Chicken Salad Pita Sandwiches with Lemon, Dill, & Pancetta

The last few weeks have been full of: cold but sunny blue skies, blooming cherry blossom trees, pouring rain, hail, and snow. The glimpse of clear-skied weather on the horizon, paired with an even more soggy dreary grey, has me longing for spring and summer so hard. I miss sitting on a patio, sipping a cool crisp white or rose as the sun sets. I miss using the grill and watching things grow in my garden bed. I miss jogging outside with bare arms. I miss sun ripened berries and stone fruits. Deargod I miss nectarines.

Chimichurri Chicken Salad

The other day on the bus I heard another rider talking about how expensive it is to cook at home. How much more expensive it is than eating out. Maybe that girl eats at way cheaper restaurants than I do, or maybe she just doesn't understand how to make her dollar stretch in the kitchen. I mean, don't get me wrong, home cooking isn't always cheap. Especially if you like to use quality ingredients and lots of produce. It adds up. But, that's why you gotta make it stretch. And, once you get more comfortable in the kitchen, and start building up a pantry, it's even easier to cook homemade meals for less. 

I'm always looking for ways to make my groceries go further, and to waste less. Coming up with interesting leftover-revivals is a good place to start. You can mix this tasty chimichurri with leftover roast chicken and serve a ton of different ways. And, you should end up with leftover chimichurri, which can be used in a million other ways, in a million other recipes. 

Chicken Chimichurri Salad

Chimichurri adapted from Epicurious

1/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

5 garlic cloves, minced

1 small shallot, minced

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

3/4 cup chopped parsley

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

flakey sea salt

1 cup cooked chicken, chopped

1/2 English cucumber, cubed

For chimichurri, whisk together olive oil through cilantro, and salt to taste. Let mixture sit for about 20 minutes, for flavors to meld. Combine chicken, cucumbers, and about half of the chimichurri. Add more salt or chimichurri if needed. Serve on crusty grilled french bread, in a wrap, on a pita with hummus and feta, or even in an endive leaf. Or just eat it, because you'll want to. Store remaining chimichurii in a jar in the fridge for up to a week. 

School Lunch: Chicken Pita Sandwiches

It's that time of year again: fall is here. It blew (and poured) in with conviction, unlike summer, that so-called season that never really showed up to the party. You know, like that friend, the one who RSVP'd and said she would be there, then texted and said she was on her way, but then didn't actually show up until the party was nearly over..that was summer. Fall, on the other hand, showed up in a big way. The party pretty much started when she walked in the door, and there was never a  moment of doubt that she had arrived. 

I like fall. I like pumpkins, and soup, and pumpkin soup, and pumpkin beer. I like apple cider and pear crisps. I like the red and orange leaves on the sidewalk, and the feeling of new beginnings. For some of you, fall is back-to-school time—time to dust off the ol' red Garfield the Cat lunch box, and fill it with sandwiches and snack packs (but not gogurt...that stuff weirds me out). I haven't had a first day of school since my senior year of college—5 years ago! I guess some of you might not think that's so long ago, but going back now seems nearly impossible. Homework? Tests? Studying?! I can't even imagine giving up paychecks for tuition, and Friday Night Lights on Netflix for term papers. And while it seems crazy to me after only 5 years, Amanda is about to have her first first day of school in 7 years. 

My big sister, the girl I've been following my whole life, is about to start grad school. When Amanda started playing softball in elementary school, I did too…even though I was afraid of the ball. When she campaigned for student government and tried out for cheerleading, so did I. Her first car became my first car, and, like all the hand-me-downs I took from her over the years, I was stoked about the level of coolness her things would bring me. Amanda graduated from high school and moved to Seattle for college, and two years later, I followed her up here. And now, here she is, headed back to school. While I'm not in a hurry to follow her there, I'm once again in complete admiration of how cool she is. And how brave. And how crazy, definitely a little bit crazy. 

So, for the first day of school, while Amanda's sharpening pencils and buying text books, I'm coming up with back-to-school lunches to fill up her Garfield lunch box. The one she left on the bus and cried hysterically over. Boy was I jealous of that lunch box and school bus. 

While this portable lunch might not be quite right for the elementary school cafeteria, it packs up awesomely for work or big-kid school lunches. Super thin, flavorful chicken stuffed in a pita with fresh veggies and hummus. People will be jealous. And it's super easy to pack the components separately and combine at lunch. And, when you grill the chicken for dinner the night before, you get two meals in one. Just the kind of efficiency working moms or working grad students need. 

Grilled Chicken Pita Sandwiches

For chicken:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Juice from 1 large lemon

olive oil

oregano

salt

pepper

Paillard your bird. Ok, that sounds complicated and fancy, but it really just means to make your chicken super thin (which means it cooks quicker but stays tender, has more of the seasoning rub in each bite, and goes further). Here's a good guide to paillarding. 

Rub your chicken paillards with olive oil, douse in lemon juice, and heavily coat in oregano, salt, and pepper. 

Grill indoors or out until cooked through, only a couple minutes on each side. Oh the joys of the paillard!

For dinner, slice one breast and add to salad or pasta. Slice the 2nd paillard, and refrigerate. 

For sandwiches:

Pack chicken and a pita. Pack fresh spinach leaves, diced red onion, red pepper, tomato, and cucumber in a to-go container or baggie. 

Add a spoonful of hummus to a baggie.

To serve, cut the corner off the hummus baggie and squeeze hummus into pita (way less creepy than gogurt), then fill with veggies and chicken. 

Done…(school) lunch is served.