. I think I added 3 tablespoons of each to about half the Miracle Whip recipe. It’s so yummy with fish sticks!

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Posted in Condiments & ETC. and tagged easy, fast, homemade mayonnaise, miracle whip, tartar sauce. Bookmark the permalink.

Chicken Shawarma Pita Sandwiches

Posted on August 23, 2011 by Veronica

I don’t know what to tell you except that these are great and if you like Mediterranean foods, you need to make them! :) I’ve discovered that no two chicken shawarma recipes are the same, and this one seems very different from all the others I’ve seen. So I don’t know how typical or traditional this particular recipe is, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

The chicken has a unique and potent marinade that includes plenty of acids to tenderize the meat. I love the combination of the flavorful meat with fresh vegetables and the tahini sauce wrapped in pita bread. I’ve been making these sandwiches for several months now and only had to tweak the recipe a little to suit my preference. I hope you enjoy!

Chicken Shawarma Pita Sandwiches

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Chicken
2 teaspoons fenugreek
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 Tbsp White Vinegar
2 Tbsp Minced Garlic
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Tahini Sauce
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup lemon juice
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons sugar

Sandwiches
Pita bread
Shredded lettuce
Tomato slices
Cucumber slices
Red onion slices

The night before, combine spices for chicken in a gallon-size Ziploc bag and shake to combine. Add the lemon juice, vinegar, and garlic, and massage the bag to combine. Add chicken, seal, and massage the marinade around (will be thick like a paste) until all the chicken pieces are coated. Refrigerate overnight. You can also prepare the tahini sauce the night before by whisking all the ingredients together and storing in the refrigerator until it’s time to serve the sandwiches.

Grill the chicken breasts until no longer pink in the center. To serve sandwiches, fill pita bread with lettuce, chicken, tomato, cucumber, and onion, and top with tahini sauce.

Recipe source: adapted from Food o’ del Mundo