Every time we put a Steak Salad on the Nourish@Home menu, it’s a top seller. There’s just something hard to resist about a big pile of greens (in this case romaine, endive, and arugula) topped with fresh tomatoes and sliced onions, sprinkled with flavorful Gorgonzola, and tossed with just enough steak to make it a meal. You can use leftover steak if you wish, especially if you cut down on the amount of greens and fixings to make a salad for one. This version hasn’t made it to our menu…yet. But try it yourself and see what you think!

Steakhouse Dinner Salad
4 servings

Ingredients

1/2 head of romaine lettuce, cut into bite size pieces

2 large heads of Belgian endive, thinly sliced crosswise (about 3 cups)

3 cups fresh baby arugula

12 cherry tomatoes halved

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced into rings

4 ounces Gorgonzola cheese, coarsely crumbled

Red wine vinaigrette

About 1/8 teaspoon salt

About 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 pound leftover steak (strip steak, rib eye, or filet mignon, cut crosswise into thin slices)

Directions

1.  In a large bowl, toss the lettuce, endive, arugula, tomatoes, and onion to combine.  Add half of the cheese and toss the salad with enough vinaigrette to coat.  Season the salad with salt and pepper to taste.

2.  Divide the salad equally among 4 plates and top with the steak slices.

3.  Drizzle more vinaigrette over the steak slices and sprinkle with the remaining cheese and serve immediately.

When your children take one bite and say “Mom, this is the BEST thing you’ve made in MONTHS,” you know you have a winner on your hands. Friends, meet the meal that literally drew applause at the dinner table (Disclaimer: my children are just a teensy bit dramatic so those results may not be typical!). But honestly, this is a dish that is GREEN (thanks to salsa verde and cilantro) and has things SMUSHED TOGETHER (shreded chicken, cream cheese, and salsa verde stuffed into corn tortillas) and STILL the applause came. Beat that!

This is a great Sunday dinner because the chicken cooking and assembly takes a little bit of time but the process is actually kind of fun. Your children may even want to get in on the action once you have the elements in place on the counter. Who cares if the tortillas are rolled evenly? If they had a hand in making dinner, your odds of the kids eating it go up tenfold. (Second disclaimer: I’m about the farthest thing from a statistician you can get so tenfold may or may not be an accurate figure here, but you get my point.)

Okay, off to the kitchen you go. Make these. And for heavens sake, graciously accept the accolades that are coming your way!

Chicken Enchiladas with Salsa Verde
adapted from Cooking Light 2006

serves 4

Ingredients

1 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 (7-ounce) bottle salsa verde (I like the Herdez brand)

2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast (about 1-1.5 lbs boneless breasts if you’re cooking your own)

1/3 cup (3 ounces) lowfat cream cheese

1 cup fat free, less-sodium chicken broth (if you’re poaching your chicken you won’t need this – just use the water you cooked the chicken in!)

8 (6 inch) corn tortillas (I used a Chi-Chi’s “flour and corn” variety – worked beautifully)

Cooking Spray

1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco (LOVE how this melts for enchiladas)

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

4 lime wedges

Cilantro sprigs (optional)

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 425°.

2.  Combine first 4 ingredients in the food processor; blend until smooth. In a large bowl, mix shredded chicken with cream cheese and stir in 1/2 cup salsa mixture. Reserve remaining salsa mixture.

3.  Bring broth to a simmer in a medium skillet. Working with one tortilla at a time, add tortilla to pan; cook 10 seconds or until moist, turning once. Remove tortilla; drain on paper towels. Spoon about 1/4 cup chicken mixture down center of tortilla; roll up. (Hint: don’t overfill these – it won’t look like much but it will be plenty and you need to fill all 8 tortillas!) Place tortilla, seam-side down, in an 9 x 13-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Repeat procedure with remaining tortillas, broth, and chicken mixture.

4.  Pour remaining salsa mixture over enchiladas; sprinkle evenly with queso fresco and chili powder. Bake at 425° for 18 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Garnish with cilantro and serve with lime wedges. Gather compliments.

Nothing says Labor Day like a barbecue…and nothing upgrades a barbecue like a chicken and vegetable kebab with a creamy pesto dipping sauce! You’ll have more energy for that game of volleyball or for a dip in the pool  if you eat something not quite as heavy as hamburgers, hot dogs, and potato salad drenched in mayonnaise.

I promise that this recipe is a cinch to double, triple, or quadruple if you’re cooking for a crowd and your kids will love threading everything onto the skewers. Your guests will adore you for feeding them a meal they can feel great about eating that’s delicious, too!

Chicken and Vegetable Kebabs with Creamy Pesto Dipping Sauce
serves 4

Ingredients

2 teaspoons grated lemon rind

4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, divided

2 teaspoons minced garlic

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

8 (1 inch) pieces yellow bell pepper

8 cherry tomatoes

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 small red onion cut into 8 wedges

cooking spray

4 tablespoons plain nonfat Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon prepared pesto

Directions

1.  Preheat grill (or broiler).

2.  Combine rind, 1 tablespoon juice, garlic and next three ingredients.  Thread vegetables and chicken onto 4 (12 inch) skewers.  Brush with lemon/oil mixture. Place skewers on a hot grill or onto a  broiler pan coated with cooking spray.  Broil or grill 12 minutes or until chicken is cooked through, turning occasionally.

3.  Combine remaining 1 teaspoon juice, yogurt, and pesto.  Serve sauce with kebabs.