Herbed Orzo, Chicken & Broccoli Salad

As the days get warmer & warmer, I like quicker, cooler & simpler meals. Meals that can be sides at a BBQ or a full dinner with a salad. You know, meals that can be served hot, at room temperature or cold.

Generally I look & see what I have on hand & go from there. Tonight- boneless chicken... what to make? I snuck a peak in my fridge & came up with this. It's yummy, there's no mayo so no worries if you bring it to an outside event or BBQ & it is filling. Oh did I also say it was yummy?

Herbed Orzo, Chicken & Broccoli Salad

• 1 lb. boneless Chicken
• 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 TBSp fresh Dill
• 1 tsp dried Oregano
• 1 tsp dried Basil
• 1 Lemon- Zest & Juice
• 2 TBSp Red Wine Vinegar
• 1 box Orzo, cooked to package instructions.
• 1 cup Broccoli, steamed

Cook the Orzo. Steam the Broccoli at the same time. 


In a small bowl, mix together 2 TBSp olive oil, 1 TBSp dill, the Oregano & the Bail. Brush the boneless chicken with it; Coat both sides.  Heat about 2 TBsp Olive Oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken, squeezing some lemon juice onto it while sauteing,  about 8 minutes on both sides, or until the meat is completely cooked. Dice into cubes.


In a large bowl, whisk together 4 TBSp olive oil, the Red Wine Vinegar, the rest of the lemon juice & the zest, & the rest of the dill. Add the Pasta, the Broccoli & the diced Chicken. Toss it all to combine & coat with the dressing.

Simple Egg Salad & the Perfect Hard-Boiled Egg

In order to make egg salad, one must first make hard boiled eggs. I always have people asking me how to do this (especially around Easter, lol). So here goes:

The Perfect Hard-Boiled Egg
Place the raw eggs in a sauce pan in one layer. Cover with room temperature tapwater. Place on the stovetop & turn the burner on high. Bring the water to a rapid boil & turn the heat off. Cover & leave for 10-12 minutes. Voila! Perfect, hard-boiled eggs.


Simple Egg Salad

• 8 Hard-Boiled Eggs, peeled
• 1 TBSp Mayo OR Vanilla yogurt
• 2 TBSp dijon mustard
• 1 TBSp fresh, chopped dill
• 1 tsp paprika
• Chopped Celery
• Chopped Red Onion- *Optional

Place all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Use a potato masher to combine then a fork to mix. 

Serve on lettuce as a great side salad for a bbq (being careful of refrigeration because of the mayo!) or on bread as a sandwich.

*Lishie tip- You can always switch out fresh herbs for dried, just use less since the dried is concentrated. 1 TBSp fresh dill= 1 tsp dried dill.

Carrot Salad - a nice change of pace

In the D household, we do salad Southern Italian-style, at the end of the meal. And, even if I don't blog it, we always have salad. It's just there... no point in telling you the greens today are... arugula! Or romaine! Or yes, iceberg, my hubby's favorite. But sometimes, especially when dinner is very "GREEN" meaning the color, not re-purposed, although yes, organic... variety in the salad is a nice change. Enter last night's Carrot Salad. Perfect for a weeknight dinner, a BBQ, a pot luck. Anything. Fresh & good for you!

Carrot Salad

• 1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar
• 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 TBSp fresh dill, finely chopped
• S & P to taste
• 2 Cups (about 4-6 carrots) of Carrots, grated*
• 1/2 cup (about 1-2 stalks) Celery, finely diced

In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, dill & S & P. Add the grated carrots & finely diced celery & toss, coating the veg well with the dressing. Serve & Enjoy!

*Lishie tip- I box grate the carrots by hand on the large hole side but you can throw them in the food processor.

Stroganoff Sandwiches for Fat Tuesday!

Today is the day before Ash Wednesday, Fat Tuesday & while I can't throw all caution to the wind food-wise, I most certainly can make a tasty red-meat dinner! We tend to only eat it once a week anyway, so I planned wisely. I decided to make sandwiches because they make Stroganoff less stuffy & more fun & we can eat 'em watching tv if we like! But I smartened them up (or so I thought) by using sirloin. I served roasted cauliflower & broccoli on the side. Here's my variation:


Beef Stroganoff Sandwiches

• 2 TBSp olive oil
• 1 TBsp butter
• 1 lb. thin sirloin, sliced into thin strips
• S & P
• 1/2 cup AP flour
• 1 large shallot or 2 small shallots
• 1 cup chicken or beef stock
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1/4 tsp lemon zest
• 1 TBSp lemon juice
• 2 TBSp freshly chopped dill

Heat the olive oil & butter in a large skillet on medium-high.

Sprinkle the sirloin strip w/ S & P then coat in flour, shaking off the excess flour. Add carefully to the hot oil/pan. Mince the shallot over the meat.  Cook meat 5 to 6 minutes, turning occasionally. Add the stock & cook until it thickens, about a minute. Then stir in the sour cream, lemon zest plus juice & the dill.

Serve in crusty, yummy French rolls with your preferred topping. Some suggestions: arugula or watercress. Or you can eat the sirloin over egg noodles.


Hubby & I were just "eh" on this one. Next time, I'll use angus ground beef over noodles. Or, serve it on smaller, less "bread-y" rolls. And, as you'll see directly below, it is NOT pretty looking! HA!

Not photogenic at all!
So Dreadful looking in pictures.

*Lishie tips- You can cut the sirloin into strips before or after cooking it. But, like I said, if you are going to make sandwiches, perhaps you should try 1 lb. of ground beef instead.

*Lishie facts- Fat Tuesday, or mardi gras, is a legal holiday in New Orleans, LA. It occurs 46 days before Easter, the day before Ash Wednesday.