Chicken tostadas with avocado salsa

Today's post in my Easy Street series are chicken tostadas with avocado salsa from Cooking Light.  This one goes in the easy category because not only does it use rotisserie chicken (someone else does the cooking for you- genius!), but it also suggests using prechopped onion and tomatoes (from a salad bar, I guess?  Dunno, I chopped my own).  Whichever way you slice it, it's simple and delicious, with lots of flavor from the avocado salsa.  

CHICKEN TOSTADAS AND AVOCADO SALSA

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup chopped tomato 

1/2 cup chopped white onion 

1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

1 avocado, peeled and diced 

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided

4 (6-inch) flour tortillas 

2 cups shredded green leaf lettuce

1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added black beans, rinsed and drained

2 cups shredded boneless rotisserie chicken breast

1/4 cup crumbled queso fresco (or whatever cheese you prefer)

Instructions

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add tomato, onion, cilantro, and avocado; toss gently to coat.

Heat a large cast-iron or nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 3/4 teaspoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add 1 tortilla to pan; cook 1 minute on each side or until browned. Repeat procedure 3 times with remaining 2 1/4 teaspoons oil and tortillas.

Layer each tortilla with lettuce, beans, chicken, avocado salsa, and cheese.

Avalanche bars

Next in my Easy Street series are these fancy rice krispie treats called avalanche bars from Cookies and Cups.  I mean, it doesn't get any easier than this- no baking!- you just have to be patient enough to let them cool before you dig in.  (Note: the original recipe calls just for white chocolate chips, but I used a combination of white chocolate and milk chocolate.  The total amount of chocolate is the same, and I'm sure both versions are delicious).

Ingredients:

1 12 oz bag of white chocolate chips (I used half white chocolate/half milk chocolate).

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

3 cups Rice Krispies

1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows

1/4 cup mini chocolate chips + 2 Tbsp for garnish.

Instructions:

Lightly grease a 9x9 pan.

In microwave-safe bowl, melt the white chocolate chips for 1 minute on 50% power. Stir and continue in 30 second increments until chips are melted.

Combine the peanut butter with the melted chips and add the rice krispies.  Let cool 15 – 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so to help cool.

Once cooled, add the marshmallows and the mini chocolate chips and stir to combine. Pour mixture into the prepared pan and spread evenly, pressing lightly with the back of your spoon, but do not compact too much, otherwise they will get hard.

Press the remaining chocolate chips into the top for garnish.  When the bars are completely cooled, cut into squares and enjoy!

Symphony brownies

I've tried a few new recipes lately and I've noticed a trend- they're all SUPER simple.  So I'm going to do a series of blog posts called Easy Street.  Let's start with something chocolate...

These brownies are so simple I wouldn't even call it a "recipe", but they are so delicious I'm going to post them anyway.  I made these for the big Bachelorette finale this week, and everyone loved them.  And had seconds.  So here it is...

Ingredients:

1 box brownie mix (18.3 oz mix, or it may say family size)*

2 large Symphony candy bars with toffee and almonds

* You prepare the brownie mix as directed on the box, so I also needed 2 eggs, 2/3 cup vegetable oil, and 1/4 cup water.  These ingredients may vary depending on your brownie mix.

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line an 8x8 pan with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick spray.

Prepare brownie mix as directed on box. Spoon half of the brownie batter in the pan, then layer the Symphony bars on top.  (You may need to break some pieces to arrange it in the pan).  Pour remaining batter over the candy bars, and bake for 35-45 minutes.  Do not overbake- test the center with a toothpick to determine when they are ready.  Cool completely, then serve.

Cherry tomato and chile gazpacho

I love a bowl of cool gazpacho on a hot day- and hot days are plentiful right now.  This delicious recipe from Giada de Laurentiis is cool AND hot- the chiles make it pretty spicy, which I love.  Our polenta croutons didn't really brown, so we thought they were just ok.  I ate the leftover gazpacho the next day with chips as a salsa, so it's a double-duty recipe!

CHERRY TOMATO AND CHILE GAZPACHO

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

Gazpacho:

1 pound ripe cherry tomatoes (about 4 cups)

2 medium cucumbers, peeled and chopped

1 jalapeno chile, stemmed, seeded, deveined, and coarsely chopped

1 serrano chile, stemmed, seeded, deveined, and coarsely chopped

1 large shallot, coarsely chopped

1 clove garlic, smashed

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 to 3 teaspoons hot sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning

Croutons:

Vegetable oil, for frying

1/2 tube (9 ounces) store-bought, pre-cooked polenta, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (I found this in the organic section at Kroger)

3 tablespoons grated Parmesan

Instructions

For the gazpacho: Place the tomatoes, cucumbers, chiles, shallot, garlic, vinegar, hot sauce, and salt in a blender. Blend until smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt, to taste. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until ready to serve.

For the croutons: In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, pour enough oil to fill the pan with 1 inch of oil. Heat over medium heat until a deep-frying thermometer inserted in the oil reaches 375 degrees F. (If you don't have a thermometer, a cube of bread will brown in about 3 minutes.)

Working in batches, carefully add the polenta cubes and fry, stirring occasionally to keep the cubes separated, until golden brown, about 2 minutes.  Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with the Parmesan.

To serve: Ladle the gazpacho into 4 soup bowls and top with the polenta croutons.

Chicken soft tacos

We modified this recipe for chicken and cheese tortas (Mexican sandwiches) from Food & Wine magazine to create these delicious chicken soft tacos.  It uses a technique similar to pork carnitas, where you smash the meat in an oiled pan to fry the bottom to crispy perfection.  (I marked the tomatillo salsa ingredient as optional, because we thought it overpowered the other flavors).  Can't wait to make these again!

CHICKEN SOFT TACOS

Yield: 4-6 tacos

Ingredients

1 avocado, chopped

2 tablespoons plain yogurt (I used sour cream)

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1/2 small red onion, minced

1 small jalapeño, minced

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

2 cups thickly shredded cooked chicken (rotisserie or baked)

1 1/2 cups shredded fresh mozzarella

2 tablespoons grated Cotija or parmesan cheese

Flour tortillas, warmed

1/4 cup sliced pickled jalapeños

1/2 cup jarred tomatillo salsa (optional)

Instructions

In a bowl, mash the avocado with a fork. Stir in the yogurt/sour cream, lime juice, onion, jalapeño, cumin and 1 tablespoon of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the chicken in an even layer and cook over moderately high heat until crisp on the bottom, about 3 minutes. Scatter the mozzarella and Cotija/parmesan cheeses over the chicken, cover the skillet and remove from the heat. Let stand until the mozzarella is melted.

Spread tortillas with the avocado mixture. Top with the chicken, then add the pickled jalapeños and tomatillo salsa. Serve immediately.