EASY RECIPE
As you know from last week, my current theme is easy recipes that do not require heating the house up during the heat wave. This quick recipe is an easy meal which uses store bought prepared chicken. I first looked at the packaged grilled chicken strips, but at $4.00 for 8 oz, I had second thoughts. Then it hit me, check out the deli and see how much a pound of deli chicken would cost. The deli was selling roast chicken for $5.00 a pound! I asked the deli clerk to cut me two half inch pieces (to be cubed later) and I was out of there with a pound of chicken for 5 bucks instead of 8. So put this easy recipe in your great low cost meals file.
Serves 6
Ingredients:
I am using a Chipotle Vinaigrette as a marinade for the spicy mayonnaise spread. The Chipotle Vinaigrette recipe is from Mii amo Cafe’, located in the Mii amo Spa and Resort in Sedona, AZ, and is reprinted here with their permission. To learn more about their resort, which is also one of my great vacation ideas, and Mii amo Cafe’ cookbook go to http://www.miiamo.com/mii-amo-cafe/ .
Chipotle Vinaigrette:
2 Chipotle Pepper Pods (canned with adobo sauce)
1tsp Oregano
1/4 Yellow Onion (diced)
1/2 Bunch of Cilantro
1/2 C Red Wine Vinegar
1tsp Dry Mustard
Dash Salt
Dash Pepper
1tsp Adobo Sauce (from the can of Chiptole Pepper Pods)
2 C Thickened Veggie Stock (add cornstarch to thicken)
Add all ingredients, except veggie stock and cilantro, into blender. Slowly add veggie stock while blending to emulsify. After the ingredients are nicely blended add the cilantro and blend again briefly (do not turn the vinaigrette green).
1 lb. pre-cooked chicken sliced into bite size cubes
2 Tomatoes seeded and diced (to seed cut tomato in half and squeeze the seeds out with aid of spoon as necessary)
2 Avocados peeled, seeded, and chopped into bite size pieces.
2 Cups spinach leaves – washed and stems removed
1 Cup red onion diced.
1/2 Cup low fat mayonnaise
6 Flour tortillas
Place chicken, tomatoes, avocados, onion into a large mixing bowl.
In a separate bowl mix 1/2 C of mayonnaise with 1/3 C of Chipotle Vinaigrette (or more of each to taste) . Add the mayonnaise mixture to the larger bowl and gently stir.
On each tortilla layer spinach leaves and then spread a serving of chicken salad on top of the spinach. Fold the bottom of the tortilla up and over the chicken salad, and then fold the tortilla sides over to close the wrap.
AND STUFF – part one
She Who Must Be Obeyed decided it would be nice to go to Yosemite National Park for a fun road trip style vacation. So I hit the Internet to research her great vacation ideas.
I first checked out the Ahwahnee Lodge. I knew it was a classic lodge, and that it inspired the Disney Grand California hotel at Disneyland. My Internet search taught me two things. First, the Awhahnee had no rooms available during our vacation. And, secondly, that was OK because had there been rooms available the nightly rate this time of year is breath taking high. I kept searching.
For many months I had been talking to Sue about doing a lake vacation someday. I had many great memories of lake vacations in my youth, and as it turned out so did Sue. With that in mind I began looking for a lake resort near Yosemite. In no time at all I found The Pines Resort at Bass Lake. The Pines’ web page photographs looked good, and we liked the fact that in addition to motel rooms they also offered one bedroom “condo” style units with a kitchen, and deck overlooking the lake. An added plus was the fact that the room rate for a week would not require a mortgage.
You maybe heard about Carmageddon. If not, that was the name local TV news gave to the planned closure of Interstate 405 to allow the demolition of part of an overpass. Of course our vacation started on the first morning of the 48 hour closure. We had no idea what the alternate way through LA (110 to the 5) would be like on that first morning so we left the beach at 4:50 a.m., drove through Los Angeles and into Carmageddon. And ….. the ….. freeway …. was …. wide open! People had stayed home to avoid the traffic nightmare!
We stopped for breakfast at the Ihop in Bakersfield, travelled on to the park, drove 12 miles or so the Wawona Hotel all in around 5 hours; arriving at the Hotel before it’s restaurant was open for lunch! We were told that in addition to the beautiful grounds, around the Wawona area, it is the home of the only golf course in a National Park!
Someday I will stay and play at Wawona.
But, on this visit we sat on the grounds enjoying the view, while waiting for the restaurant to open at 11:30 a.m. We got a table on the grand deck, and Sue and I shared a tasty club wrap sandwich, which inspired this week’s easy recipe.
Our goal on the first day was to explore Wawona and then check out the Giant Sequoia trees before checking in at The Pines. Because the parking lot was full at Mariposa Grove, we took the free shuttle from Wawona, and then hiked to the Giant Sequios stand. We were told that some of the trees were over 200 feet high!
Next we back tracked 14 miles to Bass Lake. Check in time was not until 4:00 p.m., and we were a tad early. No problem, the Pines restaurant was offering complimentary wine tasting which we enjoyed while looking out at the beautiful lake.
By around 5:00 p.m., we were unpacked, and sitting on our “condo” deck enjoying cheese, and watching the boats circle the lake.
After an easy recipe spaghetti dinner, we watched the sun set over the lake, and prepared to retire, because tomorrow we were planing to do some serious hiking.
Good Eating and Table Talk,
Roger
(to be continued)
© Copyright 2011 – Reproduction of the contents of this website without permission, in whole or in part is strictly prohibited
