Asian Chicken Salad Pitas

This is the time of year when I have a really hard time staying focused. There are only about 35 days of school left, it's almost May, the weather is warming up, and I am ready for a vacation. On top of that has been some added challenges this year - a new co-worker who requires some extra management, and my co-teacher took maternity leave so I've been supervising two new teachers for the last few weeks. Add to that my general unenthusiasm about cooking in general, and it's been a rough haul. I was (as always) finally inspired by Clean Eating, and picked this week's recipes entirely from that magazine.

Ingredients:
1 Tlbs natural peanut butter
1 Tlbs low-sodium chicken broth
1.5 tsp apple cider vinegar
1.5 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 tsp tamari soy sauce
a pinch of red pepper flakes
1 tsp black sesame oil
1 chicken breast, cubed and cooked
1 green onion, chopped
1/4 cup diced cucumber
1 small carrot, grated or matchsticked
1 Tlbs chopped cilantro
whole wheat pita pockets

Directions:
In a small bowl, whisk together peanut butter, chicken broth, apple cider vinegar, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, and red pepper flakes. In a medium sized bowl, toss the chicken, green onion, cucumber, carrot and cilantro. Drizzle the sauce over the top, then toss it together. Serve in warmed pita pockets.

I'm not a huge fan of cucumber (I've tried to like it, really!) but this was pretty good. I think it would be even better chilled, so I'm going to bring it for lunch tomorrow. It comes together fairly quickly, and would be a 5 minute meal if the prep work was done ahead of time. This made enough for about 4 small pita pockets.

The original recipe called for cashew butter (expensive) and I added the black sesame oil because the sauce seemed a little bland, but other than that the recipe is pretty close to the original.

Rating: 4.5/5
Why? Cucumbers. Nice crunch, but I just don't like the flavor. =(

Tomato Basil Grilled Cheese

I was never much of a grilled cheese fan growing up, and I am still not a big fan of cheddar grilled cheese, but I have grown up a little bit, and branched out. I have previously posted a grilled cheese recipe here, but I saw another one a few days back that I wanted to try. Unfortunately I couldn't find the recipe this evening when I went to make dinner, so I winged it.

Ingredients:
2 pieces honey whole wheat bread
fresh mozzarella, sliced
1 tomato, sliced very thin
20 basil leaves, rolled and sliced

Directions:
Heat a pan over medium-low heat. Spray one side of one piece of bread with evoo and place it evoo side down in the pan. Put down a layer of mozzarella on top, then a layer of sliced tomato, then the chopped basil, then another layerof mozzarella. Top it with the second piece of bread, then spray the top with evoo. Very slowly toast the bread while the cheese melts. When it is toasted, put a plate over the pan and flip the entire thing to turn the sandwich without everything falling out. Let the other side toast, then remove from the heat and cut in half to serve.

The fresh mozzarella cheese makes this an amazing sandwich, and the slow roast and the fresh basil just make it that much better. This will definitely be made again.

Rating: 4.5/5
Why? mmm....melty and basily. It is just a little rich for me, next time I will work on slicing the mozzarella thinner.