Shredded BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

Ease: 4/5      Kid-friendliness: 4/5     Taste: 5/5     Time: 3.5/5

Prep: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 8 to 12 minutes

Everyone loved these! A perfect backyard summer meal. Get your napkins out!

What you'll need:

• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter or margarine 
• 1/2 C minced yellow onion 
• 1 C ketchup
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp Tabasco sauce
• 2 good sized boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into halves
• vegetable oil
• kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 4 - 6 large sandwich rolls

Warm BBQ to medium high heat. 

To make the sauce, in a medium sauce pan over medium heat, melt the butter or margarine. Add the onion and cook until soft (~3 minutes), stirring occasionally. Add the ketchup, soy sauce, lemon juice and tabasco sauce. Stir and cook for about 5 minutes. Set aside. 

Lightly brush or spray the chicken on both sides with oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill over direct medium heat until the meat is firm and no longer pink (~8 to 12 minutes), turning once. Remove from the grill and let rest 3-5 minutes. Shred the chicken, add the the sauce pan and heat through over medium heat. 

Grill the rolls over direct medium heat until lightly toasted, (~ 1 minute). Built each sandich with a roll and some chicken. Very tasty!

Recipe adapted from Weber's Real Grilling

Grilled Chicken Panini's in a Hurry

Ease: 5/5     Kid-friendliness: 4/5     Taste: 4/5     Time: 5/5

Prep: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes

Sometimes, I am just at a loss for what to make at lunch time. If I don't have leftovers or sandwich stuff, it can be a real challenge to think of something quick and easy and not just have KD. Again.  Here is a quick, easy one I rely on.

What you'll need:

• 375 g frozen stir fry veggies
• 375 g cooked chicken strips or chunks (you can buy packaged ones now)
• 4 whole wheat paninis
• 4 large lettuce leaves
• ranch dressing (or BBQ or pesto sauce)
• shredded marble cheese
• sandwich press or grill 

Over medium heat, heat a bit of water in a nonstick pan. Pour in the frozen veggies. Cover with a lid for ~2 minutes to soften the veggies. 

Uncover the pan, add the chicken and saute until the chicken is warmed through, and the veggies are tender (~5 minutes).

Meanwhile, preheat sandwich press or grill. 

Spread ranch dressing on paninis, sprinkle with cheese and top with a lettuce leaf, and some of the veggies and chicken mixture. 

Press the panini until the cheese is melted (~1-2 minutes).

Serve!

Grilled Steak Sandwiches with Melted Onions

Ease: 3.5/5     Kid-friendliness: 2/5     Taste: 5/5     Time: 2/5

Prep: 10 minutes (1 hour if you count marinating time)
Cook: 45 minutes

Who doesn't love a great steak sandwich every now and then? The onions took a long time to cook, but they were melt-in-your-mouth good! Next time, I would turn the baguettes into garlic bread.

The recipe is from HeartSmart: The Best of HeartSmart Cooking. A little tip from the cookbook: if you grill a whole steak and slice it after, rather than cooking individual ones, it often turns out juicier. You can use diced leftover steak in a salad, stir fry or wrap.

What you'll need:

• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp coarse salt
• 1 tsp coarse ground pepper
• 2 lb (1 kg) sirloin steak, 1 1/2 in thick, trimmed of fat
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 whole wheat baguettes (16 in long)
• 1 bunch of spinach, trimmed

Onions

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 4 large onions, thinly sliced
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1/4 C balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste

In a small bowl, combine sugar, garlic, salt and pepper. Pat steak dry, brush with oil and rub with sugar mixture. Marinate for 1 hour at room temperature or overnight in refrigerator.

Onions: heat 2 Tbsp oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions. Cook for 10 minutes without stirring, until the onions begin to brown. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally for 30 minutes. Onions should be very brown. Add sugar and vinegar and cook gently, adding water if necessary until onions are very tender. Season with salt and pepper. Keep warm.

Cut each baguette into four pieces and then cut each piece in half horizontally. Top with spinach.

Grill steak until desired completeness (~7 minutes for medium). Lay steak on baguettes and top with onions. Serve on the patio with a cold beverage!

Chicken Ranch Wraps

Ease: 5/5     Kid-friendliness: 5/5     Taste: 4/5     Ease: 5/5

There is nothing to this recipe. You can barely even call this a recipe. I just appreciate being able to find snack and lunch ideas for my kids. It's easy to fall into a rut when it comes to snacks and lunches. My daughter would love to eat grilled cheese sandwiches and goldfish every day, but I figure a little variety is a good thing. This recipe is also an easy way to use up left-over roast chicken or turkey, or left over chicken breasts from supper the night before.

These are a favorite of my daughter's.

What you'll need:

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 bell pepper (I used 1/2 a green one, and 1/2 a yellow one), cut into think strips
• 6 pieces of lettuce
• 2 C cooked chicken, cut into strips (to save time, most grocery stores now sell packaged cooked strips of chicken and turkey breasts). 
• 6 whole wheat tortillas
• 2 Tbsp ranch dressing (I use light)
• 1 C shredded cheese (I used marble)

In a small skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil. Add the pepper and sauté until tender (~ 3 minutes).

Spread a thin (or amount that you desire) layer of ranch dressing evenly over one side of a tortilla. Sprinkle with shredded cheese. Layer a lettuce leaf, some pepper, and some chicken in the centre of the tortilla. Roll up tortilla length wise and enjoy (quick tip for toddlers: I often put the cheese on top and cut the wrap in half, and then heat it in the microwave for 20 seconds. This melts the cheese, and "seals" the wrap making it a little easier for my daughter to eat)! Makes about 6 wraps. 

Pork & Apple Pita's

Ease: 4/5     Taste: 3/5     Kids: 2/5     Time: 4/5


I love meat/fruit combinations!

Inspired by my "Mac Mishap", I thought this quick and fresh sounding recipe fit the bill. I enjoyed them, but they were difficult for my daughter to eat. Small hands just do not possess the finesse necessary to eat a pita (rolling it up works better!)

My husband isn't a fan of a strong dill flavour (or any strong flavour for that matter), but if you are, you can double the sauce recipe.

The recipe also called for alfalfa sprouts, but since I couldn't find any (yes, I only went to one store but with two kids, would you go to a second?), I used a packaged "broccoli slaw" that I found. It gave a similar crunch and texture, and was probably more nutrient packed than sprouts anyway. Broccoli slaw is my new favourite salad topper!

What you'll need:

• 1 pound boneless pork tenderloin, trimmed of fat and cut into 1/4 inch slices 
• 3 Tbsp nonfat plain yogurt
• 1/2 tsp dill seeds
• 1/2 medium cucumber, chopped
• 1 apple, cut into thin slices
• 2 large lettuce leaves (I had green leaf that needed to be used up)
• alfalfa sprouts (or broccoli slaw!)
• red onion (optional)
• whole wheat pitas, cut crosswise

Trim the pork of visible fat. Cut the meat crosswise into 1/4 inch thick slices. Then cut each slice into 1 inch strips. Let the pork finish thawing if you cut it slightly frozen.

In a small bowl, mix together the cucumber, yogurt and dill. Chill until pork is ready.

Lightly spray a medium-sized nonstick skillet and preheat over medium-high heat. Place the pork in the skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until completely cooked.

Line each pita half with yogurt sauce, apple slices and lettuce. Fill with pork strips, broccoli slaw and top with onion if desired (no raw onion lovers in this household).

I got about 5 stuffed pitas out of this recipe.

Recipe inspired by Karen Bellerson's Pork & Apple Pita recipe in Low Fat, No Fat Cooking