Feeling Saucy!

Yesterday was a loooong day. Didn't leave work until 7:00 pm, so I was home by 8:00, and I thought I'd just skip dinner and snack on some veggies instead.

How wrong I was.

Brandon: "Hey hun, we have a ton of vegetables in the fridge that we need to use up before vacation. Do you think you could make another pasta salad?"

Me: "Oh yeah! Sure!" Chop, chop, chop, chop.

Brandon: "Babe, I didn't necessarily mean tonight."

Me: "Oh, it's no problem!" Chop, chop, chop, chop.

And so the cooking obsession continues. But the beauty of it is, with the right combination of herbs, spices, etc., cooking can be kind of a spontaneous thing! Last night, I experimented with sauces and, with Brandon's help, grilled up some Heat 'n Honey Grilled Chicken, accompanied by what I'm now calling a "Dill-Dijon Pasta Salad." Made a great, fresh dinner and some yummy leftovers for Brand-o to take to work. I'm finding pasta salad (which really should be called veggies WITH pasta, since it's a two-to-one ratio in this recipe) is a great way to use up leftover raw veggies.

One more day before vacayyyyy. Hope everyone is doing well! Summer can't be too far off.........right? Ah, who cares -- enjoy the day!

Heat 'n Honey Grilled Chicken

Makes eight servings, 1/2 chicken breast per serving.

2/3 cup hoisin

1/2 cup Sriracha sauce (or other chili sauce)--this was enough to leave my tongue tingly. Use less if you aren't into heat, more if you want to challenge your taste buds!

1/4 cup honey

2 tablespoons orange zest

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Place chicken breasts in a Ziploc bag. Pour enough marinade in to coat chicken. Marinate for at least 30 minutes, or overnight for best results. Reserve remaining marinade. Brush over chicken while grilling.

Dill-Dijon Pasta Salad

Makes 12 servings (great for parties!).

Dressing

1 cup light canola oil mayo

1 cup light sour cream

1/2 cup dijon mustard

1/2 a red onion, diced (any kind of onion will do)

Juice of one lemon

2 cups feta cheese, crumbled (or any other cheese you like--I used reduced fat sharp cheddar because it was on hand)

1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped (I like a lot of dill)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Salad

1/2 box whole grain pasta (rotini, penne or shells work best--avoid linguine and spaghetti)

Veggies, around one cup each (I typically use broccoli, cucumber, carrots, celery, cherry tomatoes and peas--but whatever you have fresh and on hand will work)

1. Cook pasta according to directions. Strain under cold water. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and spread pasta across it. Place in refrigerator to cool and dry.
2. Mix all dressing ingredients together. Refrigerate in an airtight container for at least one hour to allow flavors to blend.
3. Chop veggies into bite-sized pieces.
4. Combine dressing, veggies and cooled pasta and refrigerate two hours before serving.