Sriracha Chicken Salad with Grilled Pineapple

Every now and then I turn to Pinterest for meal inspiration. I pin anything that catches my eye - with every best intention to try out the recipes. But more often than not, I find I don't ever try them at all. So they just sit deliciously in a food filled folder online, untasted, and unloved.

I decided to change things up and actually try one of the hundreds of recipes I had saved. I had found a recipe for Sriracha Chicken Salad and thought - YES. I got out the ingredients I thought I would need, set up my ipad, clicked on the link, and then...

"THERE'S NOTHING HERE". That is literally what it said.

So plan B - I winged it. And here is the resulting recipe for you, so that you do not need to look in dismay at your blank screen when you are really hungry and just want chicken (I've got your back).

Ingredients:
(Serves 4)

For the chicken:
3 chicken breast
1 cup whole egg mayonnaise
Sriracha sauce (to taste)
Bread crumbs (can substitute with almond flour)

1/2 tsp ground coriander 

1/2 tsp oregano

Salt and Pepper (a good pinch of each)
A good pinch of paprika
Grated cheese (optional)

For the salad:
1 large iceberg lettuce, roughly sliced/chopped
4 tomatoes, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
1 cucumber, chopped
1 tin pineapple rings (or use fresh)

Preheat oven to 180C (fan bake) and grease a baking tray.

To prepare the grilled pineapple, simply drain the pineapple slices, before frying for a few minutes each side in a hot pan until they look golden and fabulous.
To prepare the salad, simply combine all the ingredients when chopped and plate with the grilled pineapple.

Prepare the chicken by patting it dry with a paper towel. Set aside.
In a bowl, combine the mayonnaise, herbs, spices, and sriracha (start with 1/2 a tsp sriracha and build up to taste).
In another bowl, combine the bread crumbs with the salt and pepper.
Evenly coat the prepared chicken in the mayonnaise mixture, before coating in breadcrumbs and laying on your baking tray. Top with a little grated cheese halfway through cooking if you please.
Bake for 25 minutes, or until the outside is golden, and juices run clear.
Slice into pieces and plate next to your salad.

Feel free to add more sriracha on the side if you like spice!

Roasted Vegetable Salad

Our house recently went through a meat and carb dinner phase due to feeling quite uninspired and lacking in energy when it came to dinner time. We have all been there am I right?

So to break our funk, I decided a good hearty vegetable based meal was in order.
Roasted Vegetable Salad has been on our meal rotation for many years now, and it never fails in it's simplicity and tastiness.

You can change out the vegetables as you please, I usually use a mixture of any of the following that I have on hand; beetroot, kumara, carrots, onions, potatoes, pumpkin, garlic or parsnip. Brussel sprouts, broccoli, capsicums, and tomatoes are also delicious - just add them in halfway through your cooking time.

Ingredients:

2 large beetroot
2 large kumara
4 large carrots
2 medium onions
1 tbsp garlic paste
oil for tossing
salt and pepper
30g feta cheese
2 sprigs of spring onions
2 good handfuls of baby spinach

Preheat your oven to 180C (fan bake).
Chop up your veges, keeping them all around about the same size (for even cooking times). You can decide what size the pieces are, I usually aim for bite sized.
Put all your vegetables into a generous size roasting pan.
Coat the vegetables in the garlic and a little oil, then sprinkle with a healthy pinch of salt and pepper.
Roast for 20 minutes, before turning them and roasting for a further 30 minutes, or to your liking.
Roughly crumble the feat cheese and finely chop the spring onions.
When the vegetables are ready, top with the feta, spring onions, and baby spinach and toss gently.
Serve while still warm - easy.