Thai Chicken Burger w/ Spicy Peanut Sauce

I got the big thumbs up for the sauce from my #1 critic.

Inspiration: While watching Food Network (I think it was Unique Eats or Eat Street) they were covering the amazing looking Thai/French fusion sandwich shop Num Pang. The pickled toppings just called to me "make this we love pickled things!" 

Everything is so easy to make and a you probably have most of these ingredients already.

Spicy, tangy, fresh.

Oh yea, and healthy ;)

Happy new year everyone, and here's to getting skinny and back into shape (again).

PS: Wedding countdown: 235 days- Bring it :)

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Thai Chicken Burger 

• 1 package of ground chicken*
• 1 lime, zest and juice
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced or grated
• handful of chopped cilantro
• 1 jalapeno, minced
• 1 tsp of honey
• 1 tsp of dried basil
• 2 tbsp of grated ginger
• 1/2 tbs of kosher salt

*I don't purchase ground chicken, because I always have boneless skinless breasts on hand, so I grind my own. I largely diced 3 chicken breasts and put into my food processor until all ground up. This made for about 5 burgers (or 4 really big ones). You can always just use the prepacked stuff at the store, or ask your butcher to grind for you.

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Add all ingredients into a bowl and mix to combine. Form your patties.
3. Bake about 20 minutes until internal temp reaches about 160-165 degrees F. At the very end I put under the broiler to brown up the exterior. (I was originally going to grill these, which would have been awesome, but it was easier for me to just bake at the time. You could also fry in a pan)
4. Top your burger with whatever you like- plus the peanut sauce of course.

Toppings

• Pickled cucumbers, carrots and onions*
• Baby spinach
• Spicy Peanut Sauce

*Quick pickles are amazing things- slice any veggies you want (red cabbage would be good here too) and add into a bowl.  Cover almost completely with vinegar (I used standard white vinegar- rice vinegar would be nice here too), add a small pinch of salt and just let hang out in the fridge while your burgers are cooking.  You can even do this before hand but they will become softer over time.

 

Spicy Peanut Sauce

• 3 tbsp of peanut butter
• 2 tbsp of rice vinegar 
• a small drizzle of sesame oil
• 1 small shallot
• 2 tbsp of lower sodium soy sauce
• 2 tbsp of grated ginger
• 3 tbsp of water
• 1 tsp of chili flakes (if you're not sure what heat level you're comfortable with, add a little at a time and then just add according to taste)

1. Combine all ingredients into a food processor or blender and puree until combined. Taste before serving and your good to go!

Pearl Barley Summer Salad

Definitely serve this over my Grilled Chicken w/ Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Garlic Sauce.  If you have never tried pearl barley- you should- it is one of my favorite grains (low in fat and pretty high in fiber).  It is like a puffier piece of rice; delicious cold or hot- in soups or salads.  I made an in-between version which is hot barley over cold crisp vegetables tossed with a vinaigrette.  The hot barley soaks up the vinaigrette, then the crunch of the veggies and oh soooo goood!

I was on a clean-out-and-use-up-everything-in-the-fridge spree this week because we are going to motorcycle track this weekend (super excited! pics to follow!) Anyway, basically you can swap out any veggies you have lying around in the fridge.  Just cut them all into similar bite sized pieces. Also you can use whatever nuts you have lying around- almonds or walnuts would be good here too.  This salad is good for picnics because it is in a vinaigrette and can be left out.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of uncooked pearl barley, 2 1/2 cups of water, 1 tsp of salt
• 1/2 cucumber, diced
• 1 pepper, diced (I used a yellow one)
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 handful of parsley, chopped
• 2 small carrots, diced
• 1 ear of corn, kernels taken off (about a 1/2-3/4 cup of frozen if you don't have fresh)
• 3 tbsp of pine nuts, toasted*
• 1/4 cup of lime or lemon juice (if you don't get that much out of 1 lime or lemon just add a splash of vinegar)
• a little less than 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
• pinch of salt and pepper

1. Cook the pearl barley according to directions (the first bullet lists what I used). Bring water to a boil and cook barley on low for about 30-45 minutes.
2. Meanwhile prep all your veggies, herbs and nuts and add to a large bowl.
3. In a smaller bowl add the citrus juice, oil and salt and pepper and whisk up.
4. When the barley is done mix with veggies.  Then pour vinaigrette over everything and stir until combined.  Serve alone or over my Grilled Chicken w/ Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Garlic Sauce.

If you are serving with the chicken, grill the chicken while the barley is cooking.

*If you buy raw nuts, just put them in a dry skillet and heat on medium.  They will toast up in the skillet- but ALWAYS keep an eye on the them and shake the pan frequently, you don't want them to burn.  Should only take about 5 minutes or so.

A Lite Lunch- The Salad Wrap-Up

I've had a request for vegetarian dishes. They don't have to be boring or stereotypical- vegetables are super yummy and super good for you.  This is a wrap I LOVE to make for lunch, it's light and refreshing, but still fills you up.  Simple, clean flavors all wrapped up and ready to go anywhere! And so many things can be switched around or omitted to your liking!

The Salad Wrap-Up

Ingredients

• 1 wrap of your choosing (I like the whole wheat or spinach) about 8 in diameter
• 1 to 2 slices of swiss cheese or provolone (any tangy cheese will do)
• 1 leaf/piece of romaine lettuce (or any leafy green you like)
• 1 tomato
• 1 cucumber (I prefer the seedless english cucumbers so I can leave the skin on)
• 1 carrot
• 1 avocado
• Red wine vinegar
• Salt

Directions

1. We need to prep the veggies first, except the avocado and lettuce (you can cut up the whole veggie and save some for the next wrap or just cut what you need).  You can cut up these veggies anyway you like, butttttt the way I like it best is if you cut them all into small matchstick pieces- it lays in the wrap better and you get a taste of everything in each bite.
2. Cut the avocado in half lengthwise- pop the pit out*- scoop out the flesh with the spoon and cut into about 4 to 5 strips lengthwise.
3. Now time to assemble! Lay down the wrap, lay down the piece of lettuce, pile on the veggies (you don't need to use everything you cut, just enough to fill up the wrap), and then the avocado.  Sprinkle with some kosher salt and drizzle a bit of red wine vinegar**, roll it up, cut on the bias (cut in half diagonally) and enjoy!

*Avocado pits can be tricky to pop out- cut in half length wise and then hold the half that has the pit in it with a towel in your hand face up towards you.  Take a big sharp chef knife and chop down on the pit (not too forceful- you're just trying to get the knife and the pit to be stuck together a bit). Then just rotate your knife and avocado in separate directions and it comes out very easy.  To get the pit off your knife just push it off from the top of the knife (not sharp end).

**I love the simple taste of just vinegar in this recipe, you definitely should try it, but if you think it's not for you- you can always substitute lite /fat-free Italian dressing (or really any other salad dressing you like)