September is National Chicken Month!
Celebrate With These Recipes
Yep, you heard it right! So check out these Dolce-Approved recipes from our favorite piece of poultry! Remember, always use free-range, organic, grass-fed ingredients when available.
Chicken Tostadas with Baked Tortillas
Serves 4
Ingredients
• 4 gluten-free tortillas
• ¾ cup white cheddar cheese
• 2 cups organic, free-range chicken, shredded
• ½ cup green salsa verde
• 2 handfuls cilantro, chopped
• ¼ tsp. ground cumin
• ¾ cup cabbage, shredded
• 1 white onion, chopped
• Plain, nonfat Greek yogurt (optional as topping)
• Avocado (optional as topping)
Directions
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Arrange tortillas on a baking sheet, and sprinkle cheese evenly over tortillas
• Bake 8-10 minutes
• Toss together chicken, salsa, and cumin
• Take tortillas out of the oven and spoon the chicken mixture evenly between the tortillas. Bake until heated throughout, around 5-8 minutes
• Top with cabbage, cilantro, onion, avocado and Greek yogurt (as desired)
Recipe adapted from Lefork.com
Southwest Grilled Chicken Spring Rolls
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
• 4 organic, boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 tbsp. grapeseed oil
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• ½ tsp. black pepper
• 2 tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. chipotle powder
• 1 tsp. cumin
• ¼ tsp. onion powder
• ¼ tsp. garlic powder
• ½ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. black pepper
• 2 cups baby spinach
• 1 large cucumber
• 2 carrots
• 2 avocados
• ½ bunch cilantro
• ½ lb. gluten-free or whole wheat angel hair pasta
• 2-4 tbsp. chile oil
• 12 sheets large rice paper rounds
Directions
• Drizzle chicken with oil and season with salt and black pepper on both sides. Combine spices for spice rub and sprinkle about ½ tsp. over each piece of chicken and rub in. Cover and set aside for 20 minutes.
• Rinse and peel carrots and spinach. Cut carrots and cucumber into julienne strips (1/8 to ¼ inch thick by 2 inches long).
• Grill chicken over medium heat for 4-5 minutes. Turn chicken and grill another 4-5 minutes, but make sure it remains juicy. Set aside when done.
• Bring large pot of water to a boil and add pasta. Cook until al dente (should still have a little bite to it). Drain and rinse. Then toss pasta with chile oil.
• Cut chicken into strips.
• Rinse cilantro and remove leaves. Serve whole or chopped, whatever you prefer.
• Slice avocado just before assembly of rolls.
• Assemble each roll separately. Dip 1 rice paper into warm water for about 3 seconds and spread on work surface or large plate. Add ingredients in layers. Starting with the spinach, make 1-2 inch wide layers of leaves on edge of rice paper.
• Layer chicken strips, avocado, cucumber, and carrots over spinach. Top with a little bit of pasta and sprinkle with cilantro leaves.
• Carefully roll the rice paper over the filling. Tuck in the edges like a burrito or you can leave the edges exposed to see all the colorful veggies.
• You can make these up to 2 hours ahead of time and cover tightly with plastic wrap, or you can put all the ingredients on the table and have everyone assemble their own.
Recipe adapted from EverydaySouthwest.com
Baked Buffalo Chicken Wraps
Ingredients
• 2 cups shredded, cooked organic chicken
• 1 cup hot sauce (or to taste, some may like more, some may like less)
• 12 small to medium gluten-free or whole wheat wraps
• 1 cup crumbled blue cheese
• 1/2 cup celery, chopped
• Plain, nonfat Greek yogurt with Ranch seasoning, for dipping
Directions
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Set wire rack inside a rimmed baking sheet and lightly coat rack with grapeseed oil.
• Combine chicken and hot sauce in medium bowl until mixed well. Place a wrap on a clean work surface. Add about 2-3 tbsp. of chicken, followed by diced celery, and then some blue cheese crumbles. Be sure not to overfill the wraps.
• Fold the wraps as you would a burrito. You can insert a toothpick in the center or near ends to keep it together during baking. Place on prepared rack.
• Drizzle each wrap VERY LIGHTLY with grapeseed oil (you may have to put a small amount on your fingers and lightly rub over wraps). Bake for 15-20 minutes, flipping the wraps halfway through, or until wraps are golden brown and slightly crisp. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then serve with Greek yogurt with Ranch seasoning, if desired.
Recipe adapted from DaintyChef.com
Red, White and Blue Grilled Chicken
Ingredients
• 4 organic, chicken breasts
• grapeseed oil (for grilling the chicken)
• ground cumin, to taste
• sea salt and pepper, to taste
Red & Blueberry Salsa
• 1/2 cup fresh blueberries, chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh whole blueberries
• 1/2 red bell pepper, seed and diced
• 1/4 red onion, diced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
• 2 tbsp. fresh minced parsley
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice
• zest of one lemon
• pinch salt
Directions
• In a bowl, stir together all ingredients for the salsa and refrigerate until ready to use (you can make this up to 1 day in advance but if you do so, I recommend waiting until right before you serve it to add the fresh minced parsley).
• Lightly brush olive oil on both sides of the chicken breast, then season both sides with salt, pepper and cumin. Grill the chicken until fully cooked (there should not be any pink).
• Serve the grilled chicken topped with salsa.
Recipe adapted from Justapinch.com
Grilled Chicken Skewers with Arugula
Ingredients
• 6-8 wooden skewers
• 1/4 cup plain, nonfat Greek yogurt
• 2 tbsp. curry paste
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 organic chicken breasts
• 1/2 fresh cucumber, cubed
• arugula
• ¼ cup gouda cheese, cubed
Directions
• Preheat oven to 480 degrees.
• Soak skewers in water.
• In a large bowl, stir yogurt with curry paste and salt.
• Cut chicken lengthwise into 1 cm thick strips. Toss with sauce to coat. Let chicken marinate for 10 to 15 minutes or up to 1 day, refrigerated.
• Thread 1 strip of chicken onto each skewer.
• Brush oven grill pan well with oil. Add skewers to grill. Cook, flipping as needed, until chicken is cooked all the way through but still juicy, about 8-10 minutes.
• Serve chicken skewers with salad: garnish with cucumber and cheese cut into small cubes and arugula leaves.
• Drizzle with yogurt sauce with mustard (1:1).
Recipe adapted from BiteDelight.com
Sonoma Chicken Salad Sandwiches
Serves 5-6
Ingredients
Sonoma Chicken Salad
• 3 1/2 cups organic cooked, shredded chicken (about 2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts)
• 3 stalks celery, chopped (about 1 cup)
• 2/3 cup pecans, chopped
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp. finely grated Parmesan cheese
• Gluten-free or whole wheat rolls, for serving
Dressing
• 2/3 cup plain, nonfat Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup organic apple juice
• 3 tbsp. honey
• 2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp. yellow mustard
• 1 Tbsp. poppy seeds (chia or hemp seeds would work here, too)
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder
• Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
Directions
• In a large mixing bowl combine shredded chicken, celery, pecans, dried cranberries and Parmesan cheese; set aside.
• In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together all dressing ingredients until well blended. Pour dressing mixture over chicken mixture and toss to evenly coat.
• Serve over rolls.
*Store chicken mixture in resealable, refrigerated container, up to 3 days.
Recipe adapted from TheComfortOfCooking.com
Kale Caesar Salad Wrap
Serves 2
Ingredients
• 8 oz organic, grilled chicken, thinly sliced
• 6 cups curly kale, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 3/4 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese
• ½ coddled egg (cooked about 1 minute – this is a gently or lightly cooked egg)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ½ tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp. honey or agave
• 1/8 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/8 cup olive oil
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 gluten-free or whole wheat tortillas or wraps
Directions
• In a bowl, mix together the half of a coddled egg, minced garlic, mustard, honey, lemon juice and olive oil. Whisk until you have formed a dressing. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Add the kale, chicken and cherry tomatoes and toss to coat with the dressing and ¼ cup of the shredded parmesan.
• Spread out the two tortillas. Evenly distribute the salad over the two wraps and sprinkle each with ¼ cup of parmesan.
• Roll up the wraps and slice in half. Eat immediately
Recipe adapted from HeatherChristo.com
Chicken-Quinoa Burgers with Avocado-Yogurt Sauce
Serves 4
Ingredients
• 1 pound ground, organic chicken
• 3/4 cup uncooked black quinoa (or regular)
• 1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced
• 1 cup cilantro leaves, divided in half
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt
• 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 avocado
• 3 tbsp. plain Greek yogurt
• juice from a lime (about 2 tbsp.)
• 4 onion buns
• 1/4 cup crumbled cotija cheese (flavor is similar to Parmesan or Greek feta cheese)
• coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
Directions
• Cook the quinoa in boiling water for about 15 minutes, until it pops into little spirals. Drain and set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine the chicken, cooked quinoa, red bell pepper, half the cilantro, chili powder, cumin, ground coriander, garlic salt, and a good pinch of salt and pepper.
• Thoroughly mix with your hands, and then form four little patties.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the patties and sear until browned on both sides and cooked all the way through, 10 – 12 minutes total. Set aside.
• In a food processor, combine the avocado, yogurt, remaining cilantro, lime juice and a pinch of salt.
• Lightly toast the onion buns brushed with olive oil and garlic salt.
• Smear a little of the avocado sauce on the bottom half of the onion bun. Top with a chicken-quinoa patty. Then a ton more avocado sauce. Then some crumbled cotija cheese.
*You can use cilantro as a garnish if desired.
• Serve with sweet potato fries.
Recipe adapted from BevCooks.com
Spicy Spinach Arugula Pesto Pasta with Chicken
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• 1 (2-inch long) red or green jalapeno pepper, stemmed and coarsely chopped*
• 2 cups grated Asiago cheese
• 2 tsp. sea salt
• 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 3 oz baby spinach
• 3 oz arugula
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 lb. gluten-free or whole wheat spiral pasta
• 4 oz Asiago cheese, shaved
• 4-6 oz grilled, organic chicken, sliced
*Note: For a milder pesto, remove the seeds from the jalapeno pepper.
Directions
For the pesto
•In a food processor, combine the walnuts, garlic, jalapeno, cheese, salt and pepper.
• Process until the mixture is smooth. Add the spinach and arugula and process until blended.
• With the machine running, gradually add the olive oil.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.
• Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes.
• Drain and reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water.
• Place the cooked pasta and pesto in a large serving bowl. Toss well and thin out the sauce with a little pasta water, if needed.
• Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
• Toss in sliced, grilled chicken and mix well.
• Garnish with Asiago cheese shavings and serve.
Recipe adapted from FoodNetwork.com
Creamy BBQ Chicken Pizza
Makes 2 10-inch pizzas
• 2 10-inch gluten-free or whole wheat pizza crusts
• 2 organic, chicken breasts, poached and chopped
• 1 tbsp. grapeseed oil
• 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup organic BBQ sauce, 2 tbsp. divided
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• good handful cilantro, for garnish
Directions
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Toss the chopped chicken with 2 tbsp. BBQ sauce. Set aside.
• Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium high. Add the onions and sauté until softened and slightly charred, about 8 minutes.
• In a small saucepan, add the BBQ sauce on very low heat to thin out the sauce (be sure not to overheat, otherwise it will stick to the pan).
• On a clean work surface, arrange pizza crusts. Evenly spoon the creamy BBQ sauce over each crust. 6. • Top with chopped chicken, sautéed onions and the shredded mozzarella cheese.
• Slide onto a pizza stone (if you have one) and bake roughly 15 minutes, or until the cheese is browned and bubbly on top.
• Garnish with fresh cilantro, slice and inhale the entire thing when no one is looking.
Recipe adapted from BevCooks.com
